M1

M1
View gallery (489)
From:	Staples Corner, Middlesex (TQ228874)
To:	Hook Moor, Yorkshire (SE435355)
Length:	200 miles (321.9 km)
Meets:	M6, M10, M18, M25, M45, M62, M69, M621, A1(M)
Primary Destinations
Barnsley • Brent Cross • Chesterfield • Dewsbury • East Midlands Airport • Leeds • Leicester • London • Luton • Milton Keynes • Northampton • Rotherham • Rugby • Sheffield • Wakefield • Watford •
Highways Authorities
Highways Agency Sheffield
Traditional Counties
Bedfordshire • Buckinghamshire • Derbyshire • Hertfordshire • Leicestershire • Middlesex • Northamptonshire • Nottinghamshire • Yorkshire
Route outline (key)
M1 Marble Arch — Staples Corner M1 Hampstead - Staples Corner M1 Staples Corner — Hook Moor M1 Kirkhamgate - Dishforth M1 Belle Isle - Central Leeds
Junction List
Junc Northbound Southbound - Proposed start 'A' Ring Road – A407 A407 - Proposed Start A41, NXR 1 Start of Motorway A406 2 No Exit A1 ' Temporary start of road A41 3 (A1) (A1) London Gateway services (at J3) 4 No Exit A41 - M16 M16 5 A41, A4008 A41 6 A405 A405 6a No Exit M25 7 A414 No Exit 8 No Exit A414 Redbourn services 9 A5, A5183 A5, A5183 10 A1081 A1081 11 A505 A505 11A A5 A5 Toddington services 12 A5120 A5120 13 A421, A507 A421, A507 14 A509 A509 Newport Pagnell services 15 A45 A45 15A A43 A43 Northampton services (at J15a) 16 A4500 A4500 Watford Gap services 17 M45 No Exit 18 A5, A428 A428 19 M6 M6, A14 Lutterworth services 20 A4303, A4304 A4303 21 M69, A5460 M69, A5460 Leicester Forest East services 21A A46 No Exit 22 A511 A50, A511 Markfield services (at J22) 23 A512 A512 Long Whatton services 23A A42, A453 A42 Donington Park services (at J23a N) 24 A6, A453 A6, A50, A453 24A No Exit A50 25 A52 A52 Trowell services 26 A610 A610 27 A608 A608 28 A38, B6019 A38, B6019 Tibshelf services 29 A617, A6175 A617, A6175 29A A6192 A6192 30 A6135 A6135 Woodall services 31 A57 A57 32 M18 M18 33 A630 A630 34 A631, A6178 A6109 35 A629 A629 Chapeltown services 35A A616 No Exit 36 A61 A61 37 A628 A628 38 A637 A637 Woolley Edge services 39 A636 A636 40 A638 A638 - M111 M111 41 A650 A650 42 M62 M62 43 M621 No Exit 44 A639 A639 45 A63 A63 46 A63, A6120 A63, A6120 47 A642, A656 A642, A656 - A1(M) End of Motorway 43 A61, A639 A61, A639 44 unclass unclass 45 unclass unclass 46 unclass unclass 47 M621, A653 End of Motorway

For detailed information about this topic, see CBRD Motorway Database: M1

Originally conceived as the London to Yorkshire Motorway, the M1 was the first inter-urban motorway in the United Kingdom. It was, however, not the first motorway as the M6 Preston Bypass holds that honour. The route of the M1 has evolved over the years, initially through Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire and rapidly extended south and north to create a motorway alternative to the A1 between Edgware and Doncaster by 1967, extending further north to Leeds with the opening of the Tinsley Viaduct by 1968 and south to the A406 North Circular Road by 1977. Further work completed in 1999 saw the M1 extended to meet the A1(M) near Garforth.

The M1 forms the backbone of the English motorway network, with key connections in the south with the M25 London Orbital, in the Midlands with the M6 and in the north with the M62 and A1(M), along with other less important motorways along the way. Because some parts of the M1 are more important than others, some sections carry significant varying volumes of traffic with the predominant D3M design of the original route has some sections reduced to D2M (at J19 & J34 for example) and significant sections upgraded to D4M in more recent years.

Opening Dates

Improvements

1989 - M1 Jct 35a

New junction to provide access to the then new A616 link to the A628 Woodhead Pass.

1991 - M1 Jct 19 Improvement

Junction alterations to provide access to the A14 that created a link to the A1

1999 - M1 Jct 42 to 43 Widening and loss of M1 to Leeds

As part of the extension of the M1 to the A1(M), the existing line of the M1 was widened and the former section that linked directly into Leeds was reclassified as the M621

2007 - M1 Jct 31 to 32 Widening

£20M widening of the M1 from D3M to D4M over 2km (1.25 miles), opened fully to traffic in December 2007 - Highways Agency Link

2008 - M1 Jct 29a

New junction costing £8M opened to traffic in June 2008 - GOEM Link - Page 8

2009 - M1 Jct 6a to 10 Widening

£291M widening of the M1 from D3M to D4M over 17km (11 miles), opened to traffic on 19th December 2008, with an official opening on 23rd January 2009 - Highways Agency Link

2009-2010 - M1 Jct 32 to 35a Barrier

Scheme to provide new central concrete step barrier in advance of a planned managed motorway scheme along the same length, opened in phases through 2009 and 2010

Notable Locations

Tinsley Viaduct

A 1km long viaduct, with a troubled past and uncertain future, designed by Freeman Fox and Partners, an iconic steel monument to the valley it passes over.

Catthorpe Interchange

Infamous perhaps for being one of the worst thought-out junctions on the trunk road network. The key route between the major east coast ports and the industrial heart of England, has to squeeze under a bridge which was formerly used by an unclassified back road.

Lofthouse Interchange

A cheap solution at first, gradually becoming a big headache, eased by the spending of private sector money and given a stay of execution with a few traffic signals. Lofthouse Interchange to be fair works quite well, sadly, the M1 to the south and north suffers congestion each evening due to the close proximity of J41 and the weaving of traffic getting on at J42 to head south and the traffic from the north wanting to exit at J41.

Named Junctions

Most junctions on the M1 have names as well as junction numbers, these names sometimes come from the construction name, some are more popular names developed after the motorway opened.

Find out more on the M1 Named Junctions page

Links

Highways Agency

• M1 Jct 10 to 13 Improvements - Hard Shoulder Running and Junction Improvements
• M1 Jct 19 Improvement - £300M of Junction Improvement
• M1 Junctions 21 to 25 Improvements - Previous major improvement now several separate schemes
• M1 J25-28 Widening Scheme - Major Motorway Widening to D4M
• M1 J28-31 Managed Motorway - Hard Shoulder Running
• M1 J32-J35a Managed Motorway - Hard Shoulder Running

CBRD

• Motorway Database: M1
• Photo Gallery: M1 Under Construction
• Histories: M1-A1 Link Road
• Bad Junctions: M1-A41-A4008
• Bad Junctions: M1-A405
• Bad Junctions: M1-M25
• Bad Junctions: M1-A421-A507
• Bad Junctions: M1-M6-A14
• Bad Junctions: M1-M62

Pathetic Motorways

• M1 Southern Extension
• A50 London - Yorkshire Motorway
• Stirling Corner Link

roadsUK

• Tinsley Viaduct and Towers

Motorway Archive

• M1 extension to A1(M)
• M1 Aston - Sheffield - Leeds
• M1 Crick - Doncaster
• M1 Hendon - Crick

M1

Junctions Aston Interchange (Yorkshire) • Austhorpe Interchange • Barlborough Interchange • Beechtrees & Breakspears Interchanges • Belle Isle Interchange • Berrygrove • Birdwell Interchange • Brockley Interchange • Broughton Interchange (Milton Keynes) • Bushey Interchange • Carrgate Interchange • Catcliffe Interchange • Catthorpe Interchange • Chiswell Interchange • Collingtree Interchange • Crick Interchange • Dodworth Roundabout • Duckmanton Interchange • Durkar Interchange • East Leeds Link Interchange • Finger Farm Roundabout • Fiveways Interchange • Flushdyke Interchange • Friars Wash • Haigh Roundabout • Hampstead Interchange • Heath Interchange • Holbeck Interchange • Hook Moor Interchange • Hunslet Interchange • Kegworth Interchange • Kidney Wood Roundabout • Kilsby Interchange • Kirby Muxloe Interchange • Kirkhamgate Interchange • Kislingbury Interchange • Lofthouse Interchange • Long Whatton Interchange • M1 J11 • M1 J11A • M1 J27 • M621 J6 • Marble Arch • Markfield Interchange • Misterton Interchange • Nuthall Interchange • Parlington Interchange • Pepperstock • Pinxton Interchange • Ridgemont Interchange • Rothersthorpe Interchange • Rothwell Haigh Interchange • Sandiacre Interchange • Scratchwood Interchange • Shepshed Interchange • Staples Corner • Stourton Interchange • Tankersley Interchange • Thorpe Hesley Interchange • Thurcroft Interchange • Tinsley Interchange • Toddington Interchange • Tunstall Interchange • Warren Lane Roundabout • Waterdale Interchange • Whetstone Interchange •

Services Chapeltown services • Donington Park services • Leeds services • Leicester Forest East services • London Gateway services • Long Whatton services • Lutterworth services • Markfield services • Misterton services • Newport Pagnell services • Northampton services • Redbourn services • Swinford services • Thorpe Hesley services • Tibshelf services • Toddington services • Trowell services • Watford Gap services • Woodall services • Woolley Edge services •

Crossings M1 Catthorpe Viaduct • M1 River Trent crossing • M1 Viaduct, Newport Pagnell • M1 Viaduct, near Junction 16 • Tinsley Viaduct •

Roads E106 (Old System) • E13 • E24 • E28 • E31 (via Carlisle) • E33 (London - Glasgow) • E33 (Northampton - Liverpool) •

Miscellaneous M1/1959 Strip Map • M1/Named Junctions •

Related Pictures View gallery (489)

Other nearby roads London A1 • A1(M) • A10 • A101 • A11 • A11(M) • A127 • A13 • A2 • A2(M) (Kidbrooke - Falconwood) • A20 • A21 • A23(M) • A233 • A24 • A3 • A30 • A4 • A4/Great West Road • A4/Slough - London • A40 • A40/Central London - Denham • A41 • A41/Central London - Watford • A41/Watford - Aylesbury • A5 • A5/Central London - Brockley • B269 • B324 • B519 • E1 (Old System) • E105 (Old System) • E107 (Old System) • E108 (Old System) • E13 • E15 • E2 (Old System) • E30 • E31 (via Carlisle) • E31 (via Newcastle) • E33 (London - Glasgow) • E5 (Old System) • E8 (Old System) • Ermine Street • Great North Road • Holyhead Road • London Inner Ring Road • Longest Lane • M100 • M11 • M12 (Brentwood - Chelmsford) • M12 (Woodford - Brentwood) • M12 (Woodford - Maplin) • M13 • M15 • M16 • M20 • M23 • M25 • M3 • M30 • M4 • M40 • M41 • NCN1 • Northern and Western Motorway • South Cross Route • T1 (Britain) • T10 (Britain) • T11 (Britain) • T12 (Britain) • T2 (Britain) • T3 (Britain) • T31 (Britain) • T32 (Britain) • T33 (Britain) • T34 (Britain) • T35 (Britain) • T4 (Britain) • T5 (Britain) • T6 (Britain) • T8 (Britain) • T9 (Britain) • Watling Street • Milton Keynes A4146 • A421 • A422 • A5 • A5/Friars Walsh - Stony Stratford • A5/Stony Stratford - Crick • A50 • A506 (Hockliffe - Northampton) • A508 • A509 • A5130 • B4033 • B4034 • B488 • B526 • B557 • E13 • E31 (via Carlisle) • E33 (London - Glasgow) • H1 (Milton Keynes) • H10 (Milton Keynes) • H2 (Milton Keynes) • H3 (Milton Keynes) • H4 (Milton Keynes) • H5 (Milton Keynes) • H6 (Milton Keynes) • H7 (Milton Keynes) • H8 (Milton Keynes) • H9 (Milton Keynes) • Holyhead Road • T11 (Britain) • V1 (Milton Keynes) • V10 (Milton Keynes) • V11 (Milton Keynes) • V12 (Milton Keynes) • V2 (Milton Keynes) • V3 (Milton Keynes) • V4 (Milton Keynes) • V5 (Milton Keynes) • V6 (Milton Keynes) • V7 (Milton Keynes) • V8 (Milton Keynes) • V9 (Milton Keynes) • Watling Street • Nottingham A453 • A52 • A60 • A6002 • A6005 • A6008 • A6011 • A6019 • A606 • A609 • A610 • A611 • A612 • A613 (Nuthall - Alfreton) • A6130 • A614 • A6200 • A6211 • A6464 • A648 (Kegworth - Nottingham) • A6514 • B6004 • B6008 • B679 • B680 • B681 • B682 • B684 • B685 • B686 • B690 • B692 • E106 (Old System) • E13 • E31 (via Carlisle) • M42 • T52 (Britain) • T53 (Britain) • T54 (Britain) • Sheffield A57 • A6019 (Sheffield) • A6020 (Sheffield) • A61 • A61(M) • A6101 • A6102 • A6109 • A6134 • A6135 • A6135 (High Green - Hoyland Common) • A616 • A6178 • A6187 • A621 • A625 • A629 • A630 • A631 • B6053 • B6054 • B6057 • B6057 (Dronfield) • B6058 • B6063 • B6064 • B6065 • B6066 • B6068 • B6068 (London Road, Sheffield) • B6069 • B6070 • B6071 • B6072 • B6073 • B6074 • B6075 • B6075 (West Sheffield) • B6076 • B6077 • B6079 (Sheffield) • B6080 • B6081 • B6081 (Sheffield - Rotherham) • B6082 • B6083 • B6084 • B6085 • B6086 • B6086 (East Sheffield) • B6087 • B6088 • B6158 • B6200 • B6375 • B6388 • B6533 • B6539 • B6546 • B6547 • E106 (Old System) • E114 (Old System) • E13 • M67 • Sheffield Spur Motorway • T16 (Britain) • T22 (Britain) • T59 (Britain) • Leeds A58 • A58(M) • A61 • A6110 • A6120 • A6183 • A62 • A62(M) • A63 • A639 • A64 • A64(M) • A642 • A643 • A647 • A65 • A65(M) • A653 • A654 • A657 • A658 • A660 • B1217 • B6123 • B6125 • B6126 • B6127 • B6135 (Castleford - Lofthouse) • B6137 • B6152 • B6153 • B6154 • B6157 • B6158 (Leeds) • B6159 • B6451 • B6481 (Leeds) • E106 (Old System) • E109 (Old System) • E20 • E22 • Leeds North East Urban Motorway • M111 • M19 • M62 • M621 • M65 (Gildersome - Leeds) • T16 (Britain) • T20 (Britain) • T21 (Britain) • T66 (Britain) • T69 (Britain) • T71 (Britain) •

Motorways in Great Britain Current Motorways: M1 · M2 · M3 · M4 · M5 · M6 · M6 Toll · M8 · M9 · M11 · M18 · M20 · M23 · M25 · M26 · M27 · M32 · M40 · M42 · M45 · M48 · M49 · M50 · M53 · M54 · M55 · M56 · M57 · M58 · M60 · M61 · M62 · M65 · M66 · M67 · M69 · M73 · M74 · M77 · M80 · M90 · M180 · M181 · M271 · M275 · M602 · M606 · M621 · M876 · M898 A1(M) · A3(M) · A14(M) · A38(M) · A48(M) · A57(M) · A58(M) · A64(M) · A66(M) · A74(M) · A92(M) · A167(M) · A168(M) · A194(M) · A195(M) · A308(M) · A329(M) · A404(M) · A601(M) · A627(M) · A635(M) · A666(M) · A823(M) · A1058(M) · Motorway Spurs Former Motorways: M10 · M15 · M16 · M30 · M41 · M52 · M62 · M63 · M64 · M65 · M68 · M85 · M111 · M270 · M274 · M531 · M600 · A2(M) · A4(M) · A5(M) · A8(M) · A11(M) · A18(M) · A20(M) · A23(M) · A36(M) · A40(M) · A40(M) · A41(M) · A46(M) · A48(M) · A48(M) · A65(M) · A102(M) · A102(M) · A423(M) · A446(M) · A604(M) · A638(M) · A696(M) · A1231(M) · A6127(M) · A6138(M) · A6144(M) Unbuilt Motorways: M4 Toll · M12 · M13 · M17 · M19 · M31 · M58 · M59 · M60 · M64 · M81 · M82 · M83 · M100 · M272 · M273 · M601 · M650 · A2(M) · A6(M) · A6(M) · A59(M) · A61(M) · A556(M) · A695(M) · Unnumbered Motorways Fictional Motorways: M91 · M96 · M101 · M399

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