M5

M5

Birmingham to Exeter

Not just the road from the Midlands to South Wales and Bristol, but also the way from most of the UK to holidays in the South West. The M5 is a busy road, but never busier than in the summer holidays.

Routes
M5

Opening booklets

In days gone by, new roads were often celebrated with a grand opening ceremony and the issue of a commemorative booklet heralding the exciting new highway. You'll find some of them here, complete with a glimpse of all that empty tarmac and a healthy dose of modernist optimism.

Histories

What's new

Skid Risk, Accident, Fog

For the first time, we can share pictures of the pioneering experiment that lit up the Worcestershire countryside with enormous signs 61 years ago.

All change

In July 2024, a new Government entered office with a very different set of priorities. What does it mean for a faltering roads programme?

A century of motorways

It's 100 years since the opening of the world's first motorway, the Autostrada from Milan to the Lakes.

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The Heads of the Valleys

The A465 Heads of the Valleys Road is one of the most spectacular trunk roads in the UK, and building it required some of the most remarkable civil engineering. This is the story of how the road was built in the 1960s, and how it's being rebuilt today.