The M69 is a dual three lane

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, England. It runs between junction 21 of the M1 near

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and junction 2 of the M6 near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. It opened in 1977.

History

The motorway, also known at the time as the 'Coventry – Leicester Motorway' was completed in 1977 following a public inquiry in 1972.The Motorway Archive – M69
It took traffic from the A46, which was subsequently downgraded.

Route

Starting at the northeastern

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

of Coventry at junction 2 of the M6, the motorway crosses the

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...

and then continues northeast past

Bulkington Bulkington is a large village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Bedworth, in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : In the 2011 census the wa ...

and west of

Wolvey Wolvey is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,942, which increased to 2,121 at the 2021 census. The village is located on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border in an outlying p ...

before turning more easterly to run south of

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbo ...

(Junction 2, known locally as 'Reacharound Island' because of the limited slip roads). It then crosses the Birmingham to Peterborough railway line terminating in the vicinity of suburban Enderby and Braunstone to the south west of Leicester Junction 3, where it meets the M1 with continuation along the A5460/A563 towards Leicester. The motorway has no services given that this function is fulfilled at present by

Leicester Forest East services Leicester Forest East services is a motorway service station situated between junctions 21 and 21A of the M1 motorway, near Leicester, England. History It was designed for the opening of the second phase of the M1 in 1966 (seven years after th ...

and Corley services in close proximity to the start and end points of this relatively short motorway.

Proposed developments

There is an aspiration to construct a new slip road and road bridge for traffic travelling southbound on the M1 to join the M69.

In popular culture

Since the completion of the M69 motorway linking Coventry and Leicester, the motorway's number has given its name to the derby between the two football clubs playing in each city –

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

and

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. These two clubs are rivals in the M69 derby.

Junctions

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, 0 , 0 , bgcolor="#ddffdd" , M6 J2 , bgcolor="#ddffdd" , –

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

–

, bgcolor="#ddffdd" , road continues south as A46 , - , rowspan="2" , — , 6.2 , 10.0 , 1 , – Tamworth,

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

B4109 –

, , - , rowspan="2" ,

, 8.9 , 14.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 2 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , B4669 –

Sapcote Sapcote is a small village in the south west of Leicestershire, England, in the Sparkenhoe Hundred. It has a population of approximately 3,260, measured at the 2021 census The well-known inland scuba diving site Stoney Cove is nearby. History ...

, bgcolor="ffdddd" , No Northbound entrance or Southbound exit , - ,

, 15.7 , 25.3 , M1 J21 , –

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

–

, ;Coordinate list

References

External links

The Motorway Archive – M69
{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0069 Motorways in England Transport in Leicestershire Roads in Warwickshire