Fiveways Interchange

This article is about the junction known as Five Ways in Mill Hill, London.
For junctions in other locations called Five Ways, see Five Ways.

The southbound temporary route, years later

The junction on the OS One Inch map from 1935 showing the road numbers from that time

By 1946, the numbers had all changed

Whilst by 1952, the A1 passed through the junction

The temporary M1 junction to the north on the OS One Inch map from 1968

The short southern M1 extension under construction in 1970

Fiveways Interchange is where the Barnet bypass and Watford bypass met at the southern end of their shared section through Mill Hill. These bypasses have carried several different road numbers, but since the 1950s have been A1 and A41 respectively. The M1 has its junction 2 here.

The M1 had a temporary terminus just north of here from 1967, forming a fork on Watford Way just north of the roundabout (which itself only appears circa 1962). The final junction opened in stages finishing in 1977, with all sorts of different access arrangements for northbound traffic, using the flyover that still exists, and the temporary terminus' access to the northbound M1 (a simple gap-in-fence roadway)[1]

The southbound temporary route used the disused rail alignment passing under Watford Way alongside Bunns Lane. The disused sliproad was occasionally used post-77 as a temporary exit when the M1 south of here to Staples Corner was closed medium-term, providing access to the A41 that the finished junction layout that fully opened in 1977 doesn't. This sliproad was recently (2010s) fenced off, but before, if you knew where it was, you could walk along it and end up right next to the M1 southbound carriageway (with a crash barrier between you and the motorway).

Routes

Route	To	Notes
M1	The NORTH, Watford, (M25 West)
M1	C. London (West End), Brent Cross, (N Circular), (A406 West)	accessed to/from M1 only
A1	The NORTH, Hatfield, Mill Hill, (M25 East), Aylesbury (A41)	no access to/from M1
A1	C. London (The City), Holloway, Finchley, (N Circular Rd), (A406 East)
A41	C. London (West End), (N Circular), (A406 West), Wembley, Brent Cross, Hendon	no access to/from M1
	Mill Hill Village (not signposted)	Page Street. Exit left-turn only but can then manoeuvre around the mini-gyratory
	local facilities including The Laboratory gymnasium	Hall Lane. Entry only from A1. Remainder two-way with entry also from A41.
A41	The NORTH, Hatfield (A1), Mill Hill, (M25 East), Aylesbury	now A1
A500	Aylesbury, Watford	Watford Bypass (1935 - 1950s)
A500	West End, Hendon	Watford Bypass (1935 - 1950s)
A555	The City, Finchley	Barnet Bypass (1935 - 1950s)
A5088	Aylesbury, Watford	Watford Bypass (1920s - 1935)
A5088	West End, Hendon	Watford Bypass (1920s - 1935)
A5093	The City, Finchley	Barnet Bypass (1920s - 1935)

Links

legislation.gov.uk

• The M1 Motorway (Junction 2) (50 Miles Per Hour Speed Limit) Regulations 2020 - These Regulations introduce a 50 miles per hour speed limit to lengths of the roads at junction 2 of the M1 motorway which connect with the A1.