List of motorways in the United Kingdom
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A complete listing of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that one numbering scheme is used for Great Britain and a separate scheme for Northern Ireland – see also Roads in Ireland (also covering the Republic of Ireland).
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List of current motorways
Single-digit motorways
- M1, the eastern north-south motorway linking London and Leeds and continuing north to the A1.
- M2, in Kent from Rochester to Faversham.
- M3, linking Southampton and London.
- M4, linking London and south Wales.
- M5, linking Exeter and the south-west of England with Birmingham and the Midlands.
- M6, the western north-south motorway linking the M1 at Rugby and Carlisle.
- M6 Toll, a toll motorway to the north of Walsall and Sutton Coldfield, bypassing a busy stretch of the M6 around the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas.
- M8, linking Edinburgh and Greenock, via Glasgow.
- M9, linking Edinburgh and Stirling.
Northern Ireland
- M1 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Dungannon.
- M2 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Antrim, and again near Ballymena.
- M3 (Northern Ireland) from Belfast to Ballymacarrett.
- M5, Belfast (M2) to Newtownabbey
Two-digit motorways
- M10, a short spur from the M1 to St Albans.
- M11, linking London and Cambridge.
- M18, linking the M1 at Rotherham and the M62 at Goole.
- M20, linking London (Swanley) and Folkestone.
- M23, linking London (Coulsdon) to beyond Crawley.
- M25, the London orbital motorway.
- M26, a short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 before Maidstone.
- M27, the south coast route running from Cadnam, west of Southampton, to Portsmouth.
- M32, a spur from the M4 to central Bristol.
- M40, linking London and Birmingham and linking to the M42 Birmingham orbital motorway .
- M42, The southern and eastern part of the Birmingham orbital motorway extending north towards Ashby-de-la-Zouch and west to the M5.
- M45, a short spur from the M1 north of Daventry towards Coventry.
- M48, the Severn Bridge, linking Thornbury and Newport, Monmouthshire over the River Severn. This used to be the M4 before the Second Severn Crossing was built.
- M49, a short link from the M5 to the M4 west of Bristol.
- M50, linking the M5 at Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye.
- M53, linking Chester and Birkenhead.
- M54, linking the M6 north of Wolverhampton and Telford.
- M55, linking Blackpool and the M6 at Preston.
- M56, linking Manchester and Chester.
- M57, a Liverpool bypass running north-west from the M62.
- M58, linking Wigan and northern Liverpool.
- M60, the Manchester Outer Ring Road, an orbital motorway.
- M61, linking Preston and Manchester.
- M62, linking Liverpool and the approaches to Kingston-upon-Hull, the trans-Pennine link.
- M65, linking Preston and Colne, Lancashire.
- M66, linking Rawtenstall and the M62 at Manchester.
- M67, linking the M60 at Denton to Hyde in Greater Manchester.
- M69, linking Leicester and Coventry.
- M73, linking Cumbernauld to the M74.
- M74, linking Glasgow and Abington in South Lanarkshire, where the A74(M) takes over.
- M77, linking Glasgow and Newton Mearns.
- M80, linking Glasgow and Stirling.
- M90, linking the Forth Road Bridge and Perth, Scotland.
Northern Ireland
- M12, spur from M1 to Portadown
- M22, Antrim (M2) to Randalstown
Three or more digit motorways and spurs
- M180, from the M18 at Thorne towards Grimsby and the A15 to the Humber Bridge.
- M181, the Scunthorpe spur from the M180.
- M271, the Totton, Southampton spur from the M27
- M275, the Portsmouth spur from the M27
- M602, M62 spur into Manchester.
- M606, M62 spur at Bradford.
- M621, M62 spur at Leeds.
- M876, a short link between motorways in the Falkirk area.
- M898, the Erskine Bridge approach road.
Upgraded A-road designations
- A1(M), the parts of the A1 road between London and Newcastle-upon-Tyne that have been upgraded to motorway.
- A3(M), a short stretch of the A3 road by-passing Waterlooville and Havant, that has been built to motorway standards.
- A38(M), a spur from the M6 to central Birmingham, also known as the Aston Expressway. It has no central reservation — the number of lanes open in each direction varies according to prevailing traffic conditions.
- A48(M), a spur from the M4 J29 of about a mile, heading into Cardiff.
- A57(M), known as the Mancunian Way, forms the southern part of Manchester's inner ring road. It is elevated and runs through the centre of the campus of UMIST, now part of the University of Manchester.
- A58(M) is the western part of the Leeds inner ring road.
- A64(M) is the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road.
- A66(M) is a short spur from the A1(M) to Darlington
- A74(M), linking Abington in South Lanarkshire at the end of the M74 with Gretna.
- A167(M) in central Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- A194(M) spur from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne stretch of the A1(M) running towards the Tyne Tunnel.
- A308(M), linking M4 junction 8/9 with Maidenhead.
- A329(M), linking Bracknell and Winnersh near Reading.
- A404(M), linking M4 junction 8/9 towards Henley-on-Thames.
- A601(M) Spur off the M6 at Carnforth, Lancashire, linking to the A6 The southern part is single carriageway.
- A627(M), connects Rochdale and Oldham to the M62
- A823(M) is a short spur from the M90 to Dunfermline.
- A6144(M), the longest single-carriageway motorway spur in the United Kingdom from the M60 north of Sale towards Carrington
Northern Ireland
- A8(M) spur from M2 to A8 north of Belfast
Other motorways
Former motorways
Roads which used to be motorways but have been downgraded.
- M41 was a spur from the London Westway.
- A18(M) Spur from M18. Mostly now part of M180, although a section has been abandoned.
- A40(M) London Westway, now the A40.
- A41(M) Tring bypass, now the A41.
- A46(M) Spur towards Leicester from M1 at junction 21.
- A102(M) London East Cross Route, between Hackney, the Blackwall Tunnel, and as far as the Sun-in-the-Sands roundabout.
- The northern third of of the A329(M) from Winnersh to Reading, now the A3290. Downgraded to permit Reading council to dedicate one lane for buses.
Motorways which have been renamed
- The M63 was merged with parts of the M62 and M66 to form the new M60 Manchester orbital motorway
- The M85 is now M90 J10-11. Previously the M90 carried on along the spur into Perth, leaving the main route ahead as the M85.
- The M531 is now the southern section of the M53 .
- The A20(M) is now the M20 from J5-8.
- The A423(M) is now the A404(M).
- The A6127(M) is now the A167(M).
Unbuilt motorways
- M41, which would have gone from London to Birmingham (the second half of this became M40 in 1991).
- M52, which would have gone from the Mersey to Sheffield, incorporating parts of the M62 and M67. Stopped by the Peak District.
- M59, M58 junction 2 to M55 junction 2 via M65 junction 1a.
- M64, between Stoke and Derby.
- M92, Dunfirmline and along the north of the Firth of Forth. There is no evidence that this was ever planned, but the A823(M) looks like it could have been extended.
- M273, which would have met the M27 at J6 and headed into Southampton.
- M601, which would have entered Manchester from the north (M62).
- A6(M) (or M66 extension]], which would have bypassed the A6 south of Manchester.
- A556(M) which would have cut the corner between the M6 and M56 near Chester. (This may yet be built.)
See also
External links
- The UK Roads Portal (http://www.uk-roads.org.uk)
- Motorway Database (http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway)
- Pathetic Motorways (http://pathetic.org.uk)de:Liste der Autobahnen in Großbritannien