Where is it?
M1 junction 13, unlucky for some. The southern of two M1 junctions for Milton Keynes and Bedford.
It was nominated by Chris Williams and Paul Robson, among countless others.
What's wrong with it?
In simple terms, the main junction providing access between Milton Keynes and Bedford (collective population of around 200,000) and London and the south east looks like this. It's a diamond interchange that's had a small roundabout glued on one side. It's so ridiculously inappropriate for the amount of traffic using it that visitors to Milton Keynes must find themselves looking further up the M1 in disbelief, thinking this must be a local exit serving a few villages or something. I'm at a loss to come up with words to describe this; it's just truly absurd.
Why is it wrong?
To be fair, the reason for this junction's sorry state is because the chain of events leading to today's situation is in an unusual order. Milton Keynes is a new town, housing around 270,000 people, which was only built in the late 1960s. This junction and the M1 itself, however, have been here since 1959. The motorway's planners couldn't have envisaged anything much turning off here — let alone 230,000 people using it whenever they headed south — particularly when even Bedford traffic was expected to use the A6 and junction 12 further south.
What none of this answers satisfactorily is why neither the designers of Milton Keynes, with its countless miles of dual carriageway, nor any politician since, has done anything at all to improve access between the new town and the M1. It is this fact that makes the whole thing so utterly shambolic.
What would be better?
How about a dualled A421 leading to free-flow links with the southbound M1? The good news is that the Highways Agency now (at last) have plans to do something, though it's taken the possibility of a new dual carriageway from the Bedford Bypass to here to make them think about it. What's planned? Two more roundabouts and a new flyover to the north to bypass the junction for through traffic. Genius.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go cry into a pillow.
I had the misfortune of experiencing this junction on Sunday afternoon, coming from Center Parcs to head north on the M1. I dread to think what it’s like on a weekday. Two lanes of traffic on the roundabout queuing to get onto the M1 southbound slip road, which was practically stationary. Luckily a couple of fellow motorists let me in to get across otherwise I’d still be there now!