M5
England's M5 is a motorway running between the M6 in Staffordshire northwest of Birmingham and the A30 and A38 at Exeter, Devon. It meets the M42, M50, M49 and M4, and is the major route into the southwest of England from the Midlands and the north, as well as being part of the recommended route from London. Part of the section between J27 and J29 was opened as the A38 Cullompton Bypass.
Devon and Cornwall's tourist industry is very thankful for the M5, because nowadays trundling down the A38 would be a bad enough experience to put many holidaymakers off travelling to the South West. Now the M5 is primarily a route for holiday traffic and does this quite well, although on summer Saturdays and Bank Holidays it becomes congested. However, in the winter months, it can be a clear run from the M6 to Exeter.
Beginning from the south, the M5 really passes through nowhere in particular apart from Taunton and Bridgwater and most traffic on here is heading to Bristol and beyond. The junctions are only really there because it was a while since the last one. On a typical day, the first hold-up is likely to be at the Avonmouth Bridge. From then on, it will probably be a clear run right up to Ray Hall interchange, where you are likely to grind to a halt. This is because the M5 unloads itself onto the choked-already M6 without a single lane gain. This is a recipe for disaster and from 3:30 to around 7 every weekday night, queues usually stretch back to junction 1.
Junctions
Ray Hall Interchange
Ray Hall is the northern terminus of the M5 in West Bromwich. It is a standard directional-T interchange with the M6. The road is, however, extremely congested at this point and tailbacks often form along several miles of the preceding motorway.
Almondsbury Interchange
The Almondsbury Interchange is the main junction for traffic to interchange between the M4 and M5, and is interlinked with M5 junction 16, which provides access to the A38. The junction was the first example of a four-level stack in the country. Link roads connecting from M4 to M5 pass over the top level of the interchange and links from the M5 to the M4 pass underneath all other levels.
Strensham Interchange
The Strensham Interchange is the junction linking the M5 to the M50. For the M5, it is a standard roundabout interchange, whilst it is a flat roundabout for the M50, of which it is also the terminus. The southbound exit for Strensham Services also feeds into this roundabout, merging with the off-slip from the M5.
Services
Frankley services
Frankley services is a small MSA near to Birmingham, and has been recognised several times as offering a poor service.
Gordano services
Gordano services are a single-site MSA near to Bristol, and was the first MSA on the British motorway network to be located at a junction. It is a popular site, winning several awards.
Structures
Avonmouth Bridge
The Avonmouth Bridge is a major crossing of the River Avon to the west of Bristol. Its completion was delayed and for a while the M5 was open either side of the bridge, but not across the bridge itself causing traffic to detour via Bristol, with many long delays.
Opening Dates
Schemes and Maintenance
Start | Completion | Location | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
25 April 2005 | 17 October 2005 | J17 - J18A | Addition of northbound climbing lane | |
October 2005 | 30 June 2006 | J19 - J20 | Addition of northbound and southbound climbing lanes | |
May 2009 | July 2009 | J4 - J4A | Streetlight renewal | |
November 2009 | Ongoing | J3 - J4 | Replacing central reservation | |
January 2012 | 2014 | J15 - J17 | Upgrade to Managed Motorways | Along with M4 J19 - 20 |
Traffic Data
From http://www.dft.gov.uk/traffic-counts/
Link | 2002 AADF | 2006 AADF | 2010 AADF | 2014 AADF |
---|---|---|---|---|
M6N | 59546 | 49794 | 51430 | 75976 |
M6E | 32614 | 45343 | 48230 | 42614 |
M6-J1 | 95844 | 102224 | 99593 | 121492 |
J1-2 | 87337 | 96738 | 99611 | 112469 |
J2-3 | 90606 | 94499 | 83626 | 96343 |
J3-Frankley | 92621 | 95345 | 80321 | 87667 |
Frankley-J4 | 89170 | 87991 | 84924 | 91704 |
J4-4A | 95733 | 99427 | 92967 | 96473 |
J4A | 63172 | 66694 | 59041 | 74245 |
J4A-5 | 108976 | 112750 | 115149 | 116219 |
J5-6 | 99537 | 96713 | 90404 | 108367 |
J6-7 | 95502 | 117206 | 105649 | 100198 |
J7-8 | 88847 | 105485 | 85378 | 89357 |
J8-9 | 73079 | 80835 | 84891 | 75736 |
J9-10 | 77775 | 90496 | 92384 | 95489 |
J10-11 | 68229 | 80293 | 80590 | 83135 |
J11-11A | 73593 | 81838 | 80298 | 84809 |
J11A-12 | 65483 | 93024 | 90555 | 84012 |
J12-13 | 71272 | 91153 | 90180 | 91267 |
J13-14 | 70098 | 77099 | 75487 | 74491 |
J14-15 | 69984 | 74824 | 81519 | 81073 |
J15-16 | 106063 | 126384 | 118122 | 113631 |
J16-17 | 94308 | 117630 | 98987 | 124061 |
J17-18A | 91107 | 104182 | 89507 | 102685 |
J18A-18 | 80673 | 85885 | 90063 | 79781 |
J18 spur | 39903 | 47988 | 40504 | 47423 |
A4 west | 20558 | 21339 | 20896 | 23730 |
A4 east | 19706 | 20884 | 20340 | 20979 |
J18-19 | 94355 | 108742 | 119443 | 130052 |
J19-20 | 79274 | 83090 | 103970 | 95374 |
J20-21 | 82023 | 85605 | 83840 | 105358 |
J21-22 | 75751 | 73224 | 65406 | 64074 |
J22-A38 | 21220 | 23406 | 25552 | 25670 |
J22-23 | 74835 | 100094 | 76330 | 73964 |
J23-24 | 53626 | 71892 | 79356 | 74844 |
J24-25 | 62210 | 64658 | 84128 | 68521 |
J25-26 | 47864 | 72898 | 71099 | 61601 |
J26-27 | 54240 | 55465 | 59718 | 56987 |
J27-28 | 51210 | 59948 | 58300 | 57157 |
J28-29 | 52132 | 54726 | 56623 | 64925 |
J29-30 | 67469 | 79536 | 72503 | 77568 |
J30-31 | 74630 | 78842 | 77918 | 81942 |
Videos
Michaelwood services Bridge Removal on the M5
This is the moment the 40-year-old Michaelwood Services footbridge was consigned to history in a massive overnight operation.
Highways England closed the M5 overnight between Junction 13 and Junction 14 to enable the dismantling and removal of the well-used and well-worn motorway structure.
The footbridge spanning the southbound and northbound areas of the services had reached the end of its life and was closed to pedestrians in 2018.
A 70-strong team were involved in the cutting, dismantling and lifting of the bridge, with a 750-tonne crane positioned on the northbound carriageway to lift and lower the 69-tonne footbridge and two 130-foot cranes to manoeuvre the structure for cutting and removal.
The 60-metre bridge may no longer span the M5 but the metal and concrete, including the ramps and pillars, will now be recycled for future use.
Links
National Highways
- Post Opening Project Evaluation: M4 J19 –20 & M5 J15 –17 Smart Motorway - One Year After January 2020 (archive.org)
Patchway Journal
- Pegwell Brake footbridge (also known as the Banana or Rainbow footbridge) Dismantled this weekend 07.11.2012 (archive.org)
Roads UK
legislation.gov.uk
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