CBRD » Motorway Database » M6 Main Images Timeline Exit List Where would we be without the M6? Nowhere at all. It's Britain's longest motorway and carries (in total, over its whole length) more traffic than any other. Part of it was also Britain's first. The first motorway in Britain was the Preston Bypass, which was then incorporated into the M6 when construction was continued. Today it's found between junction 29 and M55 junction 1. The M6 contains all kinds of ground-breaking sections: the section along the Lake District has won awards for enhancing the landscape, for example. In a more mundane area and the section between Shap and Tebay is the only one in Britain to have an unconnected local road running down the central reservation. Opened in 2003, the M6 Toll bypasses Birmingham, and is Britain's first toll road. Recently completed is the A74 upgrade, which extended the M6 right up to the border, connecting to the A74(M) .

The A74(M) and M74 were, when they were built, going to be renumbered as M6, creating a motorway over 350 miles long linking the M1 (and thus London) to Glasgow. That looks highly unlikely now. However, the fact that the link between the two motorways was made at all is a cause for celebration, and it's fitting that it was on 5 December 2008 that the a new section opened — the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Preston Bypass. Factfile The longest motorway The longest motorway + Share | Print page The longest motorway At 231 miles (370km), the M6 is the UK's longest motorway and extends from Catthorpe (junction 19 on the M1) to the Scottish Border (Guards Mill) where it becomes the A74(M) which itself joins the M74 to Glasgow. Taken together with the A74(M) and M74 (which is itself being extended by 5 miles) the total continuous length of motorway will be about 370 miles.

It is very unlikely that the sections in Scotland will be renumbered. The first section was opened in December 1958 ( Preston By-pass ) and the last exactly 50 years later in December 2008 (Carlisle to Guards Mill). It is generally dual three-lane carriageways, with short sections of dual four-lane between the M56 and M62 and between the M61 and M55. The section North of Birmingham is so seriously congested, that a new motorway, the M6 Toll, Birmingham Northern Relief Road opened in December 2003 to provide an alternative route. The Highways Agency website suggests that the M1 is the longest motorway, but since it is about 41 miles shorter than the M6, this must be an error. Even when work on upgrading the A1 to motorway standard is complete, the total continuous length of motorway will only be some 215 miles. Main Menu Road Facts and Figures - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki Road Facts and Figures Jump to: navigation , search This page is an attempt to provide details of the longest, highest, etc. classified roads in the British Isles.

References to 'Great Britain' below exclude Northern Ireland, which is treated separately. This page is still a 'work in progress' and updates / corrections are more than welcome. Contents 8 Sources 'Motorable Roads' According to the Ordnance Survey , there are approximately 321,000 miles of 'motorable', roads in the UK. The precise definition of this is unclear, but probably relates to public highway suitable for/passable by motor vehicles. Longest roads Non-motorways Great Britain The A1 is the longest classified Road in GNB at 396 miles from London to Edinburgh. The A38 is the longest 2-digit A-road in GB at over 309 miles from Bodmin to Mansfield. The A361 is the longest 3-digit A-road in GB at 195 miles from Ilfracombe to Kilsby. The A1101 is the longest 4-digit A-road in GB at 53 miles from Long Sutton to Bury St Edmunds. The B6318 is the longest B-road in GB at 61 miles from Heddon-on-the-Wall to Langholm.

However, none of the A-roads are continuous as they either have a non-dominant multiplex, or motorway (eg A1(M) ) sections, or both. The longest A-road wholly in England is the A38 . The longest A-road wholly in Wales is the A470 at 185 miles, closely followed by the A487 at 174 miles. The longest A-road wholly in Scotland is the A9 at 279 miles, with the A82 coming a distant second at 175 miles, and the A836 is the longest 3-digit route at 125 miles. British A-roads over 100 miles long Rank 116 km : 72 miles Motorways The M6 is the longest Motorway in GB at 236 miles from Catthorpe, Leicestershire to the Scottish Border. The M25 is the longest 2-digit Motorway in GB at over 117 miles from Dartford to Thurrock. The M180 is the longest 3-digit Motorway in GB at 25 miles from Hatfield, Yorkshire to Barnetby-le-Wold.

The A1(M) is the longest Ax(M) road in GB at 122 miles from South Mimms to Washington in five sections while the A74(M) is the longest continuous Ax(M) Motorway, running from Abington to just south of Gretna Green. The longest Motorway wholly in England is the M6 . Its 236 miles stop just short of the Scottish Border. The longest, and only, Motorway wholly in Wales is the A48(M) at 2 miles. The longest Motorway wholly in Scotland is the M8 at 61 miles, with the M9 coming second at 51 miles. The longest motorway in Ireland is, for now, the M7 at a distance of 187 km (116 miles). The longest motorway in Northern Ireland is the M1 at 38 miles. Highest roads The highest classified road in Scotland is the Cairnwell Pass on the A93 at 2199 feet (670 m).

Other high routes in Scotland include the Lechd Summit on the A939 , at 2113 feet (644 m), the Bealach na Ba pass in Applecross, which reaches 2054 feet (626 m), and the Cairngorm Mountain road off the B970 , which reaches approximately 2100 feet (640 m). The highest motorway in Great Britain is the M62 at a point inside Junction 22 , east of the junction bridge. A sign proclaims the height to be 1221 feet (372 m). The highest point on any British motorway other than the Pennine section of the M62 is on the M74 at an unmarked point near Wedder Law, about midway between junctions 12 and 13, believed to be 1060 feet (323 m). This point remains less well known than Beattock Summit further south on the former A74 (now B7076 ) which at 1029 feet (314 m) was until 1991 the highest point on the Carlisle-Glasgow route.

The nearby local summit on the A74(M) is probably about 1020 feet (311 m). The highest point on any English motorway other than the Pennine section of the M62 is at Shap Summit (1036 feet, 316 m) on the M6 a short distance south of junction 39 . Shortest numbered road There must be many claimants for the title of shortest classified road in GB. Most are urban link roads, which were allocated separate numbers many years ago, whereas these days they would simply be a spur of the main route. A-roads less than circa 500 yds/m long include: B-Roads less than circa 500 yds/m long include: Roads meeting each other more than twice There are many examples of two roads meeting each other again and again. Generally they result from a main route being realigned, and the old road being downgraded to a lesser status. If the two routes multiplex with each other, both junctions are counted. Some examples are: A48 / M4 Meet each other about 10 times in total as they weave through South Wales.

A38 / M5 Meet each other 8 times directly, and many more times via a very short stretch on another route to get to the junction (eg J23, Bridgwater, where the A39 provides the link). A830 / B8008 have 8 junctions with each other (including spurs) between Arisaig and Mallaig. A1 / A199 have 6 junctions with each other (including spurs) between Brunstane and Dunbar. One of the junctions is a cannon . Geographical extremities: north, south, east and west Geographical Entities The oldest motorway The oldest motorway The oldest motorway The first motorway to be opened in the UK was the 8¼ mile long M6 Preston By-pass. It was opened on the 5th December 1958 by the then Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. A granite plinth marking the occasion was erected at the Samlesbury interchange. As can be seen from the picture, it was a dual two-lane motorway (it is now dual four-lane) and had "soft" shoulders and no central barrier.

The most startling thing about the picture is the almost negligible volume of traffic. Today it carries up to 140,000 vehicles per day It may be argued that the next section of motorway to be opened was the half-mile length of the M4 Chiswick flyover in September 1959. It was never, however, referred to as the M4 at the time it was opened, nor was it built to accepted motorway standards. The overall width, on the structures, was only 59 feet and the "hard shoulders" were never more than 4 feet wide. Nevertheless, it is now junction 1 of the M4, and its place in UK motorway history is assured. The third, and first major inter-urban, motorway to be opened was the 67 mile (107km) length of the M1, between Crick and Berrygrove . It was opened in November 1959 by the then Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples. This was the first section of the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway, and was designed to speed up travel between Birmingham and London.

It was the first dual three-lane motorway, but In spite of the lessons learned from the Preston By-pass, suffered from weak "hard shoulders". The M45 (Dunchurch to M1) and the M10 (St Albans By-pass) motorways were constructed at the same time. It was built in only 19 months, and included a service station at Watford Gap - the first in the UK. The next 7 schemes (opened before the end of 1961) were: Scheme CBRD » British Roads FAQ British Roads FAQ Links You are here: Home » British Roads FAQ As you would expect, these are the most Frequently Asked Questions where British Roads are concerned. It started off as somewhere to put answers to questions I got asked a lot, and grew into this formidable document. It's now been adopted as the official FAQ for SABRE , the Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts. If the answer you want's not in here, or if you think I've missed one out, you can either ask me or pose your question to the kindly folk of SABRE who are bound to know the answer. The FAQ is updated irregularly and erratically.

Contributors are listed in no particular order at the end of this page. This system is about as organised as the roads themselves. Other Sources of Information CBRD has other pages explaining arcane technical terms. Try the Dictionary for a definition of words and phrases found in this FAQ and in the wider world of roads. 1.1 Who owns and runs the roads? This is a surprisingly difficult question. There is a simple answer and a complicated answer. The simple answer is that the public own and run them. Roads exist for the use of the public and are maintained by various government bodies at public expense. Roads in Great Britain can be divided into two categories for this purpose: trunk roads and non-trunk roads. Trunk roads (see 2.6 What is a 'trunk road'? ) are nationally important routes, which are maintained by the national highway authority of each country (for example, the Highways Agency in England). All other public roads are maintained by local authorities — usually a city or county council. Roads in Northern Ireland are all maintained by the Northern Ireland Roads Service. The complex answer is that roads — or more properly public highways — cannot easily be said to be owned by anyone.

Often the land on which they exist actually belongs to whoever owns the adjacent land, and theoretically, rather like a path across a field, the land is theirs even if the right of way is superimposed on top of it. If the right of way were ever to be removed, or the road were ever torn up, the land would revert to its historical owner. However, a public highway is extremely difficult to get rid of and for all practical purposes the land between its boundary fences is treated as though it is owned by the authority that maintains it. Land for new roads that were built more recently (from the early 20th century), and did not evolve from ancient pathways and tracks, is bought from the landowner by compulsory purchase before construction begins, and is then owned, outright, by the Crown. 1.2 What are the roads like? The British road network provides dense coverage of the whole country and is, by international standards, well developed and well maintained. It arguably has suffered from a lack of long-term planning and consistent investment. Nearly all public roads were surfaced in the early part of the 20th century, and the country has a good coverage of purpose-built high speed roads, built from the 1950s onwards.

New-build roads are subject to very high design standards. Older roads are generally well maintained and surfaced, but are rarely widened or re-aligned (particularly when compared to other countries in Western Europe) and often their courses have been unchanged for centuries. 1.3 How are the roads funded? For trunk roads (see 2.6 What is a 'trunk road'? ), Central Government pays 100% of the maintenance costs. For roads maintained by local authorities, Central Government will pay 50% of the costs for A-roads and 30% for B-roads, with the remaining cost of maintaining these (and the entire cost of maintaining unclassified roads) met by the local authority itself. 1.4 How safe are the roads? The UK generally has very safe roads and, compared to other countries, is among the safest places in the world to travel by road. Motorways are the safest type of road, accounting for only 3-6% of all those killed or injured while carrying a large proportion of all road traffic. In total about 2,500 people die in road accidents every year and another 26,000 are seriously injured.

In 2013 there were 1,770 deaths on the UK's roads, which corresponds to 28 deaths per million of population. By that measure, in Europe in 2013, only Sweden had fewer deaths. 2. Classification and Numbering 2.1 How are the roads classified? Classification refers to the allocation of numbers to British roads. Numbers are allocated on a national basis and within Great Britain each number is unique (except in certain places where a number has been duplicated by mistake). Northern Ireland has its own system which exists entirely separately. There are three tiers of classification in both GB and NI: motorways, A-roads and B-roads. Motorways are grade-separated expressways and have 1, 2 or 3-digit numbers prefixed with 'M' or suffixed '(M)'. A-roads are the other major routes; they vary from motorway-standard to narrow local roads, and have 1, 2, 3 or 4-digit numbers prefixed with 'A'. B-roads are local routes and have 3 or 4-digit numbers prefixed with 'B'. 2.2 How are the roads numbered?

Road numbering in detail You can read about road numbers, and the process of allocating numbers, in more detail in the Road Numbers article. 2.2.1 How are A- and B- roads numbered? Numbering for these roads is based on nine zones which cover the mainland of Britain, numbered 1 to 9. All the roads that start in a given zone take the first digit of their route number from the number of the zone (so roads in the 5-zone include A511, B5203, etc). The zones are defined by the roads A1 to A9 and the coastline. Click the diagram to view a larger version. These single-digit A-roads radiate from London and Edinburgh, which can be referred to as the 'hubs' of the network. A1 to A6 radiate clockwise from London; A7 to A9 from Edinburgh. The two systems align in the Scottish Borders. Each zone takes its number from the single-digit A-road on its anticlockwise edge. The exception is in Kent where the boundary between zones 1 and 2 is the river Thames and not the A2. This is to prevent a small isolated section of zone 1 falling along the bank of the river.

See also 2.4 What happens when a road crosses a zone boundary? . See 8 Contributors for copyright information on the map. 2.2.2 How are motorways numbered? Motorways in England and Wales use their own numbering system. The principle is the same as for A- and B- roads (see 2.2.1 How are A- and B- roads numbered? ), the main difference being that in England and Wales the single-digit motorways M1 to M6 serve as zone boundaries. The different placing of the A5 and M5 means that the motorway zones look quite different to the A- and B- road zones, with zone 4 being a landlocked box in the Midlands. In Scotland, motorways simply assume the number of the A-road they replace. In practice it is often hard to distinguish this from a zone-based system because Scotland's single-digit motorways form the same zone boundaries as its A-roads. 2.3 How are new roads allocated numbers? New A- and B-roads can be assigned any available number within their zone. Since most two- and three-digit numbers are already taken in most zones, this usually means allocating a four-digit number.

In the earliest years of road numbering, new numbers were strictly sequential, but now a "memorable" number will often be chosen — in general this means one with lots of zeroes or with multiple digits the same. On certain occasions a shorter number has been freed up through renumbering and is used: the present A14 and A42 were numbered in this way. New motorways are very rare but when they do appear, they tend to be granted a new two-digit number. In most zones there are still plenty of numbers free. It appears that there is no longer a reliable central list of road numbers and as a result numbers are sometimes duplicated or allocated in the incorrect zone. 2.4 What happens when a road crosses a zone boundary? It takes its number from the furthest anticlockwise zone it enters. Examples include the A406 (London North Circular Road) which starts in the 4-zone but continues around London passing through the 5, 6 and 1 zones. 2.5 When were the roads classified, and who by? In 1914, William Rees Jeffreys, the Secretary of the Road Board, set about commissioning the traffic surveys that would later allow the road network to be classified.

The initial purpose of this work was to identify a hierarchy of roads in order to prioritise funding for maintenance. The proposals included assigning reference numbers to the roads so that they could be identified. This work was quickly halted by the start of the First World War. Sir Henry Maybury restarted the work in 1920 as Director-General of Roads in the brand new Ministry of Transport, having been Chief Engineer of the Road Board when the original surveys were started. Under the MOT it was realised that the numbers would be useful for navigation and the decision was taken to make them public. Provisional numbers were allocated within a year, and the final numbering scheme arrived in 1922-23. It is essentially the same system we use today. 2.6 What is a 'trunk road'? "Trunk road" is a legal term that describes any road or section of road under the control of central government or one of its executive agencies (such as the Highways Agency in England). They were first established by the Trunk Road Act of 1936. They are distinct from primary routes (see 2.7 What is a 'primary route'?

) and from the colloquial meaning of the term, which refers to any major road. Any type of road may be designated a trunk road, but generally only motorways and A-roads will be trunk. 2.7 What is a 'primary route'? Primary routes are distinct from 'trunk roads'. They are any roads that link the 'primary destinations', a fixed list of "places of traffic importance", meaning large towns, cities, and important bridges and tunnels. The routes between them will follow whichever A-roads or motorways are best to get between these locations. They exist as an aid to navigation, with green road signs and usually green colouring on maps (see 3.4.3 Green signs ). The primary route network is overlaid on the system of road numbering and primary routes often do not correspond to a single numbered route: an A-road can therefore gain and lose primary status several times along its route. 3. Signing and Directions 3.1 Where can I find information on the road signing system? Basic signing conventions and common examples are found in the Highway Code . For the full set see "Know Your Traffic Signs" (published by the HMSO, £3.99).

Diagrams of the whole lot plus all the rules and regulations that apply to them all are held in the official document, TSRGD (Traffic Sign Rules and General Directions) which is available online here . Scroll down the page for links to diagrams of each sign. Some road signs, which are made to non-standard designs, are referred to as "non-prescribed". They are authorised on a limited basis by the Department for Transport. 3.2 Who puts up the signs? Whoever maintains the road — either a national organisation or a local authority. The AA and RAC, the two principal motoring clubs, were permitted to erect their own permanent road signs, to government standards, until the early 1960s. Today they still have the ability to erect temporary event signposting, which can often be seen around the country — yellow for the AA and blue for the RAC. 3.3 Who designs the signs? Road signs in detail The history of our current system of road signs is explored in the article War to Worboys . There are set designs for each sign which were initially set in the 1960s by the Worboys Committee.

The typeface and many of the symbols and pictograms were designed by noted graphic artists Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert. More graphic design details can be found at Public Lettering , and the Articles section of CBRD includes an article on the development of current road signs. 3.4 Colour coding on directional signs 3.4.1 How does the colour coding work? Directional signs on different classes of road use several distinct background colours to allow motorists to easily tell between different types of road and information. The overall background colour of the sign indicates the class of the road or type of sign. Panels of other colours (see 3.4.8 What is patching? ) may then be overlaid on that to indicate the class of other roads or to indicate different types of information. 3.4.2 Blue signs Blue signs with white text and white borders are found on motorways, where all direction signing uses this colour scheme. On non-motorway roads, the same colour scheme is occasionally used for signs bearing miscellaneous written information (such as advance warnings of weight restrictions). They are also used for direction signs for pedestrians and cyclists (which are always accompanied by a pedestrian or cycle symbol).

3.4.3 Green signs Primary A-roads (see 2.7 What is a 'primary route'? ) use green-backed signs, with white borders and text, and route numbers highlighted in gold. Green signs with white text but yellow borders are occasionally seen marking emergency services access points to places like airports and stadiums. 3.4.4 White signs Signs with a white background are used on non-primary roads, with black text and black borders. Until 1994 there was an additional set that used black text and blue borders for 'local' directions, which were used on all types of road, but these are now being phased out. White signs also exist with other colour combinations. Those with black text and red borders, for example, are used for directions to Ministry of Defence sites. Devonshire County Council has a unique system to signpost its minor routes. White signs with no border and all-capitals black text indicate the most minor routes suitable for local traffic; white signs with brown borders and mixed-case black text indicate roads suitable for light traffic; white signs with blue borders and mixed-case black text (the same as those phased out elsewhere since 1994) indicate roads suitable for general traffic.

3.4.5 Yellow signs Temporary signs, such as diversion routes or direction signs through roadworks, have black text on a yellow background. In the late 2000s black-on-yellow signs were erected in a small number of locations on motorways to draw attention to unusual junction layouts, but this is not standard practice and technically is not permitted. 3.4.6 Brown signs Tourist attractions are signed using brown-backed signs with white text and borders. Most also include a small pictogram to represent the attraction (a silhouette of an elephant for directions to a zoo, or of a football for directions to a stadium, for example). 3.4.7 Black signs Directions for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) appear in white on black, usually with a pictogram of a lorry to make clear who the sign applies to. 3.4.8 What are patches and panels? In 1994 the TSRGD (see 3.1 Where can I find information on the road signing system? ) was revised and the "Guildford Rules" were introduced. The rules created panels, the biggest update to direction signs in thirty years.

The practice allows signs of one type to incorporate the colour conventions for other types of route, in order to more clearly show the types of route at a junction. For example, a green primary route sign could have a white panel with black text for a side road that is non-primary. Panels of any colour can be applied to directional signs, and the effect when used properly is to clearly denote the standard and type of road well in advance. It also, sadly, has the potential to create over-complicated signs if used improperly (see right). This innovation extended the existing system of "patches". Patches existed before the Guildford Rules, and allowed a route number for a higher class of road to appear on non-primary direction signs on a green background. The creation of panels extended this to colour-code whole blocks of text according to the type of road they represented. The main exception to the application of Guildford Rules is on the mainline of motorways, where signs remain white-on-blue in all circumstances, though patching does appear where a motorway sliproad or mainline is about to terminate on non-motorway roads.

3.5 Shapes of signs The shapes and, in many cases, symbols on British traffic signs were based on the various versions of the Geneva Convention which define standard international road signs. The standard was adopted after the Worboys Committee looked at a variety of systems, including American yellow diamonds. 3.5.1 Triangular signs Triangular signs are used as warnings, advising the road user about junctions ahead, road conditions and other hazards. A black symbol appears on a white equilateral triangle (pointing upwards) with a thick red border. The usual warning that a road does not have priority at a junction reads "Give Way" and is an inverted triangle. 3.5.2 Circular signs Sometimes referred to as "roundels", circular signs give orders. White circles with thick red borders and black symbols give negative instructions — things you must NOT do. Blue circles with thin white borders and white symbols give positive instructions — things you MUST do. 3.5.3 Rectangular signs Written information is relayed using rectangular signs. These come in many different colours and sizes. See 3.4 Colour coding for more information. 3.5.4 Why do signs have rounded corners?

Partly this is done for aesthetic reasons, but also because it is less dangerous for engineers fitting them. The New York State Department of Transport changed its policy to using rounded corners instead of squared ones after a number of complaints from its workforce. 3.6 Fonts on signs 3.6.1 What font is used? There are two alphabets used on all road signs, which are "Transport Medium" and "Transport Heavy". These are differently weighted versions of the same letterforms; "Transport Medium" has a thinner stroke width and is used for light text on a dark background, while "Transport Heavy" has a thicker stroke width and is used for dark text on light backgrounds. Both were adapted from the existing typeface "Akzidenz-Grotesk" by graphic artist Jock Kinneir in the early 1960s. Kinneir also designed a third typeface to complete the set, called "Transport Light", which was intended for use on internally lit signs. It was never adopted. Not all signs use the Transport alphabets, usually as the result of a design mistake.

North Yorkshire County Council sometimes use a generic Helvetica or Univers font (which looks very ugly indeed) and the Welsh Office used to have a fondness for Arial, though none of these imaginative substitutes are permitted. 3.6.2 What is the taller font used on motorway signs? Both motorway and all-purpose road signs use the same "Transport" alphabets (see 3.6.1 What font is used? ) for most of the sign text. However, because Motorway signage was developed separately, a different style is used for the road numbers on motorways. It appears to be taller and thinner than other letters. This different lettering is called "Motorway Permanent", and only contains the numbers 0-9, plus the other characters N, E, S and W (for cardinal directions); A, B and M (for road numbers); plus parantheses and the ampersand (&). As of summer 2007, the Department for Transport has modified Motorway Permanent to allow the road number "M6 Toll" to be written, meaning three new letters have been drawn up. The word appears as one single entity, "Toll", not as three separate letters.

Existing signs on the M6 Toll had "Toll" written in Transport Medium (see above). The new lettering will be used whenever signs on the motorway are replaced. M6 Toll, rendered in Motorway Permanent There is also a heavier version of the alphabet called "Motorway Temporary", used for black-on-yellow temporary motorway signs. It has not been adapted to include the word "Toll", though it is not clear why this is so. Motorway Permanent was, like the Transport alphabets, developed by Jock Kinneir. Some sources claim this was done by modifying an existing typeface called Commercial Grotesque, but this has been difficult to confirm. Technically, while Motorway appears taller than Transport, it is technically the same size. The characters stick out of the top and bottom of the line, while the width of each character is the same as the corresponding character in Transport. 3.6.3 What other countries use the font? Both the "Transport" alphabets (see 3.6.1 What font is used? ) and "Motorway Permanent" (see 3.6.2 What is the taller font used on motorway signs? ) have been appropriated for use by other countries.

You can see Transport on non-motorway signs in Spain (in a modified form even heavier than Transport Heavy), all road signs in Iceland and Ireland (both using only Transport Heavy), and some signs in Italy (which also uses a condensed version — the two often appear on the same sign and together look quite unpleasant). Malaysia seems to have adopted Transport in recent years. Egypt and China both use Transport on road signs for the English translations of place names and instructions, and Greece sometimes uses a Worboys-reminiscent signage system complete with Transport font, but doesn't remain loyal to one particular typeface. Ireland and Portugal also use the "Motorway Permanent" alphabet, Ireland on motorways and Portugal on all roads. 3.7 Old signs 3.7.1 What did the old-style signs look like? Pre-1963 directional signs were black on white at all times, with direction arrows often sticking out of the side or top of the white panel — leading to very odd sign shapes. In urban areas they frequently had a coloured backing panel, yellow for main roads and blue for local directions.

Older versions were cast, with the lettering standing out from the surface; later ones were produced like modern signs, with vinyl overlays on sheet metal. Non-directional signs had a black on white panel with a pictogram and text describing the hazard or instruction. The top of the pole was surmounted with a cut-out shape signifying the type of sign — a hollow red triangle for warnings, a solid red disc for restrictions, etc. These signs are frequently referred to as pre-Worboys signs, a term that encompasses all road signage prior to the Worboys report and the introduction of the modern road sign system in 1963. The Photo Gallery includes a large set of pictures of Old Signs with numerous examples. Image courtesy of Tony. 3.7.2 What font did they use? It was an all-capitals font, sans-serif and quite similar to a narrower version of the American FHWA fonts. It appears to have been simply called "MOT". 3.7.3 Where can I see examples? Surprisingly, these old signs — though officially phased out from 1963 — are still all over the place. Surefire places to spot them are the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and the Scottish borders.

There are a few in every major city — with definite sightings in Bristol and Birmingham for example — and taking any little-used country backroad gives you a fair chance of seeing one. Directional signs are more common since they are more similar to modern signs and can safely be left in place. The example above at question 3.7.1 was taken in London's West End, though almost all examples of these signs in central London have been replaced since about 2010. 3.7.4 Why are they still around? While they were originally programmed for complete removal by 1970, many are still standing, despite repeated demands from central government over the years that they are removed. Several local authorities apparently have a policy of maintaining them as much as is possible — North Yorkshire County Council for one — and very often the ones that are left are on roads of such little importance that it isn't worth replacing them. 3.7.5 How were motorways originally signed? Motorways had white-on-blue signs from the start, and used the Transport and Motorway alphabets (see 3.6.1 What font is used? and 3.6.2 What is the taller font used on motorway signs? ).

The most interesting difference is to the standard exit signage. Modern designs have a vertical arrow for the motorway mainline, with a straight arrow leaving the mainline at about 60 degrees to indicate the exit. The originals had the exit curving away to the left, and the mainline arrow was angled to the right by about ten degrees. It's for this reason that modern-day road enthusiasts have affectionately termed them "wonky signs". Up until the late 1980s these signs could be seen on rural sections of M6 (especially the old Lancaster Bypass section) and on southern sections of the M1. It is now thought that none are left. These original motorway signs are often referred to as Anderson signs, after the Anderson Committee which was responsible for formalising their design in the 1950s. 3.8 Specific questions about signing and directions 3.8.1 What do the black and yellow shape symbols found on direction signs mean? Diversion routes in detail You can read a full article on Emergency Diversion Routes and their black-and-yellow symbols. Some direction signs have small coloured shapes patched on — a circle, square, diamond or triangle — in black and yellow.

These are used to mark diversion routes, most commonly for diversions around motorway closures, but they can also be used to get around height or weight limits. In the event of a motorway being closed, "trigger signs" are placed to instruct drivers to follow a certain shape in order to rejoin the motorway at the next junction. There are a range of different shapes to allow diversions for traffic travelling in different directions and on different motorways to cross without conflicting. Often the symbols are stuck haphazardly onto existing signage. 4. Motorways Wesley Johnston has full details at the Northern Ireland Roads Site . 5. Other Roads 5.1 Specific questions about the non-motorway road network 5.1.1 What's so bad about the Hanger Lane Gyratory? Otherwise known as "Malfunction Junction", the Hanger Lane Gyratory is the interchange where London's North Circular Road (A406) crosses Western Avenue (A40). It was rebuilt in its current form in the 1970s to eliminate the flat signalised junction that preceded it. Essentially, it is a simple roundabout interchange but it is seriously restricted for space and its capacity is not adequate for the situation.

It regularly backs up in all directions which is quite an achievement to say that the A40 doesn't even touch the roundabout itself. 5.1.2 What's wrong with the A42's number? For complex historical reasons best explained in 5.1.3 Where was the original A42? , the A42 presently lies between Measham (near Tamworth) and Nottingham. The problem with this is that is is completely out of the correct numbering zone, and by all rights should begin with a 5. It isn't unusual for a road to be entirely out of zone, but usually this is because of gradual renumbering which erased the section of the road connecting it to its rightful zone, whereas the A42 was dropped directly into the wrong zone and no portion of it in its present alignment has ever been in the 4-zone. 5.1.3 Where was the original A42? When roads were first numbered, the A42 was a major road from the A4 at Reading, through Oxford and up to Birmingham. It was renumbered very early on so that the A34 trunk road could be extended over its route and onwards to Manchester.

The remaining part from Reading to Oxford was changed too, and is now the A329 and A4074. For a long time the number was unallocated. In the 1970s the M42 was built, presumably numbered so it wouldn't be associated with another road anywhere else. When the 1980s extension towards Nottingham was built, it was designated an all-purpose road, not a motorway, and fortunately the A42 number was available to match its motorway counterpart. 5.1.4 Why is part of the A30 called the A303? No section of the A30 is called the A303. Parts of the A30 from the M3 to Honiton are, however, of a very low standard, and long-distance traffic is directed onto the A303 instead. Originally, the A30 formed the main route from London to Penzance on its own, but as traffic increased and the road had to be improved, the routing of the A303 was picked as superior for whatever reason and this road was improved instead where it ran parallel.

As a result, the A30 is a non-primary locally maintained road through the section where the A303 runs parallel, whereas the A303 is a national trunk road. 5.1.5 What happened to the road numbers around Cambridge, and where did the A604 go? Large-scale renumbering of the roads around Cambridge means the city's road numbers have changed completely since 1990. The A604 has been completely wiped from the map, both at Cambridge and everywhere else it once ran. In brief, this is due to the A14, which has obliterated the need for the A45 and A604 in the area by trying to do both their jobs (though, between the M11 and A1 at least, it isn't doing very well at this). 5.1.6 Which is the shortest A or B road? The simplest answer is that nobody knows. SABRE has been attempting to catalogue all the numbered roads in the UK since early 2002, but has yet to produce a definitive answer to this question.

From their research it is also known that the Department for Transport no longer keeps an accurate and up to date record of all classified roads; in fact, even in its current state as a work in progress, SABRE's listing is alsmost certainly the more accurate and up to date of the two. Despite this, because the very shortest roads are extremely difficult to spot on maps, and because they almost never appear on signs, SABRE can never be sure it has found them all. Probably the shortest one found so far is all of 105 metres long. 5.1.7 Where is the greatest vertical separation between two carriageways of the same road? On some dual carriageway roads, particularly in hilly terrain, the opposing directions of traffic might find themselves split across two levels, with one carriageway higher than the other. The M5 south of Bristol has a famous section like this, running for several miles with about 9m (30 ft) vertical difference between the northbound and southbound carriageways, as it passes through the Gordano Valley. The greatest difference is actually in a much less mountainous area.

It is believed to be on the A282, which forms the link between the two ends of the M25 east of London. Northbound traffic is carried in twin two-lane tunnels under the river, while southbound traffic crosses over the water on a four-lane cable-stayed bridge. There is the entire depth of the River Thames, plus space above it for shipping clearance, between the two opposing directions of travel. 5.1.8. What are bar code signs for? On some trunk roads (and former trunk roads) small signs placed parallel to the kerb are mounted after junctions. They are a disused system for accurately tracking the location of maintenance vehicles. Mark Thorne writes: During the 1990s, the Transport Research Laboratory were carrying out trials of condition surveys of the roads using lasers, cameras etc. and they needed a simple method of locating where they were on the road network. They could measure the lengths of road by means of the equipment on the vehicle carrying out the survey, resetting the chainage (length) at known points as they drove over the 2 white dots (known as Node Points) you see at the start & end of slip roads, centre of junctions etc.

These days GPS is used to locate the survey data to a great degree of accuracy, typically to the nearest centimetre. 5.2 Central London 5.2.1 What's so complicated about central London's roads? Heated debates on the SABRE forums started when someone asked where the roads go in Central London. Theoretically the A-roads A1-A6 radiate from London to form zone boundaries for road numbering purposes, but what exactly happens where they all theoretically meet is not simple. The following is a breakdown of where each road goes and where the zone boundaries go. Other important roads are also here. Descriptions start from the North or South Circulars. 5.2.2 The route of the A1 The Great North Road runs from London to Edinburgh. It enters from the North, along Falloden Way, Lyttleton Road, Aylmer Road, Archway Road, Holloway Road, Upper Street, Goswell Road, Aldersgate Street to end infront of St Paul's Cathedral on Newgate Street, which is A40 to the west and unclassified to the east.

5.2.3 The route of the A2 Enters along Shooters Hill Road, Blackheath Hill, Blackheath Road, New Cross Road, Old Kent Road and Great Dover Street to end on the A3 Borough High Street 5.2.4 The route of the A3 Common North Side, Long Road, Clapham High Street, Clapham Road, Kennington Park Road, Borough High Street, London Bridge to end at Monument. North of this point, the road is the A10. 5.2.5 The route of the A4 Cedars Road, Ellesmere Road, Hogarth Lane, Great West Road, Talgarth Road, West Cromwell Road, Cromwell Road, Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Pall Mall, Strand, Fleet Street, Ludgate Hill, Cannon Street to end at Monument with the A3 and A10. 5.2.6 The route of the A5 Edgware Road, Cricklewood Broadway, Shoot Up Hill, Kilburn High Road, Maida Vale, and Edgware Road to end on the A40 Bayswater Road at Marble Arch.

5.2.7 The route of the A6 The A6 doesn't, and never has, actually reached London. Historically it started on the A1 at High Barnet, where the A1081 forks off the A1000 today. The construction of the M25 meant that it was cropped short and now starts even further north at Luton. 5.2.8 The route of the A40 Western Avenue, Westway, Notting Hill Gate, Bayswater Road (from here forming the 1/5 zone boundary), Oxford Street, High Holborn, Newgate Street to end at St. Paul's Cathedral along with the A1. 5.2.9 The route of the Inner Ring Road Within the Inner Ring Road, no other road numbers are signed, which is why the above was so fiercely debated. It takes on a lot of numbers in its erratic route around the city's streets (and it is literally city streets too, not purpose-built road). 6. Technical Terms An explanation of most technical terms used by road enthusiasts can be found in the CBRD Dictionary . Explanations of these terms are no longer held in this FAQ. 7.

More Information 7.1 Other roads websites Other websites about British roads can be found in the first section of the Links page. Outside Britain some sites are found on the Links page, but a much better resource is AAroads who have links to the international roads community. 7.2 Discussion forums and newsgroups The single biggest forum for the discussion of UK Roads is the SABRE Forum , part of the SABRE website . These boards are the central part of the Society for All British Road Enthusiasts (SABRE), and indeed this FAQ list has been adopted as their official FAQ. Other UK forums are the Usenet newsgroups uk.transport and uk.rec.driving , though both these tend to be concerned with wider motoring and political issues. Internationally the most active roads group is misc.transport.road (MTR), though international discussion is frequently drowned out by American voices here. 8. Contributors I afraid I haven't kept a full record of those who have contributed and so the following is sadly a partial listing. Many thanks to those listed below and anyone else who has lent a hand.

Harry Strong, Chris Armitage, David McMahon, Ian Carr, Chris McKenna, Martin Radford, Terry March, Brian Freeman, Wesley Johnston, Tristram Grevatt, Peter Courtenay, Andrew Jackson, Alan Williams, Nick Booth, Ian Duff, Toby Speight, Jonathan Winkler, Simon Hollins, Ben, Patrick, Tony Baker, Jon B, Phil Baines, Richard Bullock, David D Miller, Tim Lidbetter, Ben Smithurst, Paul Martin, Guy Barry, Paul Berry, Simon M4Man, Adrian "Dadge", and of course the ever-knowledgeable members of SABRE. Maps showing zone boundaries above: Reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright 2001.

Question: Which is the longest motorway in Britain?
Answer: M6