M45
M45 | |||||||||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||
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M45 at Dunchurch | |||||||||||||
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From: | Watford Gap (SP587698) | ||||||||||||
To: | Thurlaston (SP465714) | ||||||||||||
Distance: | 8 miles (12.9 km) | ||||||||||||
Meets: | M1, A45 | ||||||||||||
Primary Destinations | |||||||||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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Junction List | |||||||||||||
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Built as a spur to the A45 towards Coventry and Birmingham when the original M1 was built in 1959. It is D2M and is extremely quiet. It was originally built without hard shoulders, but these were added in 1967. Otherwise it is currently almost original, with the exception of the junction in the middle which acts as a bypass of the village of Dunchurch.
Junctions
Kilsby Interchange
Main Article: Kilsby Interchange
The Kilsby Interchange is the junction linking the M45 to the M1. It is a south-facing fork, and the oldest motorway-motorway interchange in the United Kingdom.
History
The M45 was opened in its entirety opened on 2 November 1959, on the same day as the initial section of the M1.
Since the motorway's opening, the only significant change has been a limited access junction to the east of Dunchurch with the A45, which allows the M45 to act as a Dunchurch bypass.
Links
Roads.org.uk
Roads UK
Pathetic Motorways