List of unused roads in the United Kingdom

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An unused road may reference a road or slip road that was partially or fully constructed but was unused^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} or later closed.^[10][11][12] An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp,^[13] stub street,^[14][2][15] stub-out,^[2] or simply stub.^[16][17] The following is a list of such locations within the United Kingdom:

Contents 1 England 2 Scotland 3 See also 4 External links 5 References 6 External links

[edit] England

• In Manchester, the A57(M) motorway has an unfinished slip road that hangs 20 feet in the air. It is hidden from view from the road. It had been constructed incorrectly and if completed would have taken traffic the wrong way down a one-way street.^[18][19]

• In London, the M11 motorway has two short unused slips at Junction 4 (Charlie Brown's) which would have been a link for the M12 motorway to head east into Essex.^[20]

• Newcastle has two ramp stubs on the northbound Central Motorway East (originally A1(M), now A167(M)), links from a proposed Central Motorway East By-pass (A third northbound link was opened as the local access from Camden Street).^[21]

• In Surrey, the M23 begins with junction seven and has a ramp stub that was intended to extend the M23 further into London.^[22][23]

• On many early rural motorways, ramp stubs can be found at locations proposed for Motorway Service Areas. Sites for services were designated at regular intervals, about 12 or 13 miles apart, and the ramp stubs built as part of the original motorway construction. Land adjacent to the motorway was often obtained for the future services - usually a neat circular or hexagonal plot that is easily identified on aerial photos: e.g., M18 near Hatfield. While many of these original sites were opened as service areas, those remaining unused are now unlikely ever to be developed, either because the sites are too small and restricted, or because they're just in the wrong place: Doncaster North services recently opened less than 2 miles from the ramp stubs at Hatfield.^[24]

• Improvement works in 1987 rerouted the A47 in Rutland near Wardley resulting in an unused stretch of carriageway being left behind which functions only as access to a transmitting station.^[25]

• The former line of the A33 Winchester Bypass remains very clear on the ground after having been replaced by the M3 motorway through Twyford Down.^[26]

• When a new bypass was built in the north of Leicester, the old Thurmaston Lane was made obsolete.^[27] The road was not however, subject to demolition and now lies gated off, abandoned and dilapidated.

[edit] Scotland

• Glasgow's M8 motorway has several ramp stubs built for the abandoned Inner Ring Road. The most famous examples are the West Street ramps at Junction 20 (Kingston),^[28] and another pair can be found at Junction 15 (Townhead).^[29][30] There are also ramp stubs on the westbound M8 between junctions 16 and 17, for an unbuilt motorway leading out to the north and west.^[31][32]

[edit] See also

• List of unused highways

[edit] External links

• Motorway Services Online - includes information on unbuilt service areas and photos of some locations.
• Pathetic Motorways - Looks at unimpressive motorways, including ones that were never or only half-built.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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