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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

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

M-designated motorways

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Link Route Ceremonial counties (England)
Council areas (Scotland)
Principal areas (Wales) 		Existed since Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019[2] 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 1959 168,763 193.5 311.4
M11 A south-north motorway linking London to Cambridge. Greater London, Essex, Cambridgeshire 1975 121,964 55.0 88.5
M18 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Rotherham to Goole South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire 1967 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 1977 48,780 25.0 40.2
M181 A spur of the M180 leading to Scunthorpe. Lincolnshire 1978 18,213 2.0 3.2
M2 A west-east motorway bypassing Medway, Sittingbourne and Faversham. Kent 1963 106,582 25.7 41.4
M20 A west-east motorway linking London to Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel. 1971 120,348 50.6 81.4
M23 A north-south motorway linking London to Gatwick Airport and Crawley. Surrey, West Sussex 1974 110,574 15.9 25.6
M25 A ring road of London numbered clockwise from Dartford. Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Greater London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Essex 1975 216,108 117 188
M26 An east-west motorway linking the M25 to the M20. Kent 1980 70,674 9.9 15.9
M27 A west-east motorway linking Southampton to Portsmouth. Hampshire 1972 134,210 25.0 40.2
M271 A spur of the M27 bypassing Southampton to the west. 1975 53,678 2.3 3.7
M275 A spur from the M27 to central Portsmouth and Cosham. 1976 86,291 2.0 3.2
M3 A northeast-southwest motorway linking London to Southampton. Surrey, Hampshire 1971 136,059 58.6 94.3
M32 A spur from the M4 into central Bristol. Gloucestershire, Bristol 1966 84,898 4.4 7.1
M4 An 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, Carmarthenshire 1963 161,807 189 304
M40 A southeast-northwest motorway linking London to Birmingham. Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire 1967 133,490 89.0 143.2
M42 A motorway bypassing Birmingham to the south and east, continuing to the M1 at Kegworth as the A42. Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire 1976 154,532 40.0 64.4
M45 A spur from the M1 south of Rugby. Warwickshire, Northamptonshire 1959 19,536 7.9 12.7
M48 An alternative route to the M4 between Bristol and Caldicot. Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire 1966 22,632 12 19
M49 A western bypass of Bristol. Bristol, Gloucestershire 1996 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 1962 127,584 162.9 262.2
M50 A west-east motorway between the M5 and Ross-on-Wye. Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire 1960 32,032 21.6 34.8
M53 A north-south motorway linking Birkenhead (and Liverpool via Kingsway Tunnel) to Chester. Merseyside, Cheshire 1972 79,872 18.9 30.4
M54 An east-west motorway linking Wolverhampton to Telford. Staffordshire, Shropshire 1975 70,652 23.0 37.0
M55 An east-west motorway linking Preston to Blackpool. Lancashire 1958 84,905 12.2 19.6
M56 A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Liverpool and Chester. Greater Manchester, Cheshire 1971 174,693 33.3 53.6
M57 An eastern bypass of Liverpool linking the M62 to Maghull. Merseyside 1972 99,521 10 16
M58 A west-east motorway linking Liverpool to Wigan. Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester 1977 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 1958 173,201 232.2 373.7
M6 Toll A tolled bypass of the M6 in the West Midlands. West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire 2003 110,489 27 43
M60 A ring road of Manchester numbered clockwise from Stockport. Greater Manchester 1998 180,501 36 58
M602 A west-east motorway linking the M62 to Salford. 1971 73,292 4.0 6.4
M606 A spur from the M62 to Bradford. West Yorkshire 1972 77,277 3.0 4.8
M61 A north-south motorway linking Preston to Manchester. Greater Manchester, Lancashire 1969 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 1960 161,700 107 172
M621 An east-west motorway linking Leeds to the M1 and M62. West Yorkshire 1972 103,207 7.7 12.4
M65 A west-east motorway linking Preston to Burnley and Colne. Lancashire 1981 82,970 25.8 41.5
M66 A north-south motorway linking Ramsbottom to Manchester. Lancashire, Greater Manchester 1975 111,851 8.0 12.9
M67 A west-east motorway linking Manchester to Hadfield. Greater Manchester 1978 58,435 5.0 8.0
M69 A northeast-southwest motorway linking Leicester to Coventry. Warwickshire, Leicestershire 1976 64,828 15.7 25.3
M73 An eastern bypass of Glasgow. North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire 1969 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 1966 107,475 40 60
M77 A north-south motorway linking Glasgow to Kilmarnock. Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire 1977 94,151 20.0 32.2
M8 An east-west motorway linking Edinburgh to Glasgow. Edinburgh, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire 1965 160,484 60.3 97.0
M80 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Glasgow to Stirling. Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Stirling 1974 104,305 25.0 40.2
M876 A southwest-northeast motorway linking Bonnybridge to Kincardine. Falkirk 1980 42,611 8.0 12.9
M898 A spur from the M8 leading to Erskine Bridge. Renfrewshire 1975 51,831 0.5 0.8
M9 A southeast-northwest motorway linking Edinburgh to Stirling. Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Stirling 1968 68,143 33.0 53.1
M90 A south-north motorway linking Edinburgh to Perth. Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross 1964 76,503 36.0 57.9

Upgraded A-road designations

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Link Route Ceremonial counties (England)
Council areas (Scotland)
Principal areas (Wales) 		Existed since Highest junction to junction average daily vehicle flow 2019[2] 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 1961 143,012 145.3 233.9
A1077(M) A spur from the M181 to Scunthorpe. Lincolnshire 2021 18,213 0.8 1.3
A167(M) An urban motorway in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Tyne and Wear 1975 63,911 1.1 1.8
A194(M) A south-north motorway linking the A1(M) to the Tyne Tunnel. 1975 42,802 4.0 6.4
A3(M) A north-south motorway linking the A3 to the A27 near Portsmouth. Hampshire 1979 92,989 5.0 8.0
A308(M) A spur from the M4 south of Maidenhead. Continues as the A308 in Windsor. Berkshire 1971 23,541 0.6 0.97
A329(M) A southeast-northwest motorway linking Bracknell to Reading. Berkshire 1972 69,520 4.0 6.4
A38(M) A spur from the M6 to central Birmingham. West Midlands 1972 146,908 2.0 3.2
A404(M) A spur from the M4 to High Wycombe. Continues as the A404 west of Maidenhead. Berkshire 1961 59,816 2.4 3.9
A48(M) A spur from the M4 to central Cardiff. Newport, Cardiff 1977 47,203 2.0 3.2
A57(M) Forms part of a ring road of Manchester. Also known as the Mancunian Way. Greater Manchester 1967 90,785 2.0 3.2
A58(M) Forms the western part of the Leeds inner ring road. West Yorkshire 1964 81,647 2.0 3.2
A627(M) A south-north motorway linking Rochdale to Oldham. Greater Manchester 1972 55,749 3.5 5.6
A64(M) Forms the eastern part of the Leeds inner ring road. West Yorkshire 1969 43,617 0.5 0.8
A66(M) A spur from the A1(M) to the A66 south of Darlington. North Yorkshire 1965 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 1991 41,662 45 72
A8(M) A spur from the M8 and M73 to Ballieston. Glasgow 2016 10,586 0.2 0.32
A823(M) A spur from the M90 to Dunfermline. Fife 1964 20,363 1.0 1.6

Former motorways

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Link Year designated Year decommissioned Description
M10 1959 2009 A spur that ran from the M1 to St Albans, now part of the A414.
M41 1970 2000 The former number for the West Cross Route, now part of the A3220 road.[4]
A102(M) 1967 1999 The former number for the East Cross Route, split into two sections:

Now part of the A102.[4]

A40(M) 1970 2000 The former number for the Westway, now part of the A40.[4]
A601(M) 1960 2023 A spur that ran from the M6 to Carnforth and Over Kellet. Now part of the A6070 and B6601.[5][6]
A6144(M) 1987 2006 A spur that ran from the M60 to Carrington. It was unique for being single carriageway throughout.

Northern Ireland

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M-designated motorways

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Link Route Existed since Council areas
M1 An east-west motorway linking Belfast to Dungannon. Continues as the A4. 1962 Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Mid Ulster
M2 A southeast-northwest motorway split into two sections:

Continues as the A26.

1969 Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid and East Antrim
M3 A spur from the M2 to the A2 in east Belfast. 1995 Belfast
M5 A spur from the M2 to Newtownabbey in north Belfast. 1980 Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey
M12 A spur from the M1 to Portadown. 1970 Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
M22 A spur from the M2 to Randalstown. Continues as the A6. 1971 Antrim and Newtownabbey

Upgraded A-road designations

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Link Route Existed since Council areas
A8(M) A spur from the M2 to the A8 northwest of Newtownabbey. 1966 Antrim and Newtownabbey

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Northern Ireland Assembly – WRITTEN ANSWERS Friday 15 December 2000". Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  2. ^ a b "GB Road Traffic Counts". Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  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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