[GB] Motorways in the United Kingdom

[ChrisZwolle]

by popular demand;

United Kingdom



M1: London - Leeds 191 miles
M2: Rochester - Faversham 26 miles
M3: London - Southampton 59 miles
M4: London - Pontarddulais 190 miles
M5: Walsall - Exeter 163 miles
M6: Catthorpe - Carlisle 227 miles
M6Toll: Birmingham bypass 27 miles
M8: Edinburgh - Langbank 60 miles
M8: Edinburgh - Dunblane 33 miles
M10: Hemel-Hempstead - St Albans 3 miles
M11: London - Cambridge 50 miles
M18: Rotherham - Goole 27 miles
M20: Swanley - Folkestone 51 miles
M23: Hooley - Crawley 16 miles
M25: London Orbital 117 miles
M26: Sevenoaks - Maidstone 10 miles
M27: Cadnam - Portsmouth 25 miles
M32: Hambrook - Bristol 4 miles
M40: London - Birmingham 89 miles
M42: Birmingham Orbital 55 miles
M45: Watford Gap - Thurlaston 8 miles
M48: Alveston - Magor 12 miles
M49: Severn Beach - Avonmouth 5 miles
M50: Strensham - Ross-on-Wye 21 miles
M53: Wallasey - Chester 20 miles
M54: Essington - Wellington 23 miles
M55: Fulwood - Blackpool 11 miles
M56: Cheadle - Mollington 35 miles
M57: Huyton - Netherton 14 miles
M58: Netherton - Orrell 12 miles
M60: Manchester Orbital 35 miles
M61: Preston - Manchester 20 miles
M62: Knotty Ash - North Cave 107 miles
M65: Farington - Colne 30 miles
M66: Edenfield - Whitefield 8 miles
M67: Denton - Warhill 5 miles
M69: Coventry - Leicester 16 miles
M73: Birkenshaw - Mollinsburn 7 miles
M74: Glasgow - Abington 35 miles
M77: Glasgow - Fenwick 20 miles
M80: Glasgow - Stepps 5 miles
M90: Inverkeithing - Perth/Broxden Jct 30 miles

total length: 1902 miles or 3060 km.

Quite a small network for such an dense populated and busy country. It's only a few hundred kilometers less than the Netherlands

[x-type]

but there is a plenty of expressways

[Verso]

Pathetic British motorways.

[Nutshell]

LOL @ this thread.

Chris - is that *it* ??? You mean to tell me that the UK has fewer motorways than the Netherlands - a country less than half the size with half as many people living there? Just goes to show that while the UK sits on its butt, the rest of Europe is investing in better / bigger motorways. Just look at how much of the UK is nowhere near a major road artery - that sucks!

You can't even defend the UK by saying "but they have better public transportation", because the public transportation there also lags behind its European neighbors, including the Netherlands.

Prove me wrong, with pics, please?

[ChrisZwolle]

The UK's network is a bit larger than the Dutch motorway network. But as said, there are a lot of expressways too; Axx(M) roads. Those have motorway standards too, but are not included in the list above, also 3digit motorways are not included, however there are only a few short sections. Doesn't make much of a difference.

But most UK motorways are said to be 2x3 lanes, a big improvement, but still, the UK motorway has the highest average AADT of Europe.

The signage is really among the worst of Europe.

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by Chris1491

The signage is really among the worst of Europe.

any pics of the signage system?

[Stuu]

I certainly couldn't argue with the fact the UK has nothing like as large a motorway network as it should, but I am surprised about the signage thing that has been mentioned several times. Any examples of what is wrong?

[ChrisZwolle]

Well, the signage is just ugly, especially on overhead signs.
And destinations are sometimes weird too. Driving south from Glasgow, you don't see much more than the quite small city of Carlisle, nothing Manchester or Liverpool. Not made for national traffic.

Stuff like this (on the M25 London Orbital)

[Nutshell]

Only 2 lanes? LOL!

C'mon guys --- we need more PICS! Let's see some magnificent freeways and highways from the UK, please? Otherwise, we'll just think the UK is just a country full of quaint little country lanes and single track highways!

p.s. I actually LIKE the signage - far clearer than US freeways/highways.

[ChrisZwolle]

I have tons of pics, from Dover to Glasgow and back. But they're not mine. You can find them here on the left

[Stuu]

The first picture shows the split between 2 roads: the signs above each lane show where they lead to, the second one is also at a major intersection, it may not be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen but it isn't hard to understand. The point about driving south from Glasgow, Carlisle is the first town/city across the border into England. The system is very much designed with locals (meaning UK citizens) in mind, as there is nothing like the transit traffic of most other European nations to need to cater for

[ChrisZwolle]

Yeah, but Carlisle is very minimal. I would sign at least one large city on that road. Signage isn't ment for those who are locally known, but for those who are unknown to the area.

But how about those borders? Do you really see them as borders like international borders?

[Stuu]

The border is the key point, and yes most people in the UK (from my experience) do consider the border between England and Scotland as pretty much the same as going from France to Spain, on a cultural level at least. Pretty much anyone going from Glasgow south knows Carlisle is in England, not Scotland so that is why it is used, as far as I can tell. I'm pretty sure that in England the signs point to Carlisle too

[ChrisZwolle]

I ordered the AA big Road Atlas Britain 2007. Hope to explore Britain better, all i have to date where large undetailed loose leafs.

[Blindfold]

As I pointed out in the other thread, Britain's motorway network is not as significant or developed as similar sized European counries for one simple reason: the UK is an island nation surrounded on all sides by the sea. It therefore has nil or negligable through traffic from other countries. Other major European nations are bordered by other countries on a few if not all sides which generate a significant amount of traffic travelling from one country to another.

Another reason is that Tony Blair's then 'anti-road/pro-environment' Labour Government cancelled all new Motorway projects as soon as it came into power in 1997. The only new projects have been the completion of the M60 Manchester Orbital and the M6 Toll.

[ChrisZwolle]

Yeah, just like the Belgium standstill. Nothing new on the motorways there too.

[Stuu]

It is true that the Labour government in 1997 cancelled lots of outstanding road projects, but very few, if any, where actual motorways so wouldn't have made much difference to the map posted. "Motorway" seems to cause far more trouble with NIMBYs in the UK, lots of new roads over the past 20 years have been built that would be called motorways/autobahns or whatever in most countries, but they aren't signed as such to avoid the planning issues, such as the A130 from Chelmsford to the A13

[Angelos]

why scotland dont have motorways?

[ChrisZwolle]

Scotland has some.

[Billpa]

Originally Posted by Chris1491

The signage is really among the worst of Europe.

You think English signage is worse than what's in France and Belgium? What about Austria?

I think the UK motorway signage is better than that found in all of those nations.