Yet again on the M8 coming into Edinburgh this morning there is a major pile up where the motorway ends at a roundabout. I remember having a discussion with a colleague who claimed this was a unique set up in Britiain but although I couldn't prove otherwise, I am sure its not.
For those that don't know it, the motorway ends at a roundabout where it meets the A720 bypass. The motorway doesn't become an A road, doesn't go up a slip or anything like that, straightforward comes to an end at a roundabout.
Can someone put my mind at rest - is this common elsewhere in Britiain?
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The M50 - the so called Ross Spur - off the M5 in Worcestershire, used to end in a roundabout.
The island was grassed and a fair size.
Years ago, a friend overshot in his Jag and drove straight over it.
At one time, the M50 didn't have a central reservation.
We used to do U-turns on it when doing breakdowns to save driving to the next junction.
Edited by ifithelps on 01/06/2009 at 09:57
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M180 junction with M18 looks similar.
M50 still has a roundabout and despite being a link for the M5 there is no dedicated link, you have to approach the roundabout and be prepared to stop.
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The M50 - the so called Ross Spur - off the M5 in Worcestershire used to end in a roundabout.
Still does...
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The M69 (Leicester end) in Leicestershire ends at a roundabout, it's traffic lit and under the M1, but it is just a round-about, used to confuse the hell out of me when I used to work in Leicester...
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Can someone put my mind at rest - is this common elsewhere in Britiain?
In England - the M10 ends in a large grass 5 way roundabout.
Following the road works (are they finished?) at J8 I think that the Motorway spur maybe rebranded as the A414 - probably means that it is cheaper and does not have to comply with certain standards.
p
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Does the m4 not terminate at a roundabout in darkest south west wales somewhere?
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M275 Portsmouth and M271 Southampton both terminate at roundabouts , more common than I thought reading the above posts?
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The M275 has ended by the time you reach the roundabout and the speed limit is down to 40 mph.
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Does the m4 not terminate at a roundabout in darkest south west wales somewhere?
Yes, at Pont Abraham services. The other side of the roundabout is the A48.
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Does the m4 not terminate at a roundabout in darkest south west wales somewhere?
Does no one remember the story of the driver who claimed his throttle was stuck open and drove all the way down the M4 quite rapidly until he crashed, not very violently, at that roundabout?
If I remember correctly he was later done for careless or dangerous driving. He had been on the phone to the authorities asking them to clear the road ahead, and it would be surprising to say the least if no one had suggested he turn the ignition off, or put the car out of gear. A BMW 318 I think, although the guy was a lorry driver normally. There are some real barkers out there.
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That sounds very similar (including BMW car) to driver that had throttle stuck open on automatic BMW 318i on A1M south and he crashed at Blyth (Notts) roundabout where A1M ends. Are you sure it wasnt that?
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4796264.stm {Alternate link found}
Sorry slight thread drift
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 01/06/2009 at 20:04
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Could have been TO. Looks a bit like it even. Perhaps there are some lesser barkers in here.
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Sorry about the link! {found another one}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 01/06/2009 at 20:05
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Does the m4 not terminate at a roundabout in darkest south west wales somewhere?
Quite correct, and I have managed to miss it about 1000 times so far !
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The M32 ends in a roundabout at its junction with the M4 just north of Bristol - I've not been through there for a while but I think there's a barrier preventing traffic from doing a U-turn off the M4.
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The M32 ends in a roundabout at its junction with the M4 just north of Bristol -
Other end runs straight into the new Cabot Circus shopping centre, so even worse!
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M32 has weird ending. You were doing 70 mph. Suddenly you discover you're inside Bristol city centre and limit is 30 mph!
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Last time I drove down the M32 I passed a 60 sign around Junction 2(?) near the Tesco.
I tbelieve it has been there for years.
Doesn't the M1 end at a roundabout in North London - a while since I have been that for down it.
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M90 at the Broxden Roundabout at Perth ends at a roundabout, and the M9 at Stirling, the M5 in Northern Ireland at Hazelbank...........
Edited by grumpyscot on 01/06/2009 at 10:53
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Soon their will be no M10 as it is going to be re-designated as non motorway to allow all types of traffic to go the short way between St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead. Will this be the first time this has happened?
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The M58 in Lancashire ends as a roundabout before you join the M6 north or south as well
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The M67 does this at both ends. And before they completed the M60 ring road, the old M63 did too - where the M67 ends near Hyde.
The M67 was actually meant to continue into Manchester but they never completed it but did clear the ground. You can see where it should continue but does not. And it is said it was meant to continue in the other direction towards Sheffield.
Sounds like I was lucky not to be driving up to Edinburgh this morning.... leaving in a few hours.
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Well looks like I was right and colleague was wrong!!
Had forgotten about the M9 at Broxden roundabout on outskirts of Perth, and I use that road every month or so on way up to Blairgowrie!!
Whilst on the subject of the M8, at Charing X in Glasgow the sliproad is on the RHS. Is that common around Britain? Note this is a slip road as opposed to the motorway branching in two!
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The only other place I have come across this in the UK is Newcastle city centre A167(M) the exit to the A1058 coast road is from the right hand lane.
Edited by gmac on 02/06/2009 at 08:33
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Soon their will be no M10 as it is going to be re-designated as non motorway to allow all types of traffic to go the short way between St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead. Will this be the first time this has happened?
No. The A329(M) between M4 J10 and Reading was redesiganted A3290 to allow Park and Ride buses on it.
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The M40 used to terminate in a roundabout at Hillingdon. There's still a roundabout there, but an underpass now ensures uninterrupted travel onto the A40.
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In NI the M1 had a roundabout halfway along it at one time! (circa 2000) Is it still there?
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The A66 (M) Between Scotch Corner and Darlington Terminates on a Roundabout, the roundabout itself only has two exits.
One to Darlington, Teeside continuing on the A66, the other to the Vilages of Barton and Stapleton
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In NI the M1 had a roundabout halfway along it at one time! (circa 2000) Is it still there?
Looking at this diagram it appears not:-
www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m1-ni/exitlist.shtml
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M10 was de-designated on 1 May.
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I remember seeing a grassed-over embankment sweeping towards the M4 near Maidenhead - about half a mile long, I'd guess - it was the M4 but became redundant when the M4 was extended westwards in the late 1960's or early 1970's.
Is it still there?
Edited by Sofa Spud on 01/06/2009 at 16:26
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A67(M) ends in a roundabout. Used to be a big one on the A38 at Whiddon Down, now they've replaced it with a complicated (but artistic) flyover system. Unfortunately, the slip roads are about 10 feet long with a 120 degree bend, which resulted in mild panic and a yell of "pink fluffy dice!" the first time I used it...
Edited by David Horn on 01/06/2009 at 16:50
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Ending in a roundabout? wimps. The M3 has lost all its charm siince they did away with the traffic lights at the end ( hockley cross, before they finally built the Winchester bypass) ;-)
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From memory, I think the M3 turned into a single carriageway A road before you hit the lights. The queue certainly started on the M3 proper tho at peak periods.
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Yes, I'm sure you're right AE, it's tricky to visualise the layout of that area in that era since they carved their way through Twyford Down to complete the M3 - M27 links.
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Yes I'm sure you're right AE it's tricky to visualise the layout of that area in that era since they carved their way through Twyford Down to complete the M3 - M27 links.
In order I remember the jams (up to an hour at some times) the little a road meandering through the valley, the disused railway viaduct, and then a few years of acres of white hell as hundreds of thousands of tons of chalk were thrown around.....
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The M181, a very short motorway spurring off the M180, ends in a roundabout at the, well I can't say the name of town as it sets off the swear filter, end. Begins with S and ends with -thorpe.
Darren.
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Depends on how you define "terminating" and "roundabout", I suppose but the M1 Southbound carriageway ends at a large roundabout.
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The A308(M) is 0.6 miles and starts with a traffic light controlled totally motorway roundabout and ends at another roundabout.
pathetic.org.uk/current/a308m/index.shtml
pathetic.org.uk/siteitems/list.shtml
(Lots and lots of motorway data on this site)
The most dangerous motorway ending in a roundabout IMO was the M4 in the old days. Trucks on "autopilot" for hours towards London over the Chiswick flyover ( where the M4 technically ends) through the next junction and suddenly the Hogarth roundabout ( before the tin flyover was built) ... Oh dear take emergency .. straight over.
Unfortunately there is a pedestrian underpass acroos the middle so it was often avery nasty outcome.
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The M606 in Bradford ends in a roundabout.Going east you go under the roundabout to traffic lights.Going west you go up a slip road and on to traffic light controlled round about.
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The north end of the M57 used to end in a roundabout. Its now a much more complex junction with traffic lights.
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M45 ends in roundabout at Dunchurch.
Wouldn't risk it anymore but this was one of the quietest m'ways and good for testing things..;)
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M65 ends in a roundabout at Colne...and it's a T junction.
Ted
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Agreed, not unknown to only pass 2-3 cars when checking manufacturers figures (fuel consumption!).
Aware of a Ferrari that came to grief at the M1 end, westbound carriageway had some very pronounced undulations which were probably to blame.
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Motorways have to end somewhere, surely, so what is deemed to be the ideal termination?
The M62 at its westward extremity ends at traffic lights (as do many other motorways) but there are well signed speed reductions for at least a mile in advance. It's still an absolute death trap, by the way, because of other local traffic conditions that exist on the speed restricted section (like an urban road joining the motorway and a petrol service station on that urban road about 100 yards before the traffic lights!).
So how should a motorway end?
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...So how should a motorway end?...
Like the M25. :)
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The southern end of the M1 ends in a roundabout.
The M41 West Cross Route - all three quarters of a mile of it - has a roundabout at each end.
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...So how should a motorway end?...
A mile long stretch of deep gravel should slow most vehicles, even those whose drivers are texting or asleep.
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They should terminate at the edges of the country. About 30 feet out to sea at low tide should do it.
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...So how should a motorway end?...>> Like the M25
Becoming an A road, and having tunnels and a bridge?
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The M25 is just one big huge contra rotating roundabout anyway. Its just hatton cross scaled up a bit.
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M4 Heathrow Spur. Roundabout at each end, well almost a roundabout at the Heathrow end.
Edited by RobertyBob on 02/06/2009 at 21:23
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