List of motorways in the United Kingdom explained

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

LinkRouteHighest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019[2] Length
mikm
M1A 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 Yorkshire168,763193.5311.4
M11A south-north motorway linking London to Cambridge. Greater London, Essex, Cambridgeshire121,96455.088.5
M18A southwest-northeast motorway linking Rotherham to GooleSouth Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire108,85526.542.6
M180A west-east motorway linking Thorne to Grimsby. Continues as the A180 after the exit for the Humber Bridge.South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire48,78025.040.2
M181A spur of the M180 leading to Scunthorpe.Lincolnshire18,2132.03.2
M2A west-east motorway bypassing Medway, Sittingbourne and Faversham.Kent106,58225.741.4
M20A west-east motorway linking London to Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel.120,34850.681.4
M23A north-south motorway linking London to Gatwick Airport and Crawley.Surrey, West Sussex110,57415.925.6
M25A ring road of London numbered clockwise from Dartford.Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex216,108117188
M26An east-west motorway linking the M25 to the M20.Kent70,6749.915.9
M27A west-east motorway linking Southampton to Portsmouth.Hampshire134,21025.040.2
M271A spur of the M27 bypassing Southampton to the west.53,6782.33.7
M275A spur from the M27 to central Portsmouth and Cosham.86,2912.03.2
M3A northeast-southwest motorway linking London to Southampton.Surrey, Hampshire136,05958.694.3
M32A spur from the M4 into central Bristol.Gloucestershire, Bristol84,8984.47.1
M4An east-west motorway linking London to Cardiff and South Wales.Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire161,807189304
M40A southeast-northwest motorway linking London to Birmingham.Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire133,49089.0143.2
M42A motorway bypassing Birmingham to the south and east, continuing to the M1 at Kegworth as the A42.Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire154,532 40.064.4
M45A spur from the M1 south of Rugby.Warwickshire, Northamptonshire19,536 7.912.7
M48An alternative route to the M4 between Bristol and Caldicot.Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire22,632 1219
M49A western bypass of Bristol.Bristol, Gloucestershire22,461 5.08.0
M5A northeast-southwest motorway in South West England, linking Birmingham to Exeter.West Midlands, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset, Devon127,584162.9262.2
M50A west-east motorway between the M5 and Ross-on-Wye.Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire32,032 21.634.8
M53A north-south motorway linking Birkenhead (and Liverpool via Kingsway Tunnel) to Chester.Merseyside, Cheshire79,872 18.930.4
M54An east-west motorway linking Wolverhampton to Telford.Staffordshire, Shropshire70,652 23.037.0
M55An east-west motorway linking Preston to Blackpool.Lancashire84,90512.219.6
M56A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Liverpool and Chester.Greater Manchester, Cheshire174,69333.353.6
M57An eastern bypass of Liverpool linking the M62 to Maghull.Merseyside99,5211016
M58A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Wigan.Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester49,3761219
M6A 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.Leicestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria173,201232.2373.7
A tolled bypass of the M6 in the West Midlands.West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire110,4892743
M60A ring road of Manchester numbered clockwise from Stockport. Greater Manchester180,5013658
M602A west-east motorway linking the M62 to Salford.73,2924.06.4
M606A spur from the M62 to Bradford.West Yorkshire77,2773.04.8
M61A north-south motorway linking Preston to Manchester.Greater Manchester, Lancashire150,331 20.032.2
M62A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Hull.Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire161,700 107172
M621An east-west motorway linking Leeds to the M1 and M62.West Yorkshire103,2077.712.4
M65A west-east motorway linking Preston to Burnley and Colne.Lancashire82,970 25.841.5
M66A north-south motorway linking Ramsbottom to Manchester.Lancashire, Greater Manchester111,851 8.012.9
M67A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Hadfield.Greater Manchester58,435 5.08.0
M69A northeast-southwest motorway linking Leicester to Coventry.Warwickshire, Leicestershire64,828 15.725.3
M73An eastern bypass of Glasgow.North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire95,3317.011.3
M74A northwest-southeast motorway linking Glasgow to North West England. Continues as the A74(M) south of Abington.Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire107,475 4060
M77A north-south motorway linking Glasgow to Kilmarnock.Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire94,151 20.032.2
M8An east-west motorway linking Edinburgh to Glasgow.Edinburgh, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire160,48460.397.0
M80A southwest-northeast motorway linking Glasgow to Stirling.Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling104,305 25.040.2
M876A southwest-northeast motorway linking Bonnybridge to Kincardine.Falkirk42,611 8.012.9
M898A spur from the M8 leading to Erskine Bridge.Renfrewshire51,831 0.50.8
M9A southeast-northwest motorway linking Edinburgh to Stirling.Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Stirling68,14333.053.1
M90A south-north motorway linking Edinburgh to Perth.Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross76,503 36.057.9

Upgraded A-road designations

LinkRouteHighest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019Length
mikm
A1(M)A south-north motorway split into four sections: Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Tyne and Wear143,012 145.3233.9
A1077(M)A spur from the M181 to Scunthorpe.Lincolnshire18,2130.81.3
A167(M)An urban motorway in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.Tyne and Wear63,9111.11.8
A194(M)A south-north motorway linking the A1(M) to the Tyne Tunnel.42,8024.06.4
A3(M)A north-south motorway linking the A3 to the A27 near Portsmouth.Hampshire92,9895.08.0
A308(M)A spur from the M4 south of Maidenhead.Berkshire23,5410.60.97
A329(M)A southeast-northwest motorway linking Bracknell to Reading.Berkshire69,5204.06.4
A38(M)A spur from the M6 to central Birmingham.West Midlands146,9082.03.2
A404(M)A spur from the M4 to High Wycombe. Continues as the A404 west of Maidenhead.Berkshire59,8162.43.9
A48(M)A spur from the M4 to central Cardiff.Newport, Cardiff47,2032.03.2
A57(M)Forms part of a ring road of Manchester. Also known as the Mancunian Way.Greater Manchester90,7852.03.2
A58(M)Forms the western part of the Leeds inner ring road.West Yorkshire81,6472.03.2
A627(M)A south-north motorway linking Rochdale to Oldham.Greater Manchester55,749 3.55.6
A64(M)Forms the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road.West Yorkshire43,6170.50.8
A66(M)A spur from the A1(M) to the A66 south of Darlington.North Yorkshire15,337 2.03.2
A74(M)A northwest-southeast motorway linking the M74 to North West England. Continues as the M6.South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Cumbria41,662 4572
A8(M)A spur from the M8 and M73 to Ballieston.Glasgow10,5860.20.32
A823(M)A spur from the M90 to Dunfermline.Fife20,363 1.01.6

Former motorways

LinkDescription
M10A spur that ran from the M1 to St Albans, now part of the A414.
M41The 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.

A40(M)The former number for the Westway, now part of the A40.
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

M-designated motorways

LinkRouteCouncil areas
M1An east-west motorway linking Belfast to Dungannon. Continues as the A4.Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Mid Ulster
M2A southeast-northwest motorway split into two sections:

Continues as the A26.

Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim
M3A spur from the M2 to the A2 in east Belfast.Belfast
M5A spur from the M2 to Newtownabbey in north Belfast.Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey
M12A spur from the M1 to Portadown.Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
M22A spur from the M2 to Randalstown. Continues as the A6.Antrim and Newtownabbey

Upgraded A-road designations

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Northern Ireland Assembly – WRITTEN ANSWERS Friday 15 December 2000 . 2007-11-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081223010559/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/qanda/writtenans/001215.htm . 23 December 2008 .
  2. Web site: GB Road Traffic Counts . 2019-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191001163113/https://data.gov.uk/dataset/208c0e7b-353f-4e2d-8b7a-1a7118467acc/gb-road-traffic-counts . 1 October 2019 . dead .
  3. Web site: Ten speedy facts about motorways. https://web.archive.org/web/20211128171724/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3PNMZLLGXH4hdQj0p7zjw4Q/ten-speedy-facts-about-motorways. 26 May 2024. 28 November 2021. en.
  4. Web site: The GLA Roads Designation Order 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20221220043432/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1117/schedule/made. 26 May 2024. 20 December 2022. en.
  5. Web site: The Lancashire County Council (A601(M) Partial Revocation) Scheme 2022 Confirmation Instrument 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230819010036/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/140/schedule/2/made. 27 May 2024. 19 August 2023. en.
  6. Web site: The Lancashire County Council (A601(M) Partial Revocation) Scheme 2019 Confirmation Instrument 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20230819063926/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/165/made. 26 May 2024. 19 August 2023.