Motorway Database

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Telford's very own motorway, connecting it to Wolverhampton and the wider world via the M6 (though only the wider world to the south, since the M6 junction is restricted and can't be used to get to or from the north).

It is a major cause of traffic problems on the M6 within the West Midlands area, since it and the M5 both unburden themselves onto the road, and between their two junctions the M6 is usually unbearably busy. This has been made no better by the recent opening of the M6 Toll, which connects to the M6 just a couple of miles from the terminus of the M54, but provides no direct way to go between the two motorways.

The M54 was granted an extension in the early 1990s, though it would be silly to think an extension of the same road built to the same standard and heading in the same direction (as far as Shrewsbury) would get the same number. Instead, it's part of the A5.

Junction 5 moved house not long after the M54 opened - the current incarnation replaces a limited access half-diamond junction that was located slightly closer towards junction 4. It marked the eastern end of the original three-lane section of M54, and it's still evident on the ground because east of that point the motorway is just two-lane. Between there and the new junction 5, the road was painted down to two lanes when the eastward extension was opened to a lower standard.

Factfile

Start	Wolverhampton (M6)
Finish	Telford (A5)
Passes	None
Length	23 miles
Terminates	None
Spurs	None
Meets	None

Images

Views of the M54 from on and off the road. If you have a photo to contribute, contact me.

One of the M54's brief three lane sections, here between junctions 1 and 2. Both sections are marked this way, with the third lane marked as a slip road all the way through.
Photo by Steven Jukes

The M54 is an excessively average motorway. It spends most of its time in a cutting like this, so you can't see anything, which does not make for an exciting drive.
Photo by Steven Jukes

Junction 4 only recently gained its service area. This roundabout sign appears to be an original 1983 model which now has a mess of patching on it - one non-primary, one not using the correct font, one hanging off the bottom.
Photo by Steven Jukes

The location of the original junction 5 is obvious - a full ghost exit, missing only the dashed sliproad markings. It's also noticeable by (shown here eastbound) the end of the original three-lane carriageway. When it was continued east, it was only built to two lane standard. Here the extra-wide hard shoulder narrows.
Photo by Steven Jukes

A pleasant, but monotonously dull, wooded cutting carries the M54 through Telford, meaning there is little to distinguish the urban sections from the rural. As the end of the motorway approaches, the road fails to become any more exciting.
Photo by Steven Jukes

Construction Timeline

When the various parts of the M54 were built, listed in chronological order.

Open		Jct	Section
Dec	1975	J5-7	Forge → Cluddley
Nov	1983	J0-5	Hilton Park → Forge

Exit List

All the junctions and destinations along the route.

Junction	Eastbound				Westbound
(M6 J10A) 0.0 km	Birmingham Coventry Walsall M6	M6	*EAST*	M6	N/A
(M6 J10A) 0.0 km		M6	*EAST*	M6
	2 miles, 2 lanes				2 miles, 2 lanes
1 3.2 km	Cannock A460	A460		A460	Cannock A460
1 3.2 km		A460		A460
	2 miles, 3 lanes				2 miles, 3 lanes
2 5.7 km	Wolverhampton Stafford (M6 N ) A449	A449 (M6)		A449	Wolverhampton A449
2 5.7 km		A449 (M6)		A449
	8 miles, 2 lanes				8 miles, 2 lanes
3 17.8 km	Wolverhampton (W) A41	A41		A41	Whitchurch Weston A41
3 17.8 km		A41		A41
	5 miles, 2 lanes				5 miles, 2 lanes
4 25.5 km	Telford (E) A464 Kidderminster (A442) Telford	A4640		A464 A464 (A442)	Telford (E) A464 Ironbridge (A442) Telford
4 25.5 km		A4640		A464 A464 (A442)
	2 miles, 2 lanes				2 miles, 2 lanes
5 28.6 km	Telford (Cen) A5			A5 B5072	Telford (Cen) B5072
5 28.6 km				A5 B5072
	2 miles, 3 lanes				2 miles, 3 lanes
6 31.3 km	Telford (W) A518 Whitchurch (A442) Ironbridge A5223	A518		A5223 (A442)	Telford (W) A518 Whitchurch (A442)
6 31.3 km		A518		A5223 (A442)
	2 miles, 2 lanes				2 miles, 2 lanes
7 35.0 km	Telford (A5) Birmingham M54 Wellington B5061	B5061	A5 *WEST*		NORTH WALES Shrewsbury A5 Wellington B5061
7 35.0 km		B5061	A5 *WEST*