M1 motorway

M1 sign

The M1 south at Barnsley, Yorkshire

The M1 is a north–south motorway in Great Britain connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom; the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the Preston By-pass, which later became part of the M6.

The motorway is 193 miles long and was constructed in four phases. Most of the motorway was opened between 1959 and 1968 but the southern end was extended in 1977 and the northern end was extended in 1999.

The M1 is the major north-south route and heavily used. It is also notorious for its constant roadworks and accordingly unpredictable, lengthy delays to each journey.

Route

Yorkshire

The M1-M621 interchange at Leeds

The northern end of the M1 is Junction 48; its junction with the A1M between Micklefield and Aberford in the West Riding of Yorkshire. From here it runs west and south-west to pass to the south of Leeds, the spurs off to the city at Junctions 44 and 43, the latter with the M621 Leeds South Eastern Urban Motorway. With the M62 and M621, the M1 forms a ring of motorways around the south of Leeds.

From Leeds, the M1 heads generally south between the West Riding towns, west of Wakefield then Barnsley. From junctions 34 to 33, the M1 passes south-eastwards between the vast urban areas of Sheffield (west) and Rotherham (east), then heads east to meet the M18 (to Doncaster and Hull) at junction 32. From here the M1 heads due south once again, entering Derbyshire at Woodhall Services, north of Junction 30.

Midlands

The M1 is the major arterial route north-south through the Midlands, though it passes through no major Midland towns. The route takes the motorway south through:

• Derbyshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Derbyshire again, where it grazes Long Eaton)
• Leicestershire (passing East Midlands Airport and along the edge of the outer suburbs of Leicester)
• Northamptonshire (where it passes through the Watford Gap then turns south-east and runs south-west of Northampton)
• Buckinghamshire (east of Milton Keynes)
• Bedfordshire (between Luton and Dunstable, where it turns south again)

- and into Hertfordshire.

Home Counties

In the Home Counties, the M1 passes through:

• Hertfordshire (the corridor between Hemel Hempstead, west, and St Albans, east, meeting the M25 motorway at Bricket Wood, its major junction, then passing east of Watford)
• Middlesex

Entering Middlesex near Bushey Heath, the M1 has little open countryside left on its route as the metropolitan conurbation soon swallows its corridor, and from Edgware south it is an urban motorway.

The M1 ends, or begins, at Junction 1 with the North Circular Road (the A406) at Brent Cross / Dollis Hill in Middlesex, close by a more ancient route; Watling Street, a Roman road.

History

There had been plans since before the Second World War for a motorway network in the United Kingdom. Lord Montagu formed a company to build a 'motorway like road' from London to Birmingham in 1923, but it was a further 26 years before the Special Roads Act 1949 was passed which allowed for the construction of roads limited to a limited vehicle classifications and the 1950s when the country's first motorways were given the government go-ahead. The first section of motorway was the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, which opened in 1958 (now part of the M6 motorway). The M1 was Britain's first full-length motorway and opened in 1959.

The first section of the motorway opened between Junction 5 (Watford) and junction 18 (Crick / Rugby) on 2 November 1959 together with the motorway's two spurs, the M10 (from junction 7 to south of St Albans originally connecting to the A1) and the M45 (from junction 17 to the A45 and Coventry).

The M1 was officially inaugurated from Slip End (close to Luton), this was celebrated by a large concrete slab on the bridge next to the village with inscription "London-Yorkshire Motorway - This slab was sealed by the Rt Hon Harold Watkinson MP - Minister of Transport - Inauguration Day - 24th March 1958". It was removed during widening works in 2007-8.

Originally, the M1 was planned to end at Doncaster but it was decided to make what was going to be the "Leeds and Sheffield Spur" the primary route with the 11-mile section to the A1(M) south of Doncaster given a separate motorway number.

Between 1996 and 1999 the M1 section north of the M62 underwent a major reconstruction and extension to take the M1 on a new route to the A1(M) at Aberford. The new road involved the construction of a series of new junctions, bridges and viaducts to the east of Leeds. When the new section of M1 was completed and opened on 4 February 1999, the Leeds South Eastern Motorway section of the M1 was redesignated as the M621 and the junctions were given new numbers (M621 junctions 4 to 7).

New concepts

Motorways required new thought, much of it developed on the M1 as it was developed and as use of the motorway continued. The lighting of motorways began here in 1973. The now familiar "tensioned safety barriers" were announced for the M1 in March 1973.

Notable events

• In March 1972, 200 vehicles crashed in thick fog resulting in the deaths of nine people on the M1 north of Luton, Bedfordshire.

• On 8 January 1989, The Kegworth air disaster: forty seven passengers died when a Boeing 737 crashed onto the embankment of the M1 whilst attempting an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire.

• On 6 September 1997, large sections of the northbound carriageway were closed between London and Althorp, Northamptonshire to allow for the funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales. In an unprecedented event, police allowed pedestrians onto the normally busy northbound carriageway almost the entire length of the route to pay their respects.

• In 2002, a section of the M1 near Milton Keynes was cleared using mobile police roadblocks to allow for filming of the film 28 Days Later.

• An 18-mile stretch of the motorway was closed entirely on the morning of 11 December 2005, following a major explosion and fire at the Buncefield Oil Depot in Hemel Hempstead, which is less than half a mile from the M1.

• In June 2007, the section of M1 between Junctions 32 and 36 was closed for a number of days after the Ulley Reservoir developed cracks after being deluged in the June 2007 United Kingdom floods.

• Part of the motorway close to Tinsley Viaduct was closed to allow safe demolition of the Tinsley cooling towers in the early hours of the 24 August 2008. the M1 remaining closed for much of the day until the stability of the viaduct was confirmed.

• On 15 April 2011, a seven-mile stretch of the road was closed between junctions 1 and 4 due to a fire at a scrapyard underneath the motorway, which turned out to be arson.

Junctions

M1 motorway
Junction	miles	Northbound exits (A Carriageway)	Southbound exits (B Carriageway)
Middlesex
J1 M1 - Southern terminus	7	Start of motorway	North Circular (West), Brent Cross A406
J2	9	No access	North Circular (East) A406 The City A1
Services	12	London Gateway services	London Gateway services
J4	13	No access	Edgware A41
Hertfordshire
J5	17	Aylesbury, Watford A41	Harrow A41 Watford A4008
J6	20	St Albans, Heathrow Airport, Harlow A405	North Watford A405
J6a M1 - M25 interchange	21	No access	Heathrow, Gatwick, M40, M4, M3, Stansted Airport M11, M20, M25
J7	23	No access	St Albans, Hatfield A414
J8	24	Hemel Hempstead A414	Hemel Hempstead
J9	28	Redbourn A5183	Dunstable A5, Redbourn A5183
Bedfordshire
J10	31	Luton Airport A1081	Luton Airport A1081
J11	34	Luton, Dunstable A505	Luton, Dunstable A505
Services	39	Toddington services	Toddington services
J12	39	Flitwick, Woburn A5120	Flitwick, Houghton Regis A5120
J13	45½	Milton Keynes (South), Bedford A421 Ampthill A507	Milton Keynes (South), Bedford A421 Woburn, Ampthill A507
Buckinghamshire
J14	50	Milton Keynes (Central), Newport Pagnell A509	Milton Keynes (Central), Newport Pagnell A509
Services	54	Newport Pagnell services	Newport Pagnell services
Northamptonshire
J15	62	Northampton A45 Milton Keynes (North) A508	Northampton A45 Milton Keynes (North) A508
J15a Services	65	Northampton, Oxford A43 (M40) Northampton Services	Northampton, Oxford A43 (M40) Northampton services
J16	68	Daventry A45	Northampton A4500
Services	75½	Watford Gap services	Watford Gap services
J17	77	Coventry M45	No access
J18	79	Hinckley A5 Rugby A428 DIRFT	Daventry, DIRFT A428
Leicestershire
J19 M1 - M6 - A14 interchange	83	The North West M6	The North West M6 Felixstowe, Corby, Kettering A14
J20	86	Lutterworth A4303 Market Harborough A4304	Lutterworth, Rugby A4303
J21	97	Coventry M69 Leicester A5460	Coventry, Birmingham M69 Leicester A5460
Services	98	Leicester Forest East services	Leicester Forest East services
J21a	100	Leicester, Newark A46	No access
J22	105	Coalville, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A511	Leicester |A50, Coalville A511
J23	109	Loughborough, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A512	Loughborough, Ashby-de-la-Zouch A512
J23a Services	114	The South West, Tamworth, Birmingham A42 (M42) East Midlands Airport A453 Donington Park services	The South West, Tamworth, Birmingham, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, A42 (M42)
J24	116	Stoke A50 Derby A6 Nottingham South/Centre A453	Loughborough A6 East Midlands Airport A453 Donington Park services
J24a	116	No access	Stoke A50, Derby A6
Derbyshire
J25	121	Derby, Nottingham West/Centre A52	Nottingham South, Derby A52
Services	125	Trowell services	Trowell services
Nottinghamshire
J26	127	Ripley, Eastwood, Nottingham North/Centre A610	Nottingham, Ilkeston A610
J27	132	Mansfield A608	Heanor, Hucknall A608
Derbyshire
J28	136	Mansfield, Matlock A38	Matlock A38
Services	139	Tibshelf services	Tibshelf services
J29	143	Chesterfield A617	Mansfield, Matlock A617
J29a		Markham Vale A6192 Bolsover (A632)	Markham Vale A6192 Bolsover (A632)
J30	149	Sheffield, Worksop A6135	Chesterfield, Newark A616
Yorkshire
Services	152	Woodall services	Woodall services
J31	155	Sheffield (SE) A57	Worksop A57
J32 M1 - M18 interchange	157	The North, Doncaster, Hull M18
J33	160	Sheffield (centre), Rotherham, A630	Sheffield (centre), Rotherham, A630
J34	162	Meadowhall, Sheffield, Rotherham A6178	Meadowhall, Rotherham A6109
J35	166	Rotherham A629	Rotherham A629
J35a	168	Manchester A616	No access
J36	169	Barnsley A61	Sheffield A61
J37	173	Barnsley, Manchester A628	Barnsley, Manchester A628
J38	177	Huddersfield, Barnsley A637	Huddersfield, Barnsley A637
180	Services	Woolley Edge services	Woolley Edge services
J39	181	Denby Dale A636	Denby Dale A636
J40	184	Wakefield, Dewsbury, Batley A638	Wakefield, Dewsbury A638
J41	186	Wakefield, Morley A650	Wakefield, Morley A650
J42 M1 - M62 interchange	188	Hull, Manchester, Bradford, Liverpool M62	Hull, Manchester M62
J43	189	Leeds M621	No access
J44	191	Leeds A639	Leeds A639
J45	192	Leeds A63	Leeds A63
J46	195	Leeds A6120 Selby A63	Leeds A6120
J47	198	Garforth A642 The SOUTH (A1)	Castleford A656 Garforth A642
A1(M), J43 M1 - Northern terminus	199	The North, Wetherby A1(M)	Start of motorway

Outside links

• CBRD Motorway Database - M1
• The M1 on SABRE
• Qview - Current M1 Traffic Conditions
• Highways Agency
• The Motorway Archive:
  • Hendon to Crick
  • Crick to Doncaster
  • Aston to Leeds
  • M1/M18
  • M1 extension to A1(M)
• UK-Roads.org.uk - Images of M1
• The London - Yorkshire Motorway - History of the construction of the first section of M1
• BBC website The Backbone of Britain contains link to a video of 2'42" in length

References

Books

• History of design, construction and use of M1 in late 1950s and 1960s [1]