Missing whole-numbered motorway junctions that will never be built

[AndyB]

For clarity, this refers only to whole-numbered junctions which were projected at the time the remaining junctions on an existing motorway were numbered.

So M1(NI) J0 doesn't count, because while the M1 was extended north of J1, the Westlink isn't a motorway.

However, these do count:

M2(NI) J3 (impossible gradients on the slip roads that will never be built - the mainline is already very steep as motorways go)
M2(NI) J7 - the present J7 for Antrim Area Hospital is a later addition, but the original J7 was to be the junction with the M22.

M1(NI) J4 - M11 round Lisburn
M1(NI) J5 - M8 towards Stranmillis
M1(NI) J8 - M11 south towards Newry. The present J8 is not on the original intended site.

[DB617]

A bone of contention in Cardiff is M4 J31 (Thornhill and Lisvane/Caerphilly) which would have linked the A469 both towards Caerphilly and Northwest Cardiff to the motorway network. As it stands the village suburbs of Thornhill and Lisvane are obscenely difficult to access compared to any other area of the city. The main eastbound link to J30 is via Cardiff's only remaining single track road of about two miles, then a rat run through a housing estate in Pontprennau. To the west are a few residential roads which link to the A470 Northern Avenue and eventually to J32.

I'd love to know the reason that J31 was never built. It's been speculated that the unimproved A469 Caerphilly Mountain Road was considered inappropriate for a motorway connection and would have required South/Mid Glam Councils to upgrade that route, which would have been a significant engineering challenge. J31 would also have been in rather close proximity to the preceding and succeeding junctions, but it's clear that by the time the M4 reached South Wales that was no longer a consideration, as all three of the M4's Welsh cities have very close junctions with plenty of weaving. It's also possible that at the time you didn't see the severe congestion around the A470 within Cardiff and the difficulty drivers encounter on all approaches to the gyratory so it wasn't seen as a high priority. It's a certainty with the Welsh Government's climate policy and how it relates to road building, that Cardiff will never get its missing motorway junction even as the city expands and plops garden villages into every available space.

[A303Chris]

You have the infamous J3 on the M1 where three quarters of the junction was built for access to London Gateway but the connection to Stirling Corner never happened.

Then junction 8/9 on the M4, which is two junctions in one. In fact the original plan was to make j4b with M25 , J5, then J5 to J6, then J7 would be J8 and J8/9 would be J9. However by the time the M25 came to be, J8/9 had been around so long as with the other numbers, the belief was changing it would cause issues.

M27 junction 6, we all know the long history of that one.

And the M56 is missing J13, don't know why that is

[Gareth Thomas]

Then junction 8/9 on the M4, which is two junctions in one. In fact the original plan was to make j4b with M25 , J5, then J5 to J6, then J7 would be J8 and J8/9 would be J9. However by the time the M25 came to be, J8/9 had been around so long as with the other numbers, the belief was changing it would cause issues.

Was this ever actually planned? I've never heard anything about that other than on this forum by members who want to tidy up the network.

There's Junction 2 of the M58, where the never-to-be-built M59 would have set off for Preston.

The mysterious Junction 7 on the M61. No-one seems to know what it would have been.....

And how about A1(M) Junctions 54 and 55.....?

[A42_Sparks]

However, these do count:

M2(NI) J3 (impossible gradients on the slip roads that will never be built - the mainline is already very steep as motorways go)
M2(NI) J7 - the present J7 for Antrim Area Hospital is a later addition, but the original J7 was to be the junction with the M22.

Do M2(NI) J8 & J9 count? J8 would have been with either the B98 or more likely the B53 to serve Kells. J9 was with the A26, probably limited access (south-facing slips).

[AndyB]

No, the mainline wasn’t built so M2 J8/9 are out of scope.

[Bryn666]

The mysterious Junction 7 on the M61. No-one seems to know what it would have been.....

Various ideas have been suggested, there's basic sketches suggesting a southern access for Chorley - one potential site being where the A673 passes under the M61, as this bridge is wide enough for a dual carriageway. I'd bet good money Truvelo knows.

[fras]

Wasn't there to be a junction on the M56 by Sutton Weaver, where the A533 passes over the top ? This would at least alleviate the ghastly Jn 12 with its 500 badly phased traffic lights ! OK not that many, it just seems that way.

[Scratchwood]

Junctions 1 to 6 of the M23 and Junctions 1 to 3 of the M11...

[Truvelo]

The mysterious Junction 7 on the M61. No-one seems to know what it would have been.....

Various ideas have been suggested, there's basic sketches suggesting a southern access for Chorley - one potential site being where the A673 passes under the M61, as this bridge is wide enough for a dual carriageway. I'd bet good money Truvelo knows.

Unfortunately I can't help. I can say it definitely isn't connected with any proposals for the Central Lancs New Town, not least because the A673 is well south of the new town boundary.

A bone of contention in Cardiff is M4 J31 (Thornhill and Lisvane/Caerphilly) which would have linked the A469 both towards Caerphilly and Northwest Cardiff to the motorway network...I'd love to know the reason that J31 was never built.

Now this one I can answer. The motorway connecting this junction to the city centre was never built. I put a heap of content about it here https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/ind ... =Hook_Road.

[Rambo]

Wasn't there to be a junction on the M56 by Sutton Weaver, where the A533 passes over the top ? This would at least alleviate the ghastly Jn 12 with its 500 badly phased traffic lights ! OK not that many, it just seems that way.

I always wondered why there wasn't a junction here on the M56 especially now for the new Mersey bridge. This could have been the signed route to Liverpool from the M6 south (if they scrapped the tolls) The current A533 just stops and you have to crawl through Preston Brook to head east.
Although if there were, the A557 and A56 junctions on the M56 would all be bunched together.

[Chris Bertram]

M55 is missing J2, but IIRC there are plans for that, aren't there? Something about a Preston Western Distributor?

[Lewis1997]

There are also some A-class roads which also have missing whole numbered interchanges that will never be built;

The A12 from J1 to J10 are all missing and will never be built. Would you say the A14 is the same? The renumbering of junctions between Huntingdon and Cambridge changes things, with J26-30
now missing, but things could change again in the future. But J48 is unlikely to ever be built or ‘appear’ assuming no junction renumbering occurs.

[AndyB]

Junctions 1 to 6 of the M23 and Junctions 1 to 3 of the M11...

Out of scope - the stretches of motorway you mention don't exist to build junctions on.

[Bryn666]

M55 is missing J2, but IIRC there are plans for that, aren't there? Something about a Preston Western Distributor?

Construction has already begun, so this one will be fixed at least.

[DB617]

A bone of contention in Cardiff is M4 J31 (Thornhill and Lisvane/Caerphilly) which would have linked the A469 both towards Caerphilly and Northwest Cardiff to the motorway network...I'd love to know the reason that J31 was never built.

Now this one I can answer. The motorway connecting this junction to the city centre was never built. I put a heap of content about it here https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/ind ... =Hook_Road.

Your linked article does say the Hook Road was cancelled by 1972, though, and the M4 through here was completed in 1979-1980? I would say the opportunity still existed for a motorway connection in the Thornhill/Llanishen area post Buchanan but was still not taken up.

Every time the Buchanan plans are brought up, I'm reminded how insane road builders were in the 1960s-70s with some of the batty inner city schemes, most of which never saw light of day. Cardiff would be an absolute misery if all the planned motorways were built, especially around Gabalfa which would surely have pretty much not existed.

[drpsg]

M62 Jn 16 - turn off for the M601 - https://pathetic.org.uk/unbuilt/m601/

[A303Chris]

Then junction 8/9 on the M4, which is two junctions in one. In fact the original plan was to make j4b with M25 , J5, then J5 to J6, then J7 would be J8 and J8/9 would be J9. However by the time the M25 came to be, J8/9 had been around so long as with the other numbers, the belief was changing it would cause issues.

Was this ever actually planned? I've never heard anything about that other than on this forum by members who want to tidy up the network.

Yes it was, the M25 opened there in 1985, and I started at Berkshire CC in 1987 when they had the responsibility for the M4 under an agency agreement. I saw the plans with M25 as J5, Langley as J6, Windsor / Slough Central J7, Huntercombe J8 and Holyport as J9.

The issue came about as the original J8 was the old junction onto the A308 Windsor Road, which was followed by 9a and 9b on the former end of the M4 at Maidenhead Thicket. When J8 went in 1971, J8/9 was created as a temporary solution.

However, by 1986, local councillors and MP's didn't want it changed as they didn't want drivers getting confused as J5 to J7 had been in place since 1963 and they thought if they were changed drivers would leave at the wrong junction creating congestion. So they did not change them. Also someone had to pay for it and at the time DfT thought money was better spent elsewhere as well.

[Gareth Thomas]

Then junction 8/9 on the M4, which is two junctions in one. In fact the original plan was to make j4b with M25 , J5, then J5 to J6, then J7 would be J8 and J8/9 would be J9. However by the time the M25 came to be, J8/9 had been around so long as with the other numbers, the belief was changing it would cause issues.

Was this ever actually planned? I've never heard anything about that other than on this forum by members who want to tidy up the network.

Yes it was, the M25 opened there in 1985, and I started at Berkshire CC in 1987 when they had the responsibility for the M4 under an agency agreement. I saw the plans with M25 as J5, Langley as J6, Windsor / Slough Central J7, Huntercombe J8 and Holyport as J9.

The issue came about as the original J8 was the old junction onto the A308 Windsor Road, which was followed by 9a and 9b on the former end of the M4 at Maidenhead Thicket. When J8 went in 1971, J8/9 was created as a temporary solution.

However, by 1986, local councillors and MP's didn't want it changed as they didn't want drivers getting confused as J5 to J7 had been in place since 1963 and they thought if they were changed drivers would leave at the wrong junction creating congestion. So they did not change them. Also someone had to pay for it and at the time DfT thought money was better spent elsewhere as well.

Fair enough. I never knew it had been under official consideration. I can see their logic, but other junction numbers had changed around then (M42/M74 for example).

[M19]

A bone of contention in Cardiff is M4 J31 (Thornhill and Lisvane/Caerphilly) which would have linked the A469 both towards Caerphilly and Northwest Cardiff to the motorway network. As it stands the village suburbs of Thornhill and Lisvane are obscenely difficult to access compared to any other area of the city. The main eastbound link to J30 is via Cardiff's only remaining single track road of about two miles, then a rat run through a housing estate in Pontprennau. To the west are a few residential roads which link to the A470 Northern Avenue and eventually to J32.

I'd love to know the reason that J31 was never built. It's been speculated that the unimproved A469 Caerphilly Mountain Road was considered inappropriate for a motorway connection and would have required South/Mid Glam Councils to upgrade that route, which would have been a significant engineering challenge. J31 would also have been in rather close proximity to the preceding and succeeding junctions, but it's clear that by the time the M4 reached South Wales that was no longer a consideration, as all three of the M4's Welsh cities have very close junctions with plenty of weaving. It's also possible that at the time you didn't see the severe congestion around the A470 within Cardiff and the difficulty drivers encounter on all approaches to the gyratory so it wasn't seen as a high priority. It's a certainty with the Welsh Government's climate policy and how it relates to road building, that Cardiff will never get its missing motorway junction even as the city expands and plops garden villages into every available space.

That’s all going to change with the North East Cardiff Development from Lisvane to Pontprennau. The spine road will replace the single track lane which will become a cycle route and footpath, where it isn’t needed to serve existing properties.