Motorway Database
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| Start | Bromsgrove (M5) |
| Finish | Castle Donington (M1) |
| Passes | Redditch Solihull Birmingham Tamworth |
| Length | 54 miles |
| Terminates | M40 |
| Spurs | None |
| Meets | M6 M6 Toll |
The M42 is there to connect the east and west Midlands (and therefore traffic going longer distances between the north east and south west) without the hassle of the A38, which was the previous route and which dumped all through traffic into the heart of Birmingham.
This new route acts as the southern and eastern sections of the Birmingham Orbital, before striking off to the north east towards the M1 and then...giving up 15 miles short. The A42 connects the last bit up. Why? Well, if you're sitting comfortably...
The original A42 was the main road from Oxford to Birmingham, swallowed up early on by the extension of the A34 (originally Winchester to Oxford) as far as Manchester. The A42 number floated around for a long time without a home.
In the 1970's a short section of motorway was built as a spur south from the M6 to the east of Birmingham, mainly to serve the NEC, and it was called M42, probably so it wasn't tied to any existing A-road. Construction was started to extend the road, and the M42 today begins at the M5, running across the south of Birmingham to hit the even more recent M40, then turns north to skirt the east side of Brum, taking in its original section and then crossing the M6 and heading on to Tamworth.
Signs of a budget cut at the last minute become evident. As the M42 progresses north, at junction 9 three lanes drop to two, and seven miles later we reach the A444 at Measham. There was just 15 miles left to the M1 and Nottingham, and the budget wouldn't stretch. So the M42 ends here, and a dual carriageway link that didn't have the money to be a motorway link starts - and they called it the A42.
Tragic? Yes indeed, but fortunately the final report from the local Multi Modal Study, submitted in summer 2003, makes as one of its strongest reccommendations the upgrade of the A42/M42 section to dual three lane motorway all the way to the M1. At last! Now we just have to hope the government pay some attention to the idea.
Images
Views of the M42 from on and off the road. If you have a photo to contribute, contact me.
| There are presently no images in this section. |
Construction Timeline
When the various parts of the M42 were built, listed in chronological order.
| Open | Jct | Section | ||
| 1976 | J4-8 | Solihull Section | ||
| 1985 | J3-4 | Umberslade Section/td> | ||
| 1985 | J8-10 | Tamworth (Water Orton & Kingsbury) Section | ||
| 1986 | J1-3 | Lickey End - Alvechurch | ||
| 1986 | J10-11 | Tamworth (Polesworth) Section | ||
| 1987 | M5-J1 | Southern Links | ||
| 1989 | M5-J1 | Northern Turn |
See Also
Links to more information on the M42.
On CBRD
- Futures (M6 Toll)
- Motorway Simulator
- M1-M898 Listing
Exit List
All the junctions and destinations along the route.
| Junction | Northbound | Southbound | ||||||||
| (M5 J4A) | The SOUTH WEST Worcester M5  |
M5 |
SOUTH-WEST |
M5 |
N/A | |||||
| The NORTH WEST Birmingham (W, N & Cen) Stourbridge M5 |
||||||||||
1 mile, 3 lanes  |
||||||||||
| 1 | Bromsgrove A38 |
A38 B4096 |
 |
A38 B4096 |
||||||
| 4 miles, 3 lanes |
 5 miles, 3
lanes |
|||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham (S) A441  Hopwood Park |
A441 |   |
A441 | Birmingham (S) A441 Hopwood Park |
|||||
| 3 miles, 3 lanes |
3 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 3 | Birmingham (S) Redditch Evesham A435 |
A435 |   |
A435 | Birmingham (S) Redditch Evesham A435 |
|||||
| 3 miles, 3 lanes |
3 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 3A | London Warwick Stratford M40     |
M40 |  |
London Warwick Stratford M40 |
||||||
| 2 miles, 3 lanes |
2 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 4 | Henley-in-Arden A3400 |
A3400 |  |
A34 | Henley Shirley A34 |
|||||
| 2 miles, 3 lanes |
2 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 5 | Solihull A41 |
A4141 | |
A41 | Solihull A41 |
|||||
| 4 miles, 3 lanes |
4 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 6 | Birmingham (SE) NEC &  Coventry (S & W) A45 |
A45 |  |
A45 NEC |
Birmingham (SE) NEC & Coventry (S & W) A45 |
|||||
| 2 miles, 3 lanes |
2 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 7 & 7A | A446 M6 (M1) A446 |
 |
M6 | The NORTH WEST Birmingham (E N & Cen) M6 |
||||||
| London Coventry M6 (M1 ) |
||||||||||
| 7B | London Coventry M6 Toll (M6 )  |
M6 Toll (M6) |
 |
 |
||||||
| 2 miles, 4 lanes |
4 lanes |
|||||||||
| 8 | Birmingham (E N W & Cen) M6 |
 |
(M6) |
|
||||||
| 2 miles, 5 lanes |
4 miles, 5 lanes |
|||||||||
| 8A | |
 |
M6 Toll | The NORTH WEST Lichfield M6 Toll |
||||||
| 0 miles, 3 lanes |
0 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 9 | Coventry (N & E) (M6 , M1 )A446 Brownhills (M6 Toll ) |
A446 (M6) (M1) A4097 |
  |
A4097 (M6 Toll) A446 |
Sutton Coldfield A4097 Lichfield A446 |
|||||
| 6 miles, 2 lanes |
6 miles, 2 lanes |
|||||||||
| 10 | Tamworth Nuneaton A5 Tamworth |
A5 |  |
A5 | Tamworth Nuneaton A5 Tamworth |
|||||
| 7 miles, 2 lanes |
7 miles, 2 lanes |
|||||||||
| 11 | Coventry Barton A444 |
A444 |
 |
B5493 A444 |
Barton A444 |
With thanks to Nathaniel Porter and David Hicklin for information on this page.
