List of motorways in the United Kingdom

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UK motorways in 2022
  M-designated motorway
  Upgraded A-road designation

This list of motorways in the United Kingdom is a complete list of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that the numbering scheme used for Great Britain does not include roads in Northern Ireland, which are allocated numbers on an ad hoc basis.[1]

Great Britain

The following motorways are sorted following the motorway numbering scheme used in Great Britain.

M-designated motorways

Link Route Ceremonial counties (England)
Council areas (Scotland)
Principal areas (Wales) 		Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019[2] Length
mi km
M1 A south-north motorway linking London to Leeds. The first long-distance motorway in the country to be built.[3] Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire 168,763 193.5 311.4
M11 A south-north motorway linking London to Cambridge. Greater London, Essex, Cambridgeshire 121,964 55.0 88.5
M18 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Rotherham to Goole South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire 108,855 26.5 42.6
M180 A west-east motorway linking Thorne to Grimsby. Continues as the A180 after the exit for the Humber Bridge. South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire 48,780 25.0 40.2
M181 A spur of the M180 leading to Scunthorpe. Lincolnshire 18,213 2.0 3.2
M2 A west-east motorway bypassing Medway, Sittingbourne and Faversham. Kent 106,582 25.7 41.4
M20 A west-east motorway linking London to Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel. 120,348 50.6 81.4
M23 A north-south motorway linking London to Gatwick Airport and Crawley. Surrey, West Sussex 110,574 15.9 25.6
M25 A ring road of London numbered clockwise from Dartford. Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex 216,108 117 188
M26 An east-west motorway linking the M25 to the M20. Kent 70,674 9.9 15.9
M27 A west-east motorway linking Southampton to Portsmouth. Hampshire 134,210 25.0 40.2
M271 A spur of the M27 bypassing Southampton to the west. 53,678 2.3 3.7
M275 A spur from the M27 to central Portsmouth and Cosham. 86,291 2.0 3.2
M3 A northeast-southwest motorway linking London to Southampton. Surrey, Hampshire 136,059 58.6 94.3
M32 A spur from the M4 into central Bristol. Gloucestershire, Bristol 84,898 4.4 7.1
M4 An east-west motorway linking London to Cardiff and South Wales. The first and only long-distance motorway from England to Wales to be built. Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire 161,807 189 304
M40 A southeast-northwest motorway linking London to Birmingham. Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire 133,490 89.0 143.2
M42 A quarter-orbital motorway bypassing Birmingham to the south and east, continuing anticlockwise and then northeast as A42 to the M1 at Kegworth. Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire 154,532 40.0 64.4
M45 A spur from the M1 south of Rugby. Warwickshire, Northamptonshire 19,536 7.9 12.7
M48 An alternative route to the M4's new route between Bristol and Caldicot. Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire 22,632 12 19
M49 A western bypass of Bristol avoiding not only Cribbs Causeway but also Almondsbury, which heads northwest to the M4 and southeast to the M5. Bristol, Gloucestershire 22,461 5.0 8.0
M5 A northeast-southwest motorway in South West England, linking Birmingham to Exeter. West Midlands, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset, Devon 127,584 162.9 262.2
M50 A west-east motorway between the M5 and Ross-on-Wye. Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire 32,032 21.6 34.8
M53 A north-south motorway linking Birkenhead (and Liverpool via Kingsway Tunnel) to Chester. Merseyside, Cheshire 79,872 18.9 30.4
M54 An east-west motorway linking Wolverhampton to Telford. Staffordshire, Shropshire 70,652 23.0 37.0
M55 An east-west motorway linking Preston to Blackpool. Lancashire 84,905 12.2 19.6
M56 A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Liverpool and Chester. Greater Manchester, Cheshire 174,693 33.3 53.6
M57 An eastern bypass of Liverpool linking the M62 to Maghull. Merseyside 99,521 10 16
M58 A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Wigan. Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester 49,376 12 19
M6 A southeast-northwest motorway linking the West Midlands to North West England and Scotland. Continues as A74(M). The first and longest motorway in the country to be built.[3] Leicestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria 173,201 232.2 373.7
M6 Toll A tolled bypass of the M6 in the West Midlands. West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire 110,489 27 43
M60 A ring road of Manchester numbered clockwise from Stockport. Greater Manchester 180,501 36 58
M602 A west-east motorway linking the M62 to Salford. 73,292 4.0 6.4
M606 A spur from the M62 to Bradford. West Yorkshire 77,277 3.0 4.8
M61 A north-south motorway linking Preston to Manchester. Greater Manchester, Lancashire 150,331 20.0 32.2
M62 A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Hull. Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire 161,700 107 172
M621 An east-west motorway linking Leeds to the M1 and M62. West Yorkshire 103,207 7.7 12.4
M65 A west-east motorway linking Preston to Burnley and Colne. Lancashire 82,970 25.8 41.5
M66 A north-south motorway linking Ramsbottom to Manchester. Lancashire, Greater Manchester 111,851 8.0 12.9
M67 A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Hadfield. Greater Manchester 58,435 5.0 8.0
M69 A northeast-southwest motorway linking Leicester to Coventry. Warwickshire, Leicestershire 64,828 15.7 25.3
M73 An eastern bypass of Glasgow. North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire 95,331 7.0 11.3
M74 A northwest-southeast motorway linking Glasgow to North West England. Continues as the A74(M) south of Abington. Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire 107,475 40 60
M77 A north-south motorway linking Glasgow to Kilmarnock. Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire 94,151 20.0 32.2
M8 An east-west motorway linking Edinburgh to Glasgow. Edinburgh, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire 160,484 60.3 97.0
M80 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Glasgow to Stirling. Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling 104,305 25.0 40.2
M876 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Bonnybridge to Kincardine. Falkirk 42,611 8.0 12.9
M898 A spur from the M8 leading to Erskine Bridge. Renfrewshire 51,831 0.5 0.8
M9 A southeast-northwest motorway linking Edinburgh to Stirling. Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Stirling 68,143 33.0 53.1
M90 A south-north motorway linking Edinburgh to Perth. Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross 76,503 36.0 57.9

Upgraded A-road designations

Link Route Ceremonial counties (England)
Council areas (Scotland)
Principal areas (Wales) 		Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019[2] Length
mi km
A1(M) A south-north motorway split into four sections: Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Tyne and Wear 143,012 145.3 233.9
A1077(M) A spur from the M181 to Scunthorpe. Lincolnshire 18,213 0.8 1.3
A167(M) An urban motorway in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Tyne and Wear 63,911 1.1 1.8
A194(M) A south-north motorway linking the A1(M) to the Tyne Tunnel. 42,802 4.0 6.4
A3(M) A north-south motorway linking the A3 to the A27 near Portsmouth. Hampshire 92,989 5.0 8.0
A308(M) A spur from the M4 south of Maidenhead. Berkshire 23,541 0.6 0.97
A329(M) A southeast-northwest motorway linking Bracknell to Reading. Berkshire 69,520 4.0 6.4
A38(M) A spur from the M6 to central Birmingham. West Midlands 146,908 2.0 3.2
A404(M) A spur from the M4 to High Wycombe. Continues as the A404 west of Maidenhead. Berkshire 59,816 2.4 3.9
A48(M) A spur from the M4 to central Cardiff. Newport, Cardiff 47,203 2.0 3.2
A57(M) Forms part of a ring road of Manchester. Also known as the Mancunian Way. Greater Manchester 90,785 2.0 3.2
A58(M) Forms the western part of the Leeds inner ring road. West Yorkshire 81,647 2.0 3.2
A627(M) A south-north motorway linking Rochdale to Oldham. Greater Manchester 55,749 3.5 5.6
A64(M) Forms the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road. West Yorkshire 43,617 0.5 0.8
A66(M) A spur from the A1(M) to the A66 south of Darlington. North Yorkshire 15,337 2.0 3.2
A74(M) A northwest-southeast motorway linking the M74 to North West England. Continues as the M6. South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria 41,662 45 72
A8(M) A spur from the M8 and M73 to Ballieston. Glasgow 10,586 0.2 0.32
A823(M) A spur from the M90 to Dunfermline. Fife 20,363 1.0 1.6

Former motorways

Link Description
M10 A spur that ran from the M1 to St Albans, now part of the A414.
M41 The former number for the West Cross Route, now part of the A3220 road.[4]
A102(M) The former number for the East Cross Route, split into two sections:

Now part of the A102.[4]

A40(M) The former number for the Westway, now part of the A40.[4]
A601(M) A spur that ran from the M6 to Carnforth and Over Kellet. Now part of the A6070 and B6601.[5][6]
A6144(M) A spur that ran from the M60 to Carrington. It was unique for being single carriageway throughout.

Northern Ireland

Number Length (mi) Length (km) Southern or western terminus Northern or eastern terminus Formed Removed Notes
M1 38.0 61.2 Belfast Dungannon 01962-01-011962 current Via Lisburn and Craigavon, in the direction of Sligo, Enniskillen and Omagh. The motorway forms the main Dublin-Belfast route until Sprucefield.
M2 28 45 Belfast Ballymena 01966-01-011966 current In two sections built at different stages, one linking Belfast to Antrim, and the other bypassing Ballymena. The section in between was planned, but never built. Main route out of Belfast to Derry, Coleraine and Larne.
M3 0.8 1.3 M2 in north Belfast A2 Sydenham Bypass in the east of the city 01995-01-011995 current Lagan Bridge
M5 1.4 2.3 M2 in north Belfast Newtownabbey 01980-01-011980 current Forms part of the Belfast-Carrickfergus route.
M12 1.5 2.4 M1 Craigavon 01970-01-011970 current A spur from the M1 near Derrymacash to the centre of Craigavon.
M22 5.6 9.0 Antrim Randalstown 01971-01-011971 current Linking the M2 at Antrim to Randalstown. Forms part of the main road between Belfast and Derry.
A8(M) 1.0 1.6 M2 Ballyhenry 01966-01-011966 current A spur from the M2 at Sandyknowes near Glengormley to Corr's Corner Roadabout on the A8 north-west of Newtownabbey. Forms part of the Belfast-Larne route.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Northern Ireland Assembly – WRITTEN ANSWERS Friday 15 December 2000". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  2. ^ a b "GB Road Traffic Counts". Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
  3. ^ a b "Ten speedy facts about motorways". Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "The GLA Roads Designation Order 2000". Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  5. ^ "The Lancashire County Council (A601(M) Partial Revocation) Scheme 2022 Confirmation Instrument 2023". Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ "The Lancashire County Council (A601(M) Partial Revocation) Scheme 2019 Confirmation Instrument 2020". Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
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