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M1 |
The eastern north-south motorway linking London (Hendon) to Leeds and continuing north to the A1 near Garforth. The first inter-urban motorway. |
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M2 |
In Kent from Rochester to Faversham. Bypasses the Medway Towns. |
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M3 |
Linking Sunbury-on-Thames to Southampton. |
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M4 |
Linking London (Hammersmith) to South Wales, just beyond Pontarddulais. |
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M5 |
Linking the M6 at Great Barr (on the Birmingham/ West Bromwich/ Walsall border) to Exminster near Exeter. |
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M6 |
The western north-south motorway linking the M1 near Rugby to Carlisle. |
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M6 Toll |
A toll motorway bypassing a busy stretch of the M6 around the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas from near Coleshill to Cannock. |
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M8 |
Linking Edinburgh to the A8 at Langbank, via Glasgow and Livingston. There is a gap in the motorway between Chapelhall and Bargeddie (south-east and south-west of Coatbridge) where the road is classified as the A8. |
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M9 |
Linking the M8 just west of Edinburgh to Dunblane via Stirling and Falkirk. |
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M10 |
A short spur linking St Albans to the M1 near Hemel Hempstead. |
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M11 |
Linking London (Woodford) to Cambridge. |
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M18 |
Linking the M1 at Rotherham to the M62 near Goole. |
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M20 |
Linking the M25 at Swanley to Folkestone. |
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M23 |
Linking Hooley in Surrey (just north of the M25, and south of Coulsdon) to Crawley. |
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M25 |
The London orbital motorway, numbered clockwise from Dartford around London to Thurrock. (The Dartford Crossing between Thurrock and Dartford is not classified as a motorway, being the A282.) |
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M26 |
A short link between the M25 at Sevenoaks and the M20 before Maidstone. |
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M27 |
The south coast route running from Cadnam, west of Southampton, to Portsmouth. |
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M32 |
A spur from the M4 near Winterbourne to central Bristol. |
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M40 |
Linking Uxbridge, west London, to the M42 south of Solihull. |
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M42 |
Part of the Birmingham orbital motorway, from the M5 near Bromsgrove, running around the south and east of Birmingham and continuing north towards Measham. A section near Coleshill has been replaced by the M6 Toll. |
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M45 |
A short spur linking the A45 south west of Rugby to the M1 south east of Rugby and north of Daventry. |
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M48 |
The Severn Bridge, linking the M4 near Thornbury to the M4 near Caldicot over the River Severn. This used to be the M4 before the Second Severn Crossing was built. |
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M49 |
A short link from the M5 to the M4 west of Bristol. |
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M50 |
Linking the M5 north of Tewkesbury to Ross-on-Wye. |
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M53 |
Linking Wallasey and Chester. |
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M54 |
Linking the M6 north of Wolverhampton to Wellington west of Telford. |
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M55 |
Linking the M6 north of Preston to Blackpool. |
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M56 |
Linking Manchester (Gatley) to the A5117 between Ellesmere Port and Chester. |
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M57 |
The Liverpool bypass running north-west from the M62 near Huyton to Switch Island between Maghull and Aintree. |
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M58 |
Linking Switch Island (between Maghull and Aintree, northern Liverpool) to Wigan. |
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M60 |
The Manchester Outer Ring Road, an orbital motorway, numbered clockwise from Stockport. |
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M61 |
Linking Bamber Bridge near Preston to Manchester (Worsley). |
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M62 |
The trans-Pennine link - connecting Liverpool to the A63 between North Cave and Newport, west of Kingston upon Hull. There is a gap in the motorway between Winton and Simister where the road has been reclassified to become the northern part of the M60 Manchester orbital motorway. |
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M65 |
Linking Bamber Bridge near Preston to Colne. |
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M66 |
Linking Ramsbottom to the M60 at Whitefield, north Manchester. |
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M67 |
Linking the M60 at Denton, east Manchester, to Hattersley, east of Hyde. |
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M69 |
Linking Coventry to Leicester. |
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M73 |
Linking the M74 near Uddingston to the A80, south-west of Cumbernauld. |
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M74 |
Linking Glasgow (Rutherglen) to the A74(M) at Abington. |
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M77 |
Linking the M8 at Glasgow (Pollokshields) to Fenwick near Kilmarnock. |
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M80 |
Linking the M8 at Glasgow (Blochairn) and the M9 south of Stirling. There is a long gap in the motorway between Stepps (north-east Glasgow) and Haggs, near Falkirk, where the road is classified as the A80. |
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M90 |
Linking Inverkeithing, north of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth. |
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M96 |
Not open to the public, but part of the Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh. Sometimes erroneously referred to as the M91. |
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M180 |
Linking the M18 at Thorne to the junction of the A15 (south of the Humber Bridge) and A180 (west of Grimsby). |
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M181 |
A spur from the M180 running to the west of Scunthorpe. |
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M271 |
Spurs from the M27 heading north to the A3057 (south of Romsey), and south to Totton. |
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M275 |
A spur from the M27 on Horsea Island into Portsmouth (Landport). |
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M602 |
Linking the M62 at Winton to Salford, just west of the centre of Manchester. |
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M606 |
A spur from the M62 near Cleckheaton into Bradford. |
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M621 |
Linking the M62 at Gildersome to the M1 near Rothwell. The motorway runs close to the centre of Leeds. |
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M876 |
Linking the M80 near Denny, north-west of Falkirk, to the A876 near the Kincardine Bridge. A short section of the motorway north of Stenhousemuir is classified as the M9. |
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M898 |
A spur from the M8 near Erskine to the A898, the Erskine Bridge approach road. |
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A1(M) |
The parts of the A1 between London and Gateshead that have been upgraded to motorway. There are six sections of the A1 that have been upgraded:
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A3(M) |
Linking Horndean to Havant. |
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A38(M) |
A spur from the M6 at the Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) 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. |
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A48(M) |
Linking the M4 near Castleton to Cardiff (St Mellons). |
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A57(M) |
Known as the Mancunian Way, forms the southern part of Manchester's inner ring road, running from a junction on Deansgate to the A635 near Piccadilly Station. It is elevated and runs through the centre of the campus of UMIST, now part of the University of Manchester. |
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A58(M) |
The western part of the Leeds inner ring road, running from Wellington Road (A58) to join the A64(M) at the junction with Claypit Lane (also A58). |
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A64(M) |
The eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road, running from the A58(M) at the junction with Claypit Lane (A58), to York Road (A64). |
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A66(M) |
A spur from the A1(M) near Cleasby joining the A66 heading into Darlington. |
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A74(M) |
Linking the M74 at Abington to Gretna. |
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A167(M) |
An urban motorway in central Newcastle upon Tyne running from just north of the Tyne Bridge to just north of Newcastle University. |
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A194(M) |
Linking the A1(M) at Birtley (near Gateshead) to A194 near Wardley, leading to the Tyne Tunnel. |
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A308(M) |
Linking the M4 junction 8/9 to the A308 near Bray. |
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A329(M) |
Linking Bracknell to Winnersh near Reading, crossing the M4. |
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A404(M) |
Linking the M4 junction 8/9 to the A4 at Maidenhead Thicket. |
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A601(M) |
A spur from the M6 at Carnforth to the A6 near Warton. The southern part is single carriageway. |
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A627(M) |
Linking Rochdale and Chadderton near Oldham, crossing the M62. |
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A823(M) |
A spur from the M90 near Rosyth to the A823 south of Dunfermline. |
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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 onto the M11. When the route was extended to Beckton, the section of M11 was redesignated as the A406. |
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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, now A3220.[1] |
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A18(M) |
A spur from M18. Mostly now part of M180, although a section has been abandoned. |
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A40(M) |
The London Westway, now the A40.[1] |
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A41(M) |
The Tring bypass, now the A41[2]. |
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A46(M) |
A spur towards Leicester from M1 at junction 21, now part of the A563[3]. |
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A102(M) |
The London East Cross Route, in two sections:
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A329(M) |
The northern third of the A329(M) from Winnersh to Reading, now the A3290. Downgraded to permit Reading council to dedicate one lane for buses. |
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A6144(M) |
Formerly the longest single-carriageway motorway spur in the United Kingdom from the M60 north of Sale towards Carrington. Now just a spur of the A6144. |
There have been many plans for motorways in the UK that have not been built, for one reason or the other. A lack of money or political will, environmental reasons, traffic reasons and public opposition being the main ones. Below is a list of plans that weren't built (not exhaustive):
The following motorways were planned, but never built.