Guide to Database Pages
You are here: Home » Motorway Database » Guide to Database Pages
You should be able to find your way around the Motorway Database without too much trouble, and if you're familiar with the usual symbols and colour coding of UK maps, you'll have no trouble with the exit lists.
If there's anything that doesn't make sense, this page should explain it all.
What's the Motorway Database?
It's a comprehensive source of information about high speed roads in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Despite its name, it actually covers both motorways and A-roads that are similar to motorways.
The information comes in two parts - information about whole routes, and information about individual locations. You can view schematic maps ("exit lists") of each route, and click on individual junctions, bridges and service areas to view them in greater detail.
For a long time the "Motorway Database" was just a name, but now it really is a database-driven system, so you can now search for locations according to a wide range of criteria.
How do I use motorway pages?
Short motorways have everything on one page; long motorways are split across several sections which are reached using the blue buttons and the top and bottom of each page. They are all arranged into the following parts.
Each motorway's page begins with a small map of the UK showing all the roads in the Database, showing motorways in blue and all-purpose roads in green. The one you have selected is highlighted in red. Next to it is a written introduction to the road.
The factfile comes next:
- Start and Finish
- The start point of the motorway and, in brackets, the road it starts on. Longer motorways have a major town or city; shorter routes have something more specific.
- Passes
- A list of all the primary destinations you can avoid on the way.
- Length
- An approximate length of the motorway in miles. Precise figures are difficult to come by, so the figure that appears here is averaged from various other sources.
- Terminates, Spurs, Meets
- Lists of any other routes that appear in the Motorway Database that interact with this one. Each motorway is clickable.
Exit list
The main part of the page is the exit list, a graphical representation of the motorway showing junction layouts, intersecting roads, exit signage, number of traffic lanes, speed limits and distances.
These are being renovated at the moment. Old ones are sometimes upside-down (so that J1 is always at the top even if north isn't) and their junctions don't yet have junction pages. New ones are the right way up, and you can click the junctions to see more information about them.
Why do you show roads crossing each other at the wrong level?
On all junctions, the motorway is shown underneath and the other roads on top in order to make the junction's layout more clear. The diagrams pay no attention to whether a road goes over or under, and this makes no difference to how a junction operates.
You can point at any junction to see the type of junction, and on new exit lists, click it to view its junction page.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
 |
Motorway The main line of the motorway being listed. |
 |
Primary A-road The main line of the A-road being listed. |
 |
Junction with motorway There are different types - this one happens to be a Three Level Stacked Roundabout. |
  |
Junction with primary A-road Dual-carriageway (left), single-carriageway (right). |
  |
Junction with non-primary A-road Dual-carriageway (left), single-carriageway (right). |
  |
Junction with B-road Dual-carriageway (left), single-carriageway (right). |
  |
Junction with unclassified road Dual-carriageway (left), single-carriageway (right). |
  |
Junction with various roads Often more than one type of road meets a junction. |
  |
Services Sometimes appear within a junction. |
 |
Tunnel |
 |
Bridge Not all river crossings are shown. |
Lane symbols show the number of running lanes at any given point and the road layout at exits. They assume that any entry point involves a simple merge, and entry points are only shown where one or more lanes are gained.
If you open up a junction page, you can see a written explanation of what each lane does at that location.
Other signs are shown where information is available.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
    |
Normal exit Two running lanes continue through the junction, with a normal exit from the left lane. |
 |
Lane terminates Three running lanes approach the junction, and the left lane leaves the main carriageway to form the sliproad. Two lanes continue through. |
 |
Lane gain Two running lanes approach the junction. There is no exit. A new lane joins from the left to form three running lanes. |
|
Normal exit and lane gain Two running lanes approach the junction and there is a normal exit from the left lane. After the exit, a new lane joins from the left to form three running lanes. |
 |
Lane drop Four running lanes approach the junction. The left lane leaves the main carriageway to form the exit sliproad, but is only missing for the length of the junction and is re-gained from the entry sliproad. There are three running lanes through the junction but four afterwards. |
 |
New lane A two-lane carriageway widens to form three running lanes. The new lane appears from the former left lane. |
 |
Lane stops There are three running lanes on the carriageway. At an arbitrary point the right-hand lane terminates and the carriageway continues with two lanes. |
  |
Tidal flow lanes The road is formed of one carriageway with tidal flow lanes in the centre. The lanes shown by hollow arrows may be opened or closed to traffic using overhead signals. The lane shown by a double-headed arrow may change direction of flow. |
  |
Motorway restrictions Motorway restrictions start or end at this junction. |
    |
Speed limit The road is subject to a change in speed limit at approximately the point shown. The speed limit continues until shown otherwise. |
 |
Toll plaza There is a toll collection facility across the main carriageway of the road at this point. It will also be marked on the exit list with a black bar across the carriageway. |
 |
Traffic signals The main carriageway of the road is controlled by traffic signals at this junction. |
 |
Variable Speed Limits (VSL) The speed limit on the road is controlled by electronic signs. The changeable speed limit is legally enforceable and backed by speed cameras covering each lane. |
How do I use junction pages?
Eventually every location on the motorway network that appears in an exit list in the Motorway Database will have its own page - every junction, every service area, every tunnel, every change of speed limit, the works. You can find them by clicking the blue 'i' symbol by the side of an exit list, or by using the search function.
Each page sets out information about that location, and if co-ordinates have been added, will include an aerial photo.
