M1 motorway

:There are also M1 motorways in Northern Ireland (see M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)) and the Republic of Ireland (see M1 motorway (Republic of Ireland))

Related Topics:
Northern Ireland - M1 motorway (Northern Ireland) - Republic of Ireland - M1 motorway (Republic of Ireland)

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The M1 is a major north-south motorway in England connecting London to Yorkshire, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford.

Related Topics:
Motorway - England - London - Yorkshire - A1(M)

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The motorway is 187 miles (301 km) long and was constructed in stages between the 1950s and 1970s, with a further extension in the late 1990s. It was the first full-length motorway to be built in the United Kingdom, and was opened on November 2 1959 between junctions 5 and 18, along with the M10 and M45 spurs.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1970s - 1990s - United Kingdom - November 2 - 1959

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The M1 was first opened as a St Albans Bypass (j5-10a and M10) and London to Birmingham route (j10-18 and M45) broadly following the route of the A5. It started south of St Albans on the Watford Bypass which connected it to the main A1 at Apex Corner. At the northern end it linked to the A5 at Crick, with a spur (M45) to connect to the A45 to Coventry and then on to Birmingham. The alternate branch (M10) at the southern end was to the North Orbital Road (the forerunner to the M25) at Park Street (where the A5 also meets it). The M1 was extended in two stages to London, terminating between the junctions of the A406 "North Circular" with the A5 ("Staples Corner") and A41 ("Brent Cross Flyover"). The first stage to London terminated at "Fiveways Corner", just north of the present Junction 2 (the A1 junction) and the original slip road is retained as an emergency exit route.

Related Topics:
Birmingham - A5 - St Albans - Watford - M45 - A45 - Coventry - M10 - A406 - A41 - A1

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The M1 was also planned to start further in to London (on ringway 1) than its present southern terminus. The northbound flyover from the other side of the roundabout, as well as the flare in the carriageways, show that the M1 was to go over the roundabout here.

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The first motorway service station in the UK was built at Watford Gap and later immortalised in song by Roy Harper.

Related Topics:
Motorway service station - Watford Gap - Roy Harper

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The M1 was always going to Yorkshire, and a series of extensions took it through the East Midlands. Originally, the M1 was to end at Doncaster, however it was decided to go over what was going to be the "Leeds and Sheffield Spur", with the stub of the M1 becoming, and opening as, the M18. There were plans to reroute the M1 from just south of the M62, round the west of Leeds and to the A1 at Dishforth, however these were changed to a route east of Leeds, which is now built, with the three miles of what was M1 renumbered as an extention of the M621. This is the only bit of road to have been renumbered from M1, regardless of what the authors of previous versions of this page think.

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It now broadly follows an arc to the west of the route taken by the older A1; though less direct, this route takes it closer to the major population centres of the East Midlands. A close approximation of its route using A-roads is: A5, A426, A6, A60, A57, A61.

Related Topics:
East Midlands - A5 - A426 - A6 - A60 - A57 - A61

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It passes close to Milton Keynes, Northampton, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Mansfield, Sheffield and Leeds. It also connects with the M6 and M45 motorways near Rugby, the M18 near Rotherham, the M25 near Potters Bar, the M69 at Leicester, and the M62 and M621 near Leeds.

Related Topics:
Milton Keynes - Northampton - Leicester - Derby - Nottingham - Mansfield - Sheffield - Leeds - M6 - Rugby - M18 - Rotherham - M25 - Potters Bar - M69 - M62 - M621

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