Histories

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This section offers a look into the past of the road network. The articles here range from investigations into the past of the network to nostalgic pieces and in-depth looks at specific roads. The newest features are at the top.

Visitors to this section might also enjoy People.

Motorway Chronology MapsMotorway Chronology Maps

A visual aid to chart when each bit of motorway opened, depicting the progress of the network year-by-year, from 1958 to the present day.

Studland Motor RoadStudland Motor Road

The first motorway opened in 1958. The first road restricted to motor traffic, on the other hand, opened in 1923...

Oxfordshire SignsOxfordshire Signs

This is the story of one man at Oxfordshire County Council who pre-empted the development of modern road signs - much to the annoyance of the men from the Ministry.

RoundaboutsRoundabouts

The UK has been driving in circles for a hundred years now, and this humble road junction has become part of British culture. Just what is so special about roundabouts?

Three Generations of the A82Three Generations of the A82

Three roads were built in the space of 200 years, all trying to tame Rannoch Moor and Glen Coe. This is the impressive tale of one of Scotland's most memorable routes.

Preston BypassPreston Bypass

The very first motorway was eight miles of relief for the Lancashire town of Preston. It goes without saying that there's an interesting story to be told about it.

TimelineTimeline

A whistle-stop tour of the motor age, from the turn of the twentieth century to the present. No pedestrians, horse drawn vehicles, invalid carriages or motorcycles under 50cc please.

RingwaysRingways

Destructive, expensive, over-optimistic and by far the biggest single plan for roads that Britain has ever seen. Now the biggest research project into unbuilt roads ever.

GlasgowGlasgow

Even in the 1960s heyday of roadbuilding, some people said you could never build your way out of congestion. Glasgow had plans to prove them wrong.

Pedestrian CrossingsPedestrian Crossings

From Zebra to Pelican and beyond - the comprehensive history of the development of the humble pedestrian crossing. Twice as interesting as you expected or your money back!

UnderwaysUnderways

Proposed at the same time as the Ringways, but ten times as ambitious - and to think the government considered building them both!

Warrington New TownWarrington New Town

New Towns are fascinating places socially and architecturally - and, of course, in terms of roads. This article explores one example from start to finish.

EurorouteEuroroute

Today you can catch a train to France. You can even put your car on it, and be there in less than an hour. But in the mid-1980's Euro Tunnel had competition - including plans to build a motorway across the English Channel.

B7076 and B7078B7076 and B7078

What sound at first like a pair of forgotten country lanes turn out to have had a major part to play in the history of Scotland's roads.
This feature originally appeared on the now-closed Allan Online website.

M53The M53

The sad tale of the M53, half built and then grafted on to a different road altogether.
This feature originally appeared in the Botched Plans section of CBRD.

Burdock WayBurdock Way

The humble West Yorkshire town of Halifax may well be the creator of the most adventurous urban road scheme in the country. Find out what it is, and why what was built isn't even the half of it.

War to WorboysWar to Worboys

The tale of how British traffic signing developed between the Second World War and the mid-1960's, bringing us from a system designed at the turn of the century to the signs we still use today.

Liverpool Inner MotorwayLiverpool Inner Motorway

The routing, design and details of Liverpool's 1960's plans for an inner ring road have been a mystery to road enthusiasts for years. The full details on the route, plus that of the M62, are here.

M1-A1 Link RoadM1-A1 Link Road

Those last few miles of the M1 east of Leeds were completed in 1999. It looks for the most part like a fairly average piece of road, but one of the project's engineers describes some of the challenges that were faced.

Leeds Inner Ring RoadLeeds Inner Ring Road

One of those hair-raising urban motorways that were all the rage in the late 1960's - but with less loose ends than most. A tour of the route with lots of history thrown in.

The Decline and Fall of Ringway 2The Decline and Fall of Ringway 2

London's South Circular is described by its local government as "nothing more than a signposted route". So why, when ambitious plans to replace it as part of a huge road programme for London were unveiled in the 1960's, did the scheme never even get off the ground?

Opening BookletsOpening Booklets

Images and text from the booklet that accompanied the official opening of the Preston Bypass, Britain's first motorway. Includes photos of the motorway shortly before opening and descriptive text of what a motorway is and why one was built.

Old Motorway SignsOld Motorway Signs

Forefathers to the modern signs - see how the Preston Bypass and other early motorways were signed, and indulge in nostalgia if you long for the days when these still inhabited parts of the M1 and M6.

The M606 Bradford SpurThe M606 Bradford Spur

Bradford's only motorway is the M606, a short unfinished spur from the M62 - this article explains what it is, and what it should have been.

The M23The M23

Thorough coverage of the story behind the M23, missing 6 entire junctions in South London. Why does it stop at Hooley? Find out here.

A1 in West YorkshireA1 in West Yorkshire

Photographic history of the A1's ever-changing route through two villages in West Yorkshire, from winding country road to ten lanes of motorway.

M4 in WalesM4 in Wales

M4Man's account of the building of the M4 through Wales from growing up in Swansea - a tour of the motorway from its construction to the present day.