In today's world, List of motorways in the United Kingdom is a topic that has captured the attention of a large number of people. The relevance of List of motorways in the United Kingdom has become increasingly evident as society progresses over time. From its impact on people's daily lives, to its influence on economics and politics, List of motorways in the United Kingdom is a topic that deserves to be explored in depth. In this article, we will look at different aspects related to List of motorways in the United Kingdom and how it has evolved over time. From its origins to its relevance today, we will delve into a complete analysis of List of motorways in the United Kingdom and its impact on various aspects of modern society.
This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources. (June 2023) |
This list of motorways in the United Kingdom is a complete list of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that the numbering scheme used for Great Britain does not include roads in Northern Ireland, which are allocated numbers on an ad hoc basis.
Link | Route | Ceremonial counties (England) Council areas (Scotland) Principal areas (Wales) |
Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019 | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
mi | km | ||||
M1 | A south-north motorway linking London to Leeds. | Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire | 168,763 | 193.5 | 311.4 |
M2 | A west-east motorway bypassing Medway, Sittingbourne and Faversham. | Kent | 106,582 | 25.7 | 41.4 |
M3 | A northeast-southwest motorway linking London to Southampton. | Surrey, Hampshire | 136,059 | 58.6 | 94.3 |
M4 | An east-west motorway linking London to Cardiff and South Wales. | Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire | 161,807 | 189 | 304 |
M5 | A north-south motorway in South West England, linking Birmingham to Exeter. | West Midlands, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset, Devon | 127,584 | 162.9 | 262.2 |
M6 | A south-north motorway linking the West Midlands to North West England. | Leicestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria | 173,201 | 232.2 | 373.7 |
M6 Toll | A tolled bypass of the M6 in the West Midlands. | West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire | 110,489 | 27 | 43 |
M8 | An east-west motorway linking Edinburgh to Glasgow. | Edinburgh, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire | 160,484 | 60.3 | 97.0 |
M9 | A southeast-northwest motorway linking Edinburgh to Stirling. | Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Stirling | 68,143 | 33.0 | 53.1 |
M11 | A south-north motorway linking London to Cambridge. | Greater London, Essex, Cambridgeshire | 121,964 | 55.0 | 88.5 |
M18 | A south-north motorway linking the M1 to the M62. | South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire | 108,855 | 26.5 | 42.6 |
M20 | A west-east motorway linking London to Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel. | Kent | 120,348 | 50.6 | 81.4 |
M23 | A north-south motorway linking London to Gatwick Airport and Crawley. | Surrey, West Sussex | 110,574 | 15.9 | 25.6 |
M25 | A ring road of London numbered clockwise from Dartford. | Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex | 216,108 | 117 | 188 |
M26 | An east-west motorway linking the M25 to the M20. | Kent | 70,674 | 9.9 | 15.9 |
M27 | A west-east motorway linking Southampton to Portsmouth. | Hampshire | 134,210 | 25.0 | 40.2 |
M32 | A spur from the M4 into central Bristol. | Gloucestershire, Bristol | 84,898 | 4.4 | 7.1 |
M40 | A southeast-northwest motorway linking London to Birmingham. | Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire | 133,490 | 89.0 | 143.2 |
M42 | Bypasses Birmingham to the south and east. | Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire | 154,532 | 40.0 | 64.4 |
M45 | A spur from the M1 to Rugby. | Warwickshire, Northamptonshire | 19,536 | 7.9 | 12.7 |
M48 | An alternative route to the M4 between Bristol and Caldicot. | Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire | 22,632 | 12 | 19 |
M49 | Bypasses Bristol to the west. | Bristol, Gloucestershire | 22,461 | 5.0 | 8.0 |
M50 | A west-east motorway between the M5 and Ross-on-Wye. | Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire | 32,032 | 21.6 | 34.8 |
M53 | A north-south motorway linking central Liverpool to Chester. | Merseyside, Cheshire | 79,872 | 18.9 | 30.4 |
M54 | An east-west motorway linking Wolverhampton to Telford. | Staffordshire, Shropshire | 70,652 | 23.0 | 37.0 |
M55 | An east-west motorway linking Preston to Blackpool. | Lancashire | 84,905 | 12.2 | 19.6 |
M56 | A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Liverpool and Chester. | Greater Manchester, Cheshire | 174,693 | 33.3 | 53.6 |
M57 | An eastern bypass of Liverpool linking the M62 to Maghull. | Merseyside | 99,521 | 10 | 16 |
M58 | A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Wigan. | Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester | 49,376 | 12 | 19 |
M60 | A ring road of Manchester numbered clockwise from Stockport. | Greater Manchester | 180,501 | 36 | 58 |
M61 | A north-south motorway linking Preston to Manchester. | Greater Manchester, Lancashire | 150,331 | 20.0 | 32.2 |
M62 | A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Hull. | Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire | 161,700 | 107 | 172 |
M65 | A west-east motorway linking Preston to Colne. | Lancashire | 82,970 | 25.8 | 41.5 |
M66 | A north-south motorway linking Ramsbottom to Manchester. | Lancashire, Greater Manchester | 111,851 | 8.0 | 12.9 |
M67 | A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Hadfield. | Greater Manchester | 58,435 | 5.0 | 8.0 |
M69 | A north-south motorway linking Leicester to Coventry. | Warwickshire, Leicestershire | 64,828 | 15.7 | 25.3 |
M73 | An eastern bypass of Glasgow. | North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire | 95,331 | 7.0 | 11.3 |
M74 | A north-south motorway linking Glasgow to North West England. Continues as the A74(M) south of Abington. | Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire | 107,475 | 40 | 60 |
M77 | A north-south motorway linking Glasgow to Kilmarnock. | Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire | 94,151 | 20.0 | 32.2 |
M80 | A southwest-northeast motorway linking Glasgow to Stirling. | Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling | 104,305 | 25.0 | 40.2 |
M90 | A south-north motorway linking Edinburgh to Perth. | Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross | 76,503 | 36.0 | 57.9 |
M180 | A west-east motorway linking Thorne to Grimsby. Continues as the A180 after the exit for the Humber Bridge. | South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire | 48,780 | 25.0 | 40.2 |
M181 | A spur of the M180 leading to Scunthorpe. | Lincolnshire | 18,213 | 2.0 | 3.2 |
M271 | A spur of the M27 bypassing Southampton to the west. | Hampshire | 53,678 | 2.3 | 3.7 |
M275 | A spur from the M27 to central Portsmouth. | Hampshire | 86,291 | 2.0 | 3.2 |
M602 | A west-east motorway linking the M62 to Salford. | Greater Manchester | 73,292 | 4.0 | 6.4 |
M606 | A spur from the M62 to Bradford. | West Yorkshire | 77,277 | 3.0 | 4.8 |
M621 | An east-west motorway linking Leeds to the M1 and M62. | West Yorkshire | 103,207 | 7.7 | 12.4 |
M876 | A southwest-northeast motorway linking Bonnybridge to Kincardine. | Falkirk | 42,611 | 8.0 | 12.9 |
M898 | A spur from the M8 leading to Erskine Bridge. | Renfrewshire | 51,831 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
Link | Route | Ceremonial counties (England) Council areas (Scotland) Principal areas (Wales) |
Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019 |
---|---|---|---|
A1(M) | A south-north motorway split into four sections:
|
Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Tyne and Wear | 143,012 |
A3(M) | A north-south motorway linking the A3 to the A27 near Portsmouth. | Hampshire | 92,989 |
A8(M) | A spur from the M8 and M73 to Ballieston. | Glasgow | 10,586 |
A38(M) | A spur from the M6 to central Birmingham. | West Midlands | 146,908 |
A48(M) | A spur from the M4 to central Cardiff. | Newport, Cardiff | 47,203 |
A57(M) | Forms part of a ring road of Manchester. Also known as the Mancunian Way. | Greater Manchester | 90,785 |
A58(M) | Forms the western part of the Leeds inner ring road. | West Yorkshire | 81,647 |
A64(M) | Forms the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road. | 43,617 | |
A66(M) | A spur from the A1(M) to the A66 near Darlington. | North Yorkshire | 15,337 |
A74(M) | A north-south motorway linking the M74 to North West England. Continues as the M6. | South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria | 41,662 |
A167(M) | An urban motorway in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. | Tyne and Wear | 63,911 |
A194(M) | A south-north motorway linking the A1(M) to the Tyne Tunnel. | 42,802 | |
A308(M) | A spur from the M4 to Bray. | Berkshire | 23,541 |
A329(M) | An east-west motorway linking Bracknell to Reading. | 69,520 | |
A404(M) | A spur from the M4 to High Wycombe. Continues as the A404 west of Maidenhead. | 59,816 | |
A627(M) | A south-north motorway linking Rochdale to Chadderton. | Greater Manchester | 55,749 |
A823(M) | A spur from the M90 to Dunfermline. | Fife | 20,363 |
A1077(M) | A spur from the M181 to Scunthorpe. | Lincolnshire | 18,213 |
Roads which used to be motorways but have been downgraded:
Link | Description |
---|---|
M10 | A short spur northwest bound and southeast bound linking St Albans to the M1 near Hemel Hempstead. After 50 years as a motorway spur, it was downgraded to the A414 in 2009 due to widening of the M1 between the M25 and Luton. |
M15 | The designation for the Ringway 2 upgrade of the A406 (North Circular Road) and A205 (South Circular Road). Only the section between junction 4 of the M11 and Redbridge Roundabout was built to motorway standard and was initially signed as M11 because the section built, at the time, only led to and from the M11. When the route was extended to Beckton, this section of M11 was redesignated as the A406 (North Circular Road). |
M41 | The London West Cross Route, a spur from the London Westway (A40(M)) and the only part of the western section of the London Motorway Box to be built; downgraded to the A3220 in 2000. |
A36(M) | Claimed number for the spur at M27 J2. Initially part of the M27 until the Totton Western Bypass opened after which it was downgraded to an extension of the A36. The A36(M) designation was never used; the route was simply named as a spur of the M27. |
A40(M) | The London Westway, downgraded to the A40 in 2000. |
A41(M) | The Tring bypass, downgraded to the A41 in 1987. |
A46(M) | A spur towards Leicester from the M1 at J21. Downgraded to the A5460 in 1976 due to completion of the M69. |
A102(M) | The London East Cross Route, in two sections:
|
A329(M) | The northern third of the A329(M) from Winnersh to Reading was downgraded to the A3290 in the early 1990s to permit Reading council to dedicate one lane for buses. |
A601(M) | The southern part (single carriageway link to the B6254) is now the B6601. Downgraded in 2020 to enable access to adjacent development. The remainder of the route was downgraded to the A6070 in 2023. |
A6144(M) | Formerly the longest single-carriageway motorway spur in the United Kingdom from the M60 north of Sale towards Carrington. Downgraded to a spur of the A6144 in 2006. |
Link | Description |
---|---|
M16 | Northern and western sections of Ringway 3; completed sections are now part of the M25. |
M52 | Planned as a Liverpool-to-Manchester motorway; nearly all of it opened as part of the M62 cross-country route, and a short section as the M64 (later M602) in Manchester. |
M62 | Originally planned to be the western loop around Manchester and Salford; became part of the M63 before the western extension of the M62 was opened; now the M60 J7-J13. |
M63 | Manchester South Orbital; merged with parts of the M62 and M66 in 1999 to form the new M60 Manchester orbital motorway. |
M64 | Eccles Bypass, formerly part of the M52; it was not considered important enough to carry a two-digit number (and it had not yet opened) and was redesignated as M602. |
M65 | Gildersome to Leeds Motorway; not considered important enough (and it had not yet opened) to carry a two-digit number, it was redesignated as M621. |
M68 | Allocated to the southern and eastern sections of the Manchester Outer Ring Road. The eastern section became a portion of the M66 when it opened north of the M62 in the early 1970s and was renumbered to M60 J18-19 in 1998 while the southern section was eventually dropped altogether by 2010. |
M85 | Renumbered to M90 J10-11 in 1994. Previously the M90 carried on along the spur into Perth, leaving the main route ahead as the M85. |
M531 | Ellesmere Port Motorway; was the A5032 before 1975. Now the M53 J5-10. |
A1(M) | Central Motorway East; became the A6127(M) when the A1 was rerouted to run through the Tyne Tunnel. Now the A167(M). |
A2(M) | Provisional number for the Medway Motor Road, a bypass of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester. Changed to M2 as a result of an article in the 15 December 1959 edition of The Daily Telegraph. |
A4(M) | Maidenhead Bypass; became a portion of the M4 and later part of the A423(M). Now the A404(M). A small section was abandoned. |
A5(M) | Provisional number for the Wellington Bypass, redesignated as the M54 before construction was complete. |
A8(M) | Provisional number for the Renfrew Bypass, now part of the M8. |
A14(M) | Secretive (unsigned) motorway linking the A14 and A1(M) near Huntingdon. Documents referred the route as A14(M) or A604(M). Became a part of A1(M) when the A14(M) designation was moved to the Huntingdon-Cambridge section of the A14. |
A18(M) | A spur from the M18 to the A18 north of Doncaster. Mostly now part of the M180, although a section has been abandoned. |
A20(M) | Maidstone Bypass; now the M20 J5-8. |
A21(M) | Disputed, secret number for the section of the A21 Sevenoaks bypass that became the M25 in 1986. |
A23(M) | Original number of the M23. |
A40(M) | Provisional number for the High Wycombe and Beaconsfield bypasses. The Beaconsfield bypass was changed to M40 before it opened. It is not clear when the High Wycombe bypass was renumbered, but it too is now the M40. |
A48(M) | Morriston Bypass; now the M4 J44-46. |
A48(M) | Port Talbot Bypass; now the M4 J39-41. |
A50 | Provisional number for the M1. |
A62(M) | Original designation for the Leeds Southeastern Urban Motorway, now the M621. |
A65(M) | Erroneous designation for the A64(M), either a map error or a deliberate trap street. |
A185(M) | Map error for A194(M), appearing in a 1969 map. Number officially never used. |
A423(M) | Originally A4(M) and then part of the M4. Now the A404(M). |
A446(M) | Provisional number for the M6 Toll. |
A638(M) | Provisional number for the M606. |
A1231(M) | Unsigned spur from the A1(M) near Washington services. Now part of the A195(M), also unsigned. |
A6127(M) | Originally A1(M); now the A167(M). |
The Adwick-le-Street to M62 stretch of the A1 is under consideration for upgrade to motorway standard, meaning the A1 between Blyth, south of Doncaster, to Birtley near Gateshead, would all be part of the same A1(M) stretch of motorway.
In addition, the proposal to put a tunnel under the River Thames to the east of Dartford Crossing and the revived Birmingham Western Orbital plans are both described as motorways.
There have been many plans for motorways in the UK that have not been built. Below is a list of plans that were not built (not exhaustive):
Many cities had urban motorway plans, most of which were not built. London, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester/SELNEC and Glasgow all had extensive plans.
Link | Route | Council areas |
---|---|---|
M1 | Linking Belfast to Dungannon. | Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Mid Ulster |
M2 | In two sections, one linking Belfast to Antrim, and the other bypassing Ballymena. The section in between was planned, but never built. | Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim |
M3 | Linking the M2 in north Belfast to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. | Belfast |
M5 | Linking the M2 in north Belfast to Newtownabbey. | Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey |
M12 | A spur from the M1 near Derrymacash to the north of Portadown. | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon |
M22 | Linking the M2 at Antrim to Randalstown. | Antrim and Newtownabbey |
Link | Route | Council areas |
---|---|---|
A8(M) | A spur from the M2 near Glengormley to the A8 north-west of Newtownabbey. | Antrim and Newtownabbey |
The following motorways were planned, but never built:
There were also urban motorway plans for Belfast.