Chronology Maps

1960 1961 1962

Click a section name to see full details and a map.

Completed Route Name Start End Original number Other numbers
M4 Maidenhead Bypass J7 Huntercombe J8/9 Holyport
A404(M) Maidenhead Bypass M4 J8/9 Holyport J9B The Thicket M4 A423(M)
A1(M) Doncaster Bypass J34 Blyth J38 Red House

In this section

What's new

The monster seen from below

What might it have been like to stand in one spot and witness the arrival, and the uncertainty, of plans for an urban motorway in West London?

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.

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Mickleham Bends

Once it was one of the UK's most dangerous roads — just what is so special about a bit of dual carriageway in Surrey?