66-550: B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads . See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind the numbers allocated. (some data from openstreetmap.org) B roads in Great Britain In Great Britain , there is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads. Each road is given a single letter (representing
132-413: A category) and a subsequent number (between one and four digits). Though this scheme was introduced merely to simplify funding allocations, it soon became used on maps and as a method of navigation. There are two sub-schemes in use: one for motorways , and another for non-motorway roads. While some of Great Britain's major roads form part of the international E-road network , no E-routes are signposted in
198-402: A distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km). The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-roads at junction 4 (which is two lanes in both directions) and also between the slip-roads at junction 9 (in the south-eastbound direction only). An Active Traffic Management system operates on
264-781: A junction spans several hundred metres, both start and end locations are given. An Active Traffic Management system operates on the short section northbound from junction 16 ( A3400 ) to the M42 . Junction 1 of the M40 is at the Denham Roundabout near Uxbridge just east of the M25. The motorway is carried over the top of the roundabout, which interchanges with the A40, the A412, the A4020 and links to
330-461: A spur off the M40, with two-lane carriageways, leaves the mainline of the motorway as far as a trumpet junction for Wheatley and the A418, then continuing as the A40 towards Oxford . The spur can be accessed via the M40 northbound or by leaving the M40 at junction 8a southbound and crossing the M40 via the A418, and traffic heading towards the M40 can only join the southbound carriageway. Traffic going in
396-520: A temporary lane drop. The junction used to be a straightforward roundabout interchange with exits for the M40 (west and east), High Wycombe (A404), the A4010, two local roads and the A404 dual carriageway to the south. During 2007, work was completed which included extra stacking space on the sliproads from the M40, provision for traffic from the A404 northbound to join the M40 westbound slip road without joining
462-513: A very large volume of traffic using the junction. To try to alleviate this problem, there is a temporary lane drop for the London-bound carriageway. The largest exchange of traffic is between the A34 and the M40 north, and traffic on those roads backs up and causes congestion on both roads (going north and south), as well as on the interchange itself. North of the junction, the existing A34 becomes
528-574: Is "not advised". Exceptions to this are known in the forms of numbers on signs and past use of prefixes H and V on signs in Milton Keynes where main roads have a regular grid system . These designations are used when planning officers deal with certain planning applications , including the creation of a new vehicular access onto a highway. The letter Q is used for many important unclassified roads in Fife . In London, Cycleways are using
594-557: Is a restricted junction with the A329 serving Thame and the A40. Access is limited allowing exit for only northbound traffic and entry only for southbound traffic. The exiting slip road on the southbound M40 at junction 7 is for "Works Traffic Only" to a depot. A slip road allows traffic from the A329 to join the M40 north but is closed to motorway traffic by a gate, so traffic must continue for 2 miles (3.2 km)to junction 8. At junction 8,
660-659: Is between Zones 1 and 2, where the River Thames defines the boundary so that all of Kent is in Zone 2. The first digit in the number of any road should be the number of the furthest-anticlockwise zone entered by that road. For example, the A38 road , a trunk road running from Bodmin to Mansfield starts in Zone 3, and is therefore numbered with an A3x number, even though it passes through Zones 4 and 5 to end in Zone 6. Additionally,
726-550: Is denoted by the colour of the sign border and direction arrow, and can be summarised as follows: Roads and lanes with yet lower traffic densities are designated as unclassified roads commonly using C , D and U prefixes but, while these are numbered, in general this is done for use by the local authorities who are responsible for maintaining them and the non-unique numbering is in a local series which usually does not appear on road signs; use of local numbers on signs in England
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#1732783953553792-654: Is junction 12, serving Gaydon and the Heritage Motor Centre via the B4451 . The junction is a box-standard diamond interchange . Farther along the motorway is Warwick Services , the last on the motorway, before it reaches the restricted access junction 13. This serves Leamington Spa and Warwick via the A452 , and Gaydon via the B4100. The junction is incomplete as a half-diamond interchange, with access only from
858-475: Is the largest exchange of traffic between the two motorways. The M40 passes over the interchange, with the M25 on the bottom. The clockwise M25 enters the junction with four lanes with a lane drop to accommodate traffic heading for the M40 westbound, leaving the junction with three lanes. The anti-clockwise M25 enters the junction with three lanes and gains a lane from the London-bound M40 to accommodate
924-406: Is the standard roundabout interchange over the M40. Beaconsfield services are located at this junction. Junction 3 is 3 miles (4.8 km) further on, and serves the A40 for High Wycombe East and Loudwater. This is a restricted junction; the only flows are from the westbound M40 to the A40 and from the A40 to the London-bound M40. The westbound carriageway loses a lane, remaining three lanes for
990-592: The A13 (London to Shoeburyness); the next radial is the A2 , followed by the A20 (London to Dover), and so on. These roads have been numbered either outwards from or clockwise around their respective hubs, depending on their alignment. The system continues to three and four digit numbers which further split and criss-cross the radials. Lower numbers originate closer to London than higher numbered ones. As roads have been improved since
1056-635: The A3400 . This means the A34 is now technically in two halves (it regains status farther up the road at junction 16, although signs on the motorway do not mention this). Instead, the first signs for the A34 from a motorway are on the M42 at junction 4, as with the A41. The road also becomes part of the E05 north of junction 9. The M40 follows a course of almost due north for 5 miles (8.0 km) before reaching junction 10, for
1122-718: The C prefix and marked using pale green signs. There are also some CS prefixes for Cycle Superhighways, marked using magenta signs, but these are being phased out. Despite numerous large roads in Great Britain being part of the International E-road network , no road that forms part of this network is signposted as such and only the road's national designation is shown. The same is true in Northern Ireland. M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London , Oxford , and Birmingham in England,
1188-697: The Cherwell Valley services , the A43 and the village of Ardley . The A43 terminates at junction 10, although originally it carried on to Kidlington, the southern part of the old route now used by the re-routed A34. (The original A43 towards Oxford is now the B430.) The A43 serves Brackley, Silverstone and its racing circuit , home to the British Grand Prix . Farther on, the A43 leads to Northampton and
1254-511: The M1 the zones were defined for Zones 1 to 4 based on the proposed M2 , M3 and M4 motorways . The M5 and M6 numbers were reserved for the other two planned long distance motorways. The Preston Bypass , the UK's first motorway section, should have been numbered A6(M) under the scheme decided upon, but it was decided to keep the number M6 as had already been applied. The first full-length motorway in
1320-534: The 1960s, not long after the first stretch opened, the Ministry of Transport announced the possibility of building a new motorway to link London with Birmingham as an alternative to the M1 – M6 route – as well as improving road links to the South Coast ports for The Midlands – but it was not until 1983 that the decision to extend the M40 from Oxford to the south of Birmingham
1386-400: The A road designation, for example A3(M) , A329(M) , A38(M) , A48(M) and A627(M) . B roads are numbered distributor roads , which have lower traffic densities than the main trunk roads, or A roads. This classification has nothing to do with the width or quality of the physical road, and B roads can range from dual carriageways to single track roads with passing places. B roads follow
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#17327839535531452-712: The A1 in Newcastle upon Tyne has moved twice. Originally along the Great North Road, it then moved to the Tyne Tunnel , causing some of the roads in Zone 1 to lie in Zone 6. The designated A1 later moved to the western bypass around the city, and roads between the two found themselves back in Zone 1. For the most part the roads affected retained their original numbers throughout. Elsewhere when single-digit roads were bypassed, roads were often re-numbered in keeping with
1518-593: The A34 (E05) and the A41 . The A34 dual carriageway serves Oxford and is a trunk route for Newbury, Winchester and Southampton (via the M3 ) as well as the rest of the South Coast ;— for this the reason it is part of the unsigned European route E05. The A41 dual carriageway serves Bicester and Aylesbury, and both roads meet the motorway at Wendelbury roundabout junction. Its design is inefficient and cannot cope with
1584-562: The A413 off the A40 westbound. The motorway carries on for another 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) before it reaches junction 1a, the free-flow interchange with the M25 London Orbital . It is a partially unrolled cloverleaf, with the smoothest turns from the London-bound M40 (from Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands) to the anti-clockwise M25 (London Heathrow, Gatwick, The Channel Ports) and vice versa, since this
1650-528: The A43 (between the M1 and M40) was upgraded to dual carriageway, the junction was redesigned and rebuilt by the Highways Agency to cope with the extra traffic. A third roundabout was added to the junction, to the north, with the slips for the southbound M40 and the A43, with the slip roads for the northbound M40 remodelled as well, and the roundabout in the middle now serving the services. The slip road for
1716-508: The A452 to J13. A few hundred yards further up is junction 15, known as Longbridge island. This is a large, regular roundabout interchange, and is always busy during peak times due to the various destinations it serves, including The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, and Warwick. Farther north, Henley-in-Arden (J16) is again 'incomplete' to discourage local traffic. The motorway joins the M42 in both directions, with northbound traffic taking
1782-452: The B4009 for Lewknor , Watlington , and Chinnor . This junction is a variant on the diamond interchange, with the slip roads from the M40 having sharp bends. Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) after junction 6 the motorway passes to within 330 feet (100 m) of St Giles Church, Tetsworth and 2 miles (3.2 km) farther on meets the first of three junctions in close succession. Junction 7
1848-631: The Board's senior engineers, to devise a classification system and then assign numbers to the highways for identification purposes. The work was interrupted by the First World War . It did not resume until the Ministry of Transport was formed in 1919 and given authority to classify highways and to allocate funding for road maintenance, authority for which was granted by section 17 (2) of the Ministry of Transport Act 1919 . A classification system
1914-543: The London-bound M40; and a five-lane cross-link between the M40 and the A404(S). In 2009 the Highways Agency extended the Active Traffic Management (ATM) system onto the northbound carriageway from J16 to the junction with the M42. Beaconsfield services opened in 2009, near the site of the service station proposed at Abbey Barns almost 40 years earlier. In August 2010 work started on J9, upgrading
1980-515: The London-bound carriageway which used to be accessed from the roundabout is now reached only via the services. The design and execution of the revised design of new junction is greatly derided, mostly because of the three roundabouts giving no priority to the main flow of traffic, (A43-M40 London), and the slip roads off and onto the motorway (except the one accessed via the services) have sharp turns and adverse cambers, which results in lorries frequently tipping over and spilling their loads especially on
2046-405: The M1. Junction 10 was originally a dumbbell junction. The capacity of both the junction and the single carriageway A43 proved too small when the road was used as a freight thoroughfare from the congested M1 to the M40 to London, and the A34 at junction 9 to the south coast — in fact the 5 miles (8.0 km) stretch between these junctions is the busiest on the motorway in both directions. When
B roads in Zone 7 of the Great Britain numbering scheme - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-481: The Ministry direct control of major routes and a new classification system was created to identify these routes. Originally, those numbers beginning in T were to be made public, but that was eventually deemed unnecessary. With the introduction of motorways in the late 1950s, a new classification of "M" was introduced. In many cases the motorways duplicated existing stretches of A road, which therefore lost much of their significance and were in some cases renumbered. There
2178-812: The UK base of Ariston (now owned by Indesit ) and the UK headquarters of Staples are based in High Wycombe. The UK base of Robert Bosch is in Denham , near Gerrards Cross. Pioneer UK is in Stoke Poges and the Barracuda Group (owner of Varsity ) is in Marlow , both locations being near the motorway. Kraft Foods Banbury , Westminster group plc , Prodrive and Ascari Cars all have offices or are based in Banbury . The head office of Travelodge UK
2244-582: The UK was the M1 motorway . Shorter motorways typically take their numbers from a parent motorway in contravention of the zone system, explaining the apparently anomalous numbers of the M48 and M49 motorways as spurs of the M4, and M271 and M275 motorways as those of the M27 . This numbering system was devised in 1958–59 by the then Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation , and applied only in England and Wales. It
2310-623: The United Kingdom in the Isle of Man , Jersey and British Overseas Territories . Work on classification began in 1913. The Road Board had been established in 1909 to administer Vehicle Excise Duty - money raised by taxation to pay for new road construction and for repair of damage done to existing roads by the growing number of motorists. As the Board needed to work out which roads should be funded, upgraded or replaced, its secretary, William Rees Jeffreys , appointed Henry Maybury , one of
2376-638: The United Kingdom. Due to changes in local road designation, in some cases roads are numbered out of zone. There are also instances where two unrelated roads have been given exactly the same number; for example, the Leicester Ring Road and a road in Cumbria are both designated A594. This scheme applies only to England , Scotland and Wales ; a separate system using similar conventions is used in Northern Ireland , as well as outside
2442-407: The aim of better targeting road funding. Some A roads are designated trunk roads , which implies that central government rather than local government has responsibility for them. A more recent classification is that of primary routes , the category of recommended routes for long-distance traffic. Primary routes include both trunk and non-trunk roads. Some sections of A roads have been improved to
2508-416: The basis for the numbering of the A road network, they are no longer necessarily major roads, having been bypassed by motorways or other changes to the road network. These radials are supplemented by two-digit codes which are routes that may be slightly less important, but may still be classified as trunk routes, although many of these routes have lost a lot of their significance due to motorway bypasses, or
2574-459: The extra traffic. The London-bound M40 enters with four lanes, with a lane drop for the M25 exit, leaves with three lanes, and the westbound M40 enters with lanes and gains a lane from the anti-clockwise M25. After junction 1a the motorway is four lanes, and carries on for 3 miles (4.8 km) until it reaches junction 2 for the A355 to Slough and the A40 to Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross. Junction 2
2640-611: The last major motorway to be built in Britain, but in 1986 the Conservative government announced a major new road-building scheme, Roads for Prosperity , much of which was cancelled in 1996 after major road protests . Beginning in 1997, the motorway was widened to dual-four-lane between J1A and J3 (High Wycombe East) under a Private Finance Initiative . It was completed by a Carillion - John Laing joint venture in October 1998 –
2706-450: The latter. Shortly after this, the numbers started to appear in road atlases and on signs on the roads themselves, making them a tool for motorists in addition to their use for determining funding. The numbers of the roads changed quite frequently during the early years of the system, because it was a period of rapid expansion of the network and some numbered routes did not follow the most usual routes taken. The Trunk Roads Act 1936 gave
B roads in Zone 7 of the Great Britain numbering scheme - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-410: The left lane to exit eastbound, eventually forming the outer lanes of the M42 via a tight-bending two lane connecting road, and the right lanes being taken eastbound. Similarly, southbound, eastbound traffic from the M42 splits off from the outer two lanes, whereas westbound traffic of the M42 has a single lane, widening to a two lane slip road, which merges with the middle lane and forms the outer lane of
2838-478: The new motorway would take the name of the old A road rather than having its own number. The most notable example of that is the A1(M) . In England and Wales the road numbering system for all-purpose (i.e. non-motorway) roads is based on a radial pattern centred on London . In Scotland the same scheme is centred on Edinburgh . In both cases the main single-digit roads normally define the zone boundaries. The exception
2904-430: The northbound carriageway and access to the southbound M40. The junction is completed 2 miles (3.2 km) farther on at junction 14, another restricted access junction, with access to the A452 from the southbound M40, and the access on to the motorway is in a northbound direction. The slip roads join at a roundabout and carry on as the single carriageway A452 to meet with the A452 to Leamington Spa, A425 to Warwick, and
2970-609: The original plan included widening between J3 and J4. Oxford services and Warwick Services opened in 1998. Work to separate local and long-distance traffic at J4 was completed in 2007, including a new dedicated left-turn slip lane between the A404 Marlow Bypass and the Oxford-bound M40; additional lanes on the slip roads entering the roundabout; an additional lane between the A404 Marlow Hill and
3036-481: The original zone boundaries. A few roads are anomalously numbered . Motorways first came to Britain over three decades after the advent of the A-road numbering event, and as a result required a new numbering system. They were given an M prefix, and in England and Wales a numbering system of their own not coterminous with that of the A-road network, though based on the same principle of zones. Running clockwise from
3102-460: The other direction has to use the trumpet junction, and follow the A418 past Oxford services . The M40 heads north from junction 8A. This was the temporary end of the M40 before the northern section was open. Visible either side of the junction are the embankments and remains of the overbridge which carried the Wycombe railway line. The motorway continues for 12 miles (19 km) to junction 9 for
3168-495: The rest of the route, and the London-bound carriageway gains a lane. The motorway then immediately crosses the valley on a large ramp-like bridge. Junction 4 is the interchange with the A404, for High Wycombe , Marlow , Maidenhead , Reading , Windsor and the M4 . The motorway through the junction was not widened from the original two lanes when the rest of the motorway from junction 8 to London was, and so both carriageways experience
3234-498: The roundabout and provision for the London-bound M40 to skip the section of the roundabout which serves the A4010, High Wycombe , and the A404 north. Junction 5 is for the A40 and Stokenchurch , a basic diamond interchange and the fourth junction of the M40 with the A40. Within a mile there is a large road cutting known as the Stokenchurch Gap or The Canyon where the motorway enters Oxfordshire and meets junction 6 with
3300-498: The roundabout at the end of the northern carriageway. The junction fails to perform its function as an effective traffic junction. As well, the slip roads onto the motorway give little manoeuvring space as both join the motorway under (the same) bridge built for the old junction. The motorway then follows a winding route north for 10 miles (16 km) until junction 11, the A422 and A361 , serving Banbury . The motorway does not follow
3366-548: The same numbering scheme as A roads, but almost always have 3- and 4-digit designations. Many 3-digit B roads outside the London area are former A roads which have been downgraded owing to new road construction; others may link smaller settlements to A roads. B roads in the county of Devon have further sub-classifications according to their accessibility. This is due to the rural nature of Devon's topology making some roads unsuitable for certain types of vehicle. The classification
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#17327839535533432-405: The same standard as motorways, but do not completely replace the existing road; they form a higher standard part of the route for those which are not excluded. These sections retain the same number but are suffixed with (M), for example the A1(M) and A404(M) . There have been occasions where this designation has been used to indicate motorway bypasses of an existing road, but the original retains
3498-579: The scheme commenced, some roads with 3 or 4 digit numbers have increased in significance, for example the A127 , A1079 and A414 . New routes have also been allocated 3 or 4 digit numbers, for example the Edinburgh City Bypass is the A720 . The Major Road Network is a proposed classification of major local-authority controlled A roads that the government committed to implementing in 2017, with
3564-733: The section around Banbury starting in February 1988, and finally, the section north of Oxford in July 1989. The section between the M42 and Warwick opened in December 1989, and the remainder in January 1991. At the time of being fully opened, the original M40 had been widened, creating a dual three-lane motorway from start to finish, with the exception of the Handy Cross underpass, which remains dual two-lane. The M40 had been expected to be
3630-413: The short M85 became part of the M90 . In England and Wales, the six single-digit numbers reflect the traditionally most important radial routes coming out of London. Starting with the A1 which heads due north, numbers were allocated sequentially in a clockwise direction, thus: Similarly, in Scotland, important roads radiating from Edinburgh have single-digit numbers, thus: While these routes remain
3696-428: The short section north-westbound from junction 16 ( A3400 ) to the M42 . The motorway between London and Oxford was constructed in stages between 1967 and 1974. The first section opened in June 1967, from Handy Cross roundabout , High Wycombe to Stokenchurch (junctions 4–5). In 1969, extending in a southerly direction to Holtspur, Beaconsfield , a temporary junction 2 was opened. The section bypassing Beaconsfield
3762-495: The southbound M40. The following table only includes places situated near the motorway and those close enough to be considered 'near the motorway' (like Aylesbury ). Other places that may use the motorway (for access to the north) are not included as they have other motorway access (for example Slough ). Small villages are not included. Population figures are based on the 2001 census by the Office for National Statistics George Wimpey , RAF Air Command , Hyundai UK , Dreams ,
3828-539: The southbound exit slip road to three lanes, and similar widening on the connecting A34 and A41 junctions between Oxford and Bicester . This was the first part of the work at this busy junction since it was built 20 years earlier. If the necessary funding becomes available, a second phase of improvement will be carried out, upgrading the northbound entrance and the A41 southbound entrance. Download coordinates as: Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where
3894-399: The straight route to the east of Middleton Cheney, meeting with the A422, as it had once been planned, due to a major landowner refusing his land to be cut in two. If built as planned, junction 11 would be east of Middleton Cheney, meeting with the A422, and probably would have fuelled major growth in the village as well as Banbury, the primary destination of the junction. As it is, the junction
3960-420: The upgrading of other A-roads (such as the A38 (M) ). These routes are not all centred on London, but as far as possible follow the general principle that their number locates them radially clockwise from the associated single digit route. For example, the A10 (London to King's Lynn) is the first main route clockwise from the A1, the A11 (London to Norwich) is the next, then the A12 (London to Lowestoft) and
4026-400: Was built 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west along the A422, with the motorway skirting Banbury. The junction itself is a regular roundabout interchange, and has the single carriageway A361 from Daventry the dual-carriageway A422 from Brackley and the A43 from the west, and the dual-carriageway A422 (A361) toward Banbury feeding to/from it. Another 12 miles (19 km) north-west along the motorway
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#17327839535534092-399: Was built in 1971 and the section past Gerrards Cross to junction 1 was completed in 1973. In 1974, the motorway between junctions 5 to 8 was completed to Great Milton . Between junctions 3 and 4, the beginnings of slip roads were built on both carriageways for a service area at Abbey Barns between Beaconsfield and High Wycombe. Beaconsfield services off junction 2 opened in 2009. Late in
4158-415: Was created in 1922, under which important routes connecting large population centres, or for through traffic, were designated as Class I, and roads of lesser importance were designated as Class II. The definitive list of those roads was published on 1 April 1923, following consultations with local authorities . Government funding towards the repairs of these roads were set at 60% for the former and 50% for
4224-422: Was decided to reserve the numbers 7, 8 & 9 for Scotland. In Scotland, where roads were the responsibility of the Scottish Office (Scottish Government after 1999), the decision was taken to adopt a scheme whereby motorways took the numbers of the all-purpose routes they replaced. As a result, there is no M7 (as no motorway follows the A7 ), and when the A90 was re-routed to replace the A85 south of Perth ,
4290-407: Was made. The preferred route was altered to avoid Otmoor after a vigorous road protest, which included selling over 3,000 small squares of a field to people all over the world. The field had been renamed 'Alice's field' as a reference to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll who lived in the area at the time of the book's writing. Construction began at Warwick in October 1987, with work on
4356-436: Was no consistent approach to the renumbering – some A roads retained their existing number as non-primary roads (e.g. the A40 running alongside the M40 ), others were given "less significant" numbers (e.g. the A34 in Warwickshire became the A3400 after the M40 was built), and the remainder were downgraded to B or unclassified roads (e.g. the A38 , which was replaced by the M5 between Tiverton and Exeter ). Occasionally,
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