M5 motorway
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 M5 highlighted in blue Shown with UK motorway network | ||||
 Looking south towards junction 20 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNational Highways | ||||
| Length | 162.9 mi (262.2 km) | |||
| Existed | 1962–present | |||
| History |
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| Major junctions | ||||
| Northeast end | West Bromwich | |||
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| Southwest end | Exminster | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | West Midlands,Worcestershire,Gloucestershire,South Gloucestershire,Bristol,Somerset,Devon | |||
| Primary destinations | ||||
| Road network | ||||
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TheM5is amotorwayin England linking theMidlandswith theSouth West.It runs from junction 8 of theM6atWest BromwichnearBirminghamtoExeterinDevon.Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham throughSandwell Valley.It continues pastBromsgrove(and from Birmingham and Bromsgrove is part of the Birmingham Motorway Box),Droitwich Spa,Worcester,Tewkesbury,Cheltenham,Gloucester,Bristol,Portishead,Clevedon,Weston-super-Mare,Bridgwater,Taunton,Tiverton,Cullomptonterminating at junction 31 for Exeter.
Route
[edit]
The M5 quite closely follows the route of theA38 road.The two deviate slightly aroundBristoland the area south of Bristol from junctions 16 to theSedgemoor servicesnorth of junction 22. The A38 goes straight through the centre of Bristol and passes byBristol Airport,while the M5 skirts both, with access to the airport from junctions 18, 19 or 22. The A38 continues south into Devon from junction 31, nearExminster.
Junction 15 of the M5 is a large four-levelstack interchange,named theAlmondsbury Interchange,where the M5 meets theM4. TheAvonmouth Bridge,between junctions 18 and 19, is often a bottleneck during heavy traffic periods, due mainly to lane drops at either end of the bridge for the respective junctions, and the sharp angle in the centre of the bridge, which causes larger vehicles to slow considerably.[citation needed]There are split-level carriageways where the M5 ascends the hillsides above theGordano Valley,betweenPortishead,junction 19 andClevedon,junction 20. Between junction 21,Weston-super-Mareand junction 22,Burnham-on-Sea,the M5 passes by an isolated landmark hill calledBrent Knolland crosses the western end of theMendip Hills.TheWillow Mansculpture is visible from both carriageways, and acts as a landmark just to the south of junction 23, which as of 2021[update]had degraded and lost its head and arms.[1]
History
[edit]Construction
[edit]The first 26 miles (42 km) of the M5 motorway was constructed as a dual two-lane motorway withWorcestershire County Councilacting as engineer.[2]This section – from junction 4 (Lydiate Ash) in the north to atrumpet junctionwith theM50in the south – opened in July 1962.[2][3]This original section of the M5, from junctions 4 to 8, was widened to provide six lanes in the early 1990s. During this work, the northboundStrensham serviceswere rebuilt further away from the modifiedM50junction.[4]
Worcestershire County Council, the police and particularly thecounty surveyorof Worcestershire made repeated representations that a dual three-lane standard motorway was appropriate. The Ministry of Transport insisted that a dual two-lane motorway would be built at a cost of around £8million. The Motorways Archive also records that the carriageways were also built to a lower overall width of 88 feet (27 m) rather than 100 feet (30 m) to reduce the loss of agricultural land. When the decision became necessary to widen the Worcestershire section of M5, it cost £123million.[4]
The 2-mile (3.2 km) dual two-lane section between junctions 16 and 17 built atFilton,near Bristol, was also opened in 1962, and was intended to replace the pre-war Filton bypass.[2][3][5]Gloucestershire County Councilacted as engineer for this section, which was widened to a dual three-lane motorway in 1969.[3]
North of junction 4 the M5 was constructed in sections, from 1967 to 1970, together with theFrankley services.Much of the northern section beyond junction 3, from aboutOldburyto the junction with the M6 motorway, was constructed as an elevated dual three-lane motorway overBirmingham Canal (Old Main Line),Birmingham Canal (New Main Line),andTitford Poolusingconcretepillars.[3]
The M5 was also extended southwards, in sections, from 1967 to 1977, through Gloucestershire and Somerset, to Exeter in Devon as a dual three-lane motorway,[3]together with the Strensham services.
The short section between junctions 27 and 29 was built between 1967 and 1969, byDevon County Council,as theA38CullomptonBypass,with the intention that it should become part of the M5.[2]The termini for this section have since been removed, although part of the southern terminal roundabout is now used as an emergency access.[6]The section was developed to motorway standards, and incorporated into the M5 in 1975.[2]
Naming
[edit]When the initial English motorway system, including the now-M5, was being planned, no numbering system had been agreed. A 1958Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviationmemo[7]suggested basing motorway numbers on the existingA road numbering scheme,suggesting that "M5" would be either the section of the London-Doncaster motorway (now the M1) south of Birmingham or the spur from it to Birmingham (now part of the M6), and that the Birmingham to Bristol motorway, now the M5, could be the M38. However, by 1959, the name M5 for the Birmingham to Bristol motorway had been agreed[8].Rather than take its number from the sector radiating from London, as would be the case for a non-motorway road, it formed (along with the Bristol Channel and the M6) the boundary of a new numbering sector for motorways.
Operational history
[edit]Junction 1 surrounds a surviving gatehouse from the formerSandwell Hall.The section from junctions 16 and 18 was illuminated in about 1973 as part or a wider policy announced by Minister for Transport Industries,John Peyton,in 1972 to illuminate the 86 miles (138 km) of UK motorway particularly prone to fog.[9]
In the late 1980s, junction 4a was built as part of theM42 motorwayconstruction project. The route of the M42 was decided as early as 1972 but, owing to planning delays, the short section of the M42 north ofBromsgrovedid not open until December 1989.[10]
As the M5 traffic increased in the 1980s, junction 11, the main Gloucester and Cheltenham access (via the A40 Golden Valley by-pass) became increasingly congested. At the same time there were plans for large scale business and housing developments at Brockworth, near Gloucester. To relieve junction 11 of some of the new traffic generated, & avoid more congestion around both Cheltenham & Gloucester, a new junction, 11A, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of junction 11, was constructed and opened in the mid-1990s. A further feature of this junction was to create a new route from the south west Midlands to London and central southern England via the A417, A419 and the M4 at junction 15.
The Avonmouth Bridge was converted to eight lanes (four lanes in each direction) in the early 2000s. Later, in 2005–2006, parts of the M5 between junctions 17 and 20 were widened to 7 lanes (four lanes climbing the hills and three lanes descending the hills);variable message signswere added and parts of the central reservation was converted to aconcrete step barrier.During this stage of construction the M5 became Britain's longest contraflow system,[11][12] spanning 9 miles (14 km) between junctions 19 and 20. The M5 contraflow was said to be the most complicated ever built in the UK as the motorway is on a split level around the steep hills of theGordano Valley;meaning four lanes plus an additional emergency vehicle lane were squeezed into that section.[13]
In 2002, extended exits for junction 12 were constructed. TheHighways Agencydid not anticipate the traffic flows through the junction and the resultant queues soon extended back onto the motorway.[14]
TheCullompton servicesare signed on the motorway in the northbound direction only. This was implemented to reduce congestion at the low capacity junction, although there is still access available to the services southbound through the junction. Also, the northbound exit slip to the junction was reduced to one lane instead of two to reduce traffic on the small roundabout at the west side of the junction.
In 2009, it was announced that the lighting between junctions 30 and 31 would be turned off between midnight and 05:00 to save energy.[15]
Proposals were announced in September 2009 for a newGloucester Servicesbetween junctions 11a and 12.[16]A planning application was submitted in December 2009.Stroud Districtcouncillors approved the services in August 2010.[17]The Services opened in May 2014[18]
In September 2020,Highways Englandannounced that the section between junctions 1 and 2 in theWest Midlandswill be one of four in England to have its speed limit reduced to 60 mph (97 km/h) in a bid to reduce high levels of atmosphericnitrogen dioxidein the particular area.[19]
Future developments
[edit]In 2020, it was announced that junction 10 would be undergoing significant roadworks as part of a redevelopment project on the A4019. The works will involve making the interchange full-access and dualling the A4019 east of the junction into Cheltenham.[20]Works will commence in 2023 (subject to permission being granted) and be completed in 2024, according to the Gloucestershire County Council.[20]
There have been suggestions that the Government extend the M5 south, to the city ofPlymouth,which currently relies on the A38 road. The argument for such an extension has intensified in light of the closure ofPlymouth City Airportin 2011, and the 2014 breaching of theSouth Devon Railway sea wallfollowing storms that in turn, cut off Plymouth and Cornwall's rail access.[21][22]However this would involve a number of reconstruction works including realignment where the current route of the A38 follows tight bends.
Improvements to junction 25 at Taunton were approved with an £18million programme that will include the enlargement of the junction roundabout, the widening of the eastern junction slip road exit, and an additional roundabout southeast of the junction to provide access to a new business park and to a proposed bypass of thehamletofHenlade.[23]
Incidents and events
[edit]Discovery of bones
[edit]In October 2009, workmen clearing vegetation from the slip road at junction 14 discovered humanbonesin a blackbin bagdumped in thebushes.[24]The police were called soon after, and it was soon established that the bones were those of a young female. A few days later,DNAfound on the remains confirmed that the body was that ofMelanie Hall,a Bath hospital worker who disappeared in June 1996 after a night out inBath,and who had been declared dead in absentia in 2004. Dental records confirmed that the body was hers, and the police began a formal investigation into her murder.[25]As of 2016 no one has been prosecuted in connection with this case. Some keys were also discovered and the police contacted Ford to help them trace the vehicle.
2011 multi-vehicle collision
[edit]On the evening of Friday 4 November 2011, seven people were killed and a further 51 injured in a major crash involving over 50 vehicles which included cars,vansandlarge goods vehiclesnear junction 25 inWest Monkton,nearTaunton.[26]Several vehicles were burnt out in the fire which developed at the scene as the result of a series of explosions, and the road surface was seriously damaged, not just by the fire and explosions, but also by fuel spillage.[27]The cause of the crash, which took place in wet foggy conditions close to afirework display,was investigated. One person was charged for breach underhealth and safety lawsand found not guilty.[28]
Junctions
[edit] | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections whichshould be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(December 2021) |
Data fromdriver location signsare used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[29][30][31]Where both the start and end point of the junction are known, both have been included.
Cultural references
[edit]M5#1 is a song from the 1994 albumMiddle Class Revoltby post-punk bandThe Fallwhich uses the M5 to describe reverting to a romanticised agricultural past that never really existed.[32]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^"M5 Somerset Willow Man: 'Can't let him fall apart'".BBC News.13 August 2021.Retrieved8 January2023.
- ^abcdeCharlesworth (1984),pp. 135–140
- ^abcdeCharlesworth (1984),pp. 100–123, Table 7.3
- ^ab"M5 Widening between Junctions 3 & 8".CIHT.Retrieved7 January2021.
- ^Ordnance Survey One Inch Map of Great Britain, Series 7 Sheet 156, major roads revised 1963.
- ^"SABRE Photo Gallery".
- ^Memo from W Hadfield, 17 April 1958.https://pathetic.org.uk/features/numbering/part1/
- ^Memo from A W Lovett, 18 December 1959.https://pathetic.org.uk/features/numbering/part3/
- ^"News: Motorway lighting".Autocar.Vol. 137 nbr 3978. 13 July 1972. p. 19.
- ^"The Motorway Archive – M42".Iht.org. Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2009.Retrieved31 December2011.
- ^Sky News – UK's Longest ContraflowArchived14 June 2007 at theWayback Machine
- ^"'Most complex' contraflow ".BBC News.29 October 2005.Retrieved31 December2011.
- ^Western Daily Press– West beware! It's Britain's biggest road contraflow
- ^"Agency admits error over junction".BBC News.British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 November 2005.Retrieved1 January2008.
- ^"Night switch-off for M5 lighting".BBC News.12 March 2009.Retrieved10 August2010.
- ^"Eco-services plan for M5".This is Gloucestershire.17 September 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2012.Retrieved15 January2010.
- ^"Plans for Gloucestershire M5 service station approved".BBC News Gloucestershire. 10 August 2010.Retrieved10 August2010.
- ^"Planning background".Gloucestershiregatewayservies.Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2010.Retrieved11 November2010.
- ^"Motorways to trial 60mph limits to cut pollution".BBC News.BBC.12 September 2020.Retrieved12 September2020.
- ^ab"Pinpoint".m5-junction-10-have-your-say.gloucestershire.gov.uk.Retrieved25 November2020.
- ^"M5 will be extended to Plymouth if these business leaders get their wish".Cornwall Live. 27 September 2017.Retrieved13 December2017.
- ^"Calls to extend M5 from Exeter to Plymouth".ITV. 20 November 2017.Retrieved13 December2017.
- ^"Taunton £18m motorway upgrade approved".BBC News.9 March 2018.
- ^"M5 bones find confirmed as female".BBC News.7 October 2009.Retrieved15 December2022.
- ^"Man held over Melanie Hall M5 murder inquiry".BBC News.1 July 2010.Retrieved3 March2013.
- ^"Seven confirmed dead in M5 accident in Somerset".BBC News.5 November 2011.Retrieved6 November2011.
- ^O'Carroll, Lisa (5 November 2011)."M5 Crash: Latest Updates: Live".The Guardian.Retrieved5 November2011.
- ^Bayley, Jon (7 November 2011)."Police investigate smoke as possible cause of M5 pile-up in which seven died".Western Morning News.Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2014.Retrieved15 February2016.
- ^"Traffic England Live Traffic Condition Map".Locations extracted from Traffic Camera Popup (J1 to J10).Highways Agency.Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2012.Retrieved4 November2009.
- ^J11-J18: Driver Location Signs, M5 J18-11, M4 J22-15 (map) Highway Authority 2009
- ^J19-J30: Driver Location Signs, M5 J19-30 (map) – Highway Authority, 2009
- ^"The Annotated Fall - M5 #1".The Annotated Fall.17 November 2019.Retrieved9 December2019.
Sources
[edit]- Charlesworth, George (1984).A History of British Motorways.London: Thomas Telford.ISBN0-7277-0159-2.
Further reading
[edit]- Jackson, Mike (2003).The M5 Sights Guide.Severnpix.ISBN978-0954540203.
External links
[edit]
Geographic data related toM5 motorwayatOpenStreetMap
- Central Motorway Police Group
- CBRD Motorway Database – M5
- CBRD videos – M5
- Major roads of Great Britain – M5
- The Motorway Archive
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