Temporary Terminus
Temporary Terminus | ||
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The southern terminus of the Preston Bypass was a temporary terminus. | ||
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Grade Separated Junction • Flare |
A Temporary Terminus (or occasionally temporary tie-in), is, as the term suggests, a junction which forms the end point for a road or road scheme, such as a bypass or motorway, where the road is intended to continue but is the location of the end of the construction at that time. They can be built with or without provision for a proposed road extension. For instance, the Tormarton Interchange of the M4 was opened in 1966 in its present day grade separated form with provision for the Tormarton-Maidenhead stretch that would open five years later. At the same time, other Temporary Termini such as the Hampson Green Roundabout, the original southern terminus of the M6 Lancaster Bypass and today J33 of the M6, were built without the earthworks of the present day junction. In its case both carriageways originally took a sharp bend along the line of the present northern sliproad. It was common for early Temporary Termini to be built without full provision for the road's expansion, though most built since the late 1960s have been built with provision.
Some Temporary Terminii are that for only a short time, such as M6 junction 11, where the motorway from the north terminated for a few months from March 1966 until the following section to junction 10 opened in September 1966, which in turn became a temporary terminus until the link to junction 9 opened in November 1968.
Other Temporary Terminii end up becoming more permanent. Hooley Interchange at M23 junction 7, Staples Corner at M1 junction 1 and The Rocket at M62 junction 4 were all constructed as temporary terminii in 1974, 1977 and 1976 respectively, however, all have have become the respective motorway's permanent ending point with the proposed extensions all cancelled.
Possibly the most well-known Temporary Terminus was on the M40 where for many years the connection at the then-northern end with A40 was even labelled in motorway strip maps from the period as "Temporary Motorway Terminal", until the motorway to the north was opened in 1991.
Not all temporary terminii were at junctions that were intended to stay open once the road was complete. Examples of this are on the M40 where the Beaconsfield bypass section had its eastern end at a temporary location to the west of the present junction 2, at this location; whilst the A74(M) had large numbers of short-lived temporary terminii during its construction.
List of locations
- List of Temporary Termini in England
- List of Temporary Termini in Scotland
- List of Temporary Termini in Wales
- List of Temporary Termini in Northern Ireland
- List of Temporary Termini in Ireland