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The M1 is Britain's first full-length motorway (it followed the Preston bypass, arguably the first motorway, though this was not to be built any further for a long time). It is also one of the most important, setting off the M6 (Britain's longest and busiest) and linking the north with the south. It does everything but make the tea. It first opened in December 1959 from St Albans to Rugby.
For a 50s and 60s motorway it holds together remarkably well. It was constructed for around 13,000 to 14,000 vehicles per day. This capacity was reached the day it opened! Today it carries 130,000 to 140,000 per day on a virtually unmodified road (though the section south of the M10 was once two lanes and was upgraded to three in the 1970s). Originally it had a soft grass verge instead of a hard shoulder and an open reservation with no barriers.
In 1999 about 8 miles was added to the top to make it swing east of Leeds and connect to the A1.
Factfile
| Start | London (A406) |
| Finish | Hook Moor (A1(M)) |
| Passes | Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Wakefield, Leeds |
| Length | 200 miles |
| Terminates | M6, M18, A42, A50 |
| Spurs | M10, M45, M621 |
| Meets | M25, M62, A38 |
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With thanks to Robert Sprigge, Moogal, Duncan Childs, Ian Hooper, Lewis, Phil Reynolds, Paul Berry and Nick for information in this section.