{% set previous = arguments.year - 1 %}{% set next = arguments.year + 1 %}
{% if arguments.year > 1957 and arguments.year < 2025 %}
{% if previous > 1957 %}{{ previous }}{% else %}{{ previous }}{% endif %} {{ arguments.year }} {% if next < 2025 %}{{ next }}{% else %}{{ next }}{% endif %}
{% else %}{% endif %}
No new motorways were opened in this year.
In this section
- Select a route
- M1
- M2
- M3
- M4
- M5
- M6
- M6 Toll
- M8
- M9
- M10
- M11
- M18
- M20
- M23
- M25
- M26
- M27
- M32
- M40
- M42
- M45
- M48
- M49
- M50
- M53
- M54
- M55
- M56
- M57
- M58
- M60
- M61
- M62
- M65
- M66
- M67
- M69
- M73
- M74
- M77
- M80
- M90
- M180
- M181
- M271
- M275
- M602
- M606
- M621
- M876
- M898
- M1 (NI)
- M2 (NI)
- M3 (NI)
- M5 (NI)
- M12 (NI)
- M22 (NI)
- A1
- A2
- A3
- A11
- A12
- A13
- A14
- A15
- A19
- A21
- A23
- A30
- A34
- A38 (Devon)
- A38 (Midlands)
- A40 (Ross-Raglan)
- A40 (Raglan-Abergavenny)
- A41
- A42
- A50
- A55
- A64
- A120
- A168
- A282
- A303
- A406
- A417
- A419
- A421
- A449
- A465
- A470
- A500
- A720
- A1203
- A1261
- A5148
- A5300
- A12 (NI)
- A1(M)
- A3(M)
- A8(M)
- A38(M)
- A48(M)
- A57(M)
- A58(M)
- A64(M)
- A66(M)
- A74(M)
- A167(M)
- A194(M)
- A308(M)
- A329(M)
- A404(M)
- A601(M)
- A627(M)
- A823(M)
- A1077(M)
- A6144(M)
- A8(M) (NI)
- Chronology Maps
- Location search
- Key to exit lists
What's new
The road that made no sense
It was the UK's only single-carriageway motorway, and twenty years ago it ceased to exist. This is the story of the strange fascination it held, and of my place in history.
The forever bottleneck, part 2
The second part of the story, where we learn why exactly the M4 gets narrower on the final approach to Europe’s biggest city.
The forever bottleneck, part 1
The M4 into London was one of the UK's earliest and most ambitious motorway projects. It was bold, pioneering... and almost instantly regretted.