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The United Kingdom has a network of
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
s, of varied quality and capacity, totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) symbol. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by
speed limiter A speed limiter is a governor used to limit the top speed of a vehicle. For some classes of vehicles and in some jurisdictions they are a statutory requirement, for some other vehicles the manufacturer provides a non-statutory system which may b ...
s. A unified numbering system is in place for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, whilst in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, there is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers. The earliest specifically engineered roads were built during the
British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...
. The road network was expanded during the Roman occupation. Some of these roads still remain to this day. New roads were added in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and from the 17th century onwards. Whilst control has been transferred between local and central bodies, current management and development of the road network is shared between
local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
, the devolved administrations of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, and National Highways (England). Certain aspects of the legal framework remain under the control of the
United Kingdom parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
. Although some roads have much older origins, the network was heavily developed from the 1950s to the mid-1990s to meet the demands of modern traffic.
Construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
of roads has become increasingly problematic with various opposition groups such as
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
campaigns and
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
s. There are various ongoing and planned road building projects. In the UK, road safety policy is part of transport policy. "Transport 2010; The 10 Year Plan" states that the basic principle is that "people travel safely and feel secure whether they are on foot or bicycle, in a car, on a train, or bus, at sea or on a plane".


Road network

The UK has a road network totalling about of paved roads— in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and in Northern Ireland.


Administration

Responsibility for the road network differs between
trunk Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Computing * Trunk (software), in rev ...
and non-trunk routes. Trunk roads, which are the most important roads, are administered by National Highways in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, Transport Scotland in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent, and South Wales Trunk Road Agent in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. England's of trunk roads account for 33% of all road travel and 50% of lorry travel. Scotland has (about 7% of the total roads in Scotland), accounting for 35% of all road journeys and over 50% of lorry movements. Wales has of trunk roads. In
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Transport for London is responsible for all trunk roads and other major roads, which are part of the
Transport for London Road Network London Streets is an arm of Transport for London (TfL) which is responsible for managing identified greatest through-routes in Greater London – of roads. It was known as TfL Street Management for many years until the start of the 2007 f ...
. All other roads are the responsibility of the relevant
County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
or
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
. In
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
,
DfI Roads Department for Infrastructure Roads or DfI Roads (formerly Transport NI, and the Roads Service) is the public body responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of highways and roads in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. It is an executive ...
is responsible for all roads. The pan-British total is . Whilst generally they are trunk roads, several motorways are the responsibility of local authorities, for example the M275. Since 2008, location marker posts have appeared on motorways and major A roads in England, situated generally at intervals of 500 metres (though the units are not given). These repeat the information given on the co-sited surveyors' marker post which, since the 1960s, have reported distances on such roads in kilometres from a datum—usually the start of the road, or the planned start-point of the road.


Classification

Numbered roads in the UK are signed as M (Motorway), A, or B roads (legal "classification" varies between countries), as well as various categories of more minor roads: for internal purposes, local authorities may also use C, D and U (the letter standing for "Unclassified"); use of C and U numbers on signs is unusual but examples can be found in all four countries in the UK. Each road is given a number which is combined with the prefix, for example M40, A40 and B1110, although their informal or traditional names may still be used or heard occasionally: for instance, the Great North Road (now part of the A1) and the
Great Cambridge Road The A10 (in certain sections known as ''Great Cambridge Road'' or Old North Road) is a major road in England. Its southern end is at London Bridge in the London Borough of Southwark, and its northern end is the Norfolk port town of King's ...
(modern A10). These numbers follow a zonal system. There is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers in Northern Ireland. The majority of the major inter-urban routes are motorways, and are designed to carry long-distance traffic. The next category is the primary route network, formed from parts of the A-road network. A primary route is defined as:, regulation 4. A new standard was set in April 2015 to formally designate certain high-quality routes as ''Expressways'', but whether this will result in any existing road classifications changing is unclear.


Primary destinations

Primary destinations are usually cities and large towns, to which, as a result of their size, a high volume of traffic is expected to go. However, in rural areas, smaller towns or villages may be given primary status if located at junctions of significant roads: for example,
Llangurig Llangurig is both a village and a community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population was 723 in the 2011 UK Census. The community includes the hamlet of Cwmbelan. The River Wye, the A470 and the A44 trunk roads pass through Llangurig, ...
in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Crianlarich Crianlarich (; gd, A' Chrìon Làraich) is a village in Stirling council area and in the registration county of Perthshire, Scotland, around north-east of the head of Loch Lomond. The village bills itself as "the gateway to the Highlands". Ety ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. As a further example,
Scotch Corner Scotch Corner is a Junction (road), junction of the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) and A66 road, A66 Trunk road#United Kingdom, trunk roads near Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. It has been described as "the modern gate ...
in
northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
is not even a village—merely a hotel and a few other buildings—yet has the status of a primary destination due to its location at the interchange of the A1 and A66 roads. For similar reasons, certain
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
s, sea ports,
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s and tunnels have been designated as primary destinations. The status of both primary destinations and roads is maintained by the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
in combination with National Highways (for England), the Scottish Government and the
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...
. The concept of primary roads was introduced in the 1960s as part of a national reclassification of roads.


Regional destinations

Regional destinations are commonly used on long-distance routes throughout the country alongside primary destinations. They are displayed on signs in capitals to distinguish them from towns and cities. The boundaries of these regional destinations are not specifically defined and apply to generalised areas. The regions are: Mid Wales, North Wales, Scotland, South Wales, The East, The Lakes, The Dales, The Midlands, The North, The North East, The North West, The South, The South West and The West.


Signage

Signage on the UK network conforms broadly to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers. All length distances are shown in miles or yards, speed is in miles per hour whilst height and width restrictions are required to be shown in feet and inches (though the metric measurements may optionally also appear). In September 2007 the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
ruled that the United Kingdom would never be required by them to convert signs to metric. The signage system currently in use was developed in the late 1950s and the early 1960s by the Anderson Committee, which established the motorway signing system, and by the
Worboys Committee The Worboys Committee was formed by the British government to review signage on all British roads. In its July 1963 report ''Traffic signs: report of the committee on traffic signs for all-purpose roads'', it found existing road signs to be ob ...
, which reformed signing for existing all-purpose (non-motorway) roads. It was introduced in 1965 and is governed by the
Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (commonly abbreviated to TSRGD) is the law that sets out the design and conditions of use of official traffic signs that can be lawfully placed on or near roads in Great Britain (England, Sco ...
. Signs may be of an informative, warning or instructional nature. Instructional signs are generally circular, warnings are triangular and informative signs are rectangular or square. Motorway informative signs use white text on a blue background, primary routes are indicated by green directional and distance signs with yellow text, whilst secondary roads use black text on a white background.


Driving

In the UK, vehicles are driven on the left and on multi-lane carriageways drivers are legally required to keep to the left lane except when overtaking or turning right. In
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, the Highway Code applies to drivers. In Northern Ireland, the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies. UK speed limits are shown in mph. With a few exceptions, they are in multiples of 10, ranging from to . Unless a lower speed limit is posted on a road, the national speed limit applies, which varies between class of vehicles and the type of road. In a built-up area (usually indicated by street lights), unless signs indicate otherwise, a limit of applies. Other limits are shown in the table. For a road to be classed as a dual carriageway, the two directions of traffic flow must be physically separated by a
central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
. Enforcement of UK road speed limits increasingly uses
speed gun A radar speed gun (also radar gun and speed trap gun) is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is used in law-enforcement to measure the speed of moving vehicles and is often used in professional spectator sport, for things su ...
s, automated in-vehicle systems and automated roadside
traffic cameras A traffic camera is a video camera which observes vehicular traffic on a road. Typically, traffic cameras are put along major roads such as highways, freeways, expressways and arterial roads, and are connected by optical fibers buried alongside or ...
.


Taxes and charges


Motoring taxation

After the end of the
Turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th b ...
s, roads have been funded from taxation. Two new vehicle duties were introduced—the ''locomotive duty'' and the ''trade cart duty'' in the 1888
budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environmenta ...
. Since 1910, the proceeds of road vehicle excise duties were dedicated to fund the building and maintenance of the road system. From 1920 to 1937, most roads in the United Kingdom were funded from the Road Fund using taxes raised from fuel duty and Vehicle Excise Duty. Since 1937, roads have been funded from general taxation with all motoring duties, including
VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
, being paid directly to the Treasury.


Tolls and congestion charges

Tolls or congestion charges are used for some major bridges and tunnels, for example the
Dartford Crossing The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
has a congestion charge. The M6 Toll, originally the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, is designed to relieve the M6 through
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 West ...
, which is one of the most heavily used roads in the country. There were two public toll roads (Roydon Road in
Stanstead Abbots Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. ...
and College Road in
Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...
) and about five private toll roads. Since 2006,
congestion charging Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tele ...
has been in operation in London and in Durham. Before 14 December 2018, the M4's
Second Severn Crossing or cy, Pont Tywysog Cymru, label=none, italic=unset , carries = M4 motorway (6 lanes) , crosses = River Severn , locale = South West England / South East Wales , maint = National Highways , architect ...
(officially 'The Prince of Wales Bridge') included tolls. However, after being closed for toll removal for three days, the bridge opened up again on 17 December starting with a formal ceremony. Toll payment was scrapped and it marked history as it is believed to be the first time in 400 years that the crossing will be free.


Road traffic safety

In June 2008, the Road Safety Foundation reported that 30 per cent of the primary route network in Great Britain failed to rate as safe, and a quarter of all motorways were outside the safest risk band. In 2006 the
Cat and Fiddle Road The Cat and Fiddle is a road in England between Buxton, Derbyshire and Macclesfield, Cheshire, named after the Cat and Fiddle Inn public house at its summit. Formed by parts of the A537, A54 and A53, it is famous for its scenic views across t ...
between Macclesfield and Buxton was named as Britain's most dangerous road. The single-carriageway road has been the scene of 43 fatal or serious collisions since 2001, nearly three-quarters of them involving motorcyclists. When collisions involving motorcyclists are removed from the analysis, the A61 between
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
and
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
was found to be the most dangerous road in Britain. Between 2003 and 2006, the most improved safety record was for the A453 from the A38 to Tamworth in
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
. This rural single carriageway saw an 88 per cent drop in the number of fatal or serious collisions in the last six years, taking it from a medium risk road to one of the safest. According to the Foundation, this has been achieved by introducing traffic lights, speed limit reductions and village pedestrian facilities. Research undertaken in July 2008 has shown that investment in a safe road infrastructure programme could yield a one-third reduction in road deaths, saving as much as £6 billion per year. A consortium of 13 major road safety stakeholders have formed the
Campaign for Safe Road Design The Campaign for Safe Road Design is a partnership between 13 UK major road safety stakeholders that is calling for the UK Government to invest in a safe road infrastructure which in their view could cut deaths on British roads by 33%. Aims The k ...
, which is calling on the UK Government to make safe road design a national transport priority.


History


Iron Age

The earliest evidence of engineered roads dates back to the 1st century BC. A metalled and cambered road, 1.5 metres high and six metres wide, was unearthed at Bayston Hill quarry, near
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
. A timber road was preserved in peat in
Geldeston Geldeston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Beccles and south-east of Norwich, on the north bank of the River Waveney. History Geldeston's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and de ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, with tree rings suggesting a date of 75 BC, probably built by the
Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...
tribe.


Roman Britain

Roads built in the first phase of Roman occupation (43–68 AD) connected London with the ports used in the invasion (
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
and Richborough), and with the earlier legionary bases at
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
('' Camulodunum''), Lincoln (''
Lindum Lindum Colonia was the Latin name for the settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. It was founded as a Roman Legionary Fortress during the reign of the Emperor Nero (58–68 AD) or possibly later. Evidence from Roman tomb ...
''), Wroxeter (''
Viroconium Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to ...
''),
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
and
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
. As Roman influence expanded, so did the network, until around 180 AD when the known network was complete. Few Roman roads extended into
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
due to their inability to subjugate the local population. Part of the
Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...
came under Roman control in 142, and the
Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
was constructed on the northern boundary. However, the Roman legions withdrew in 164 to their former northern boundary,
Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...
. The primary function of Roman roads was to allow the rapid movement of troops and military supplies, but it also provided vital infrastructure for trade and the transport of goods. The roads were paved, a first for the island, and could carry heavy goods in all weathers. Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, road maintenance became a very ad hoc activity.


Medieval roads

A network of roadways was developed in Britain in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
to supplement the use of rivers as a system of transportation. Many of these roadways were developed as a result of trading of goods and services, such as
wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...
,
sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
,
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
and
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
. They linked together
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
s, towns with
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s, harbours and ports. Other roadways developed to meet the needs of
pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s visiting
shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
s, such as
Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...
, and for transporting corpses from isolated communities to local graveyards.


The "Four Highways" of medieval England

The
Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, within ...
was one of four highways that appear in the literature of the 1130s. Henry of Huntingdon wrote that the
Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...
,
Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...
,
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...
and Icknield Way had been constructed by royal authority.


Early modern era

A parliamentary enclosure road near Lazonby in Cumbria. The roads were made as straight as possible, and the boundaries much wider than a cart width to reduce the ground damage of driving sheep and cattle. The first legislated control in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
was introduced under the
Highways Act 1555 The Highways Act 1555 (2 & 3 Ph. & Mary, c. 8), sometimes the First Statute of Highways, was an Act of the Parliament of England, which placed the burden of upkeep of the highways on individual parishes and that was passed in 1555. The Act wa ...
. Road rates were introduced in England and Wales in the 17th century. The first turnpike road, whereby travellers paid tolls to be used for road upkeep, was authorised by the Highways Act 1663 for a section of the Great North Road in
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. The first
turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th b ...
was established by the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
through a Turnpike Act in 1706. Scotland continued to maintain its own Parliament until the
Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
, when the two parliaments merged to form the
Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
. In the second half of the 18th century, turnpike trusts became numerous, with trusts also set up in Wales and lowland Scotland. This expansion was facilitated by the ability to use
mortgages A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
to fund the work. By 1821 there were of turnpike roads in England, with 1,000 trusts by 1845 Also, in England, the process of land owners enclosing land had been happening since medieval times. During the 17th century a practice developed of obtaining authorisation by
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
. The statutory process included the appointment of Enclosure commissioners. Commissioners were given authorisation to replace old roads and country lanes with new roads that were wider and straighter than those they replaced. Straight roads of early origin, if not Roman were probably enclosure roads. They were established in the period between 1750 and 1850. The high cost of tolls, on the turnpikes, caused social unrest in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. A protest against the tolls that became known as the Rebecca Riots took place, in Wales, between 1839 and 1843. The riots ceased after some ringleaders,
John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) Shoni Sguborfawr or Sioni Ysgubor Fawr (''Johnny ''of'' Big Barn'') (1811–1858) was a notorious Welsh criminal, most notable for his part in the Rebecca Riots and his subsequent attempts to blackmail fellow rioters. Early history Shoni was chris ...
and
David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr) David Davies, also known as Dai'r Cantwr (''David the singer'') (c. 1812–1874), was a Welsh poet and lay-preacher. He was convicted and sentenced to transportation to Australia for his actions during the Rebecca Riots. Early life Davies was bo ...
, were convicted and
transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she wou ...
to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Following several attempts at reform, detrunking began in the 1860s with the last trust ending in 1885. The protests prompted several reforms, including a Royal Commission into the question of toll roads. The growing popularity of cycling also prompted calls for road improvements, with the
Cyclists' Touring Club Cycling UK is a trading name of the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), which is a charitable membership organisation supporting cyclists and promoting bicycle use. Cycling UK is registered at Companies House as "Cyclists’ Touring Club", and is cov ...
and
National Cyclists' Union The National Cyclists' Union (NCU) was an association established in the Guildhall Tavern, London, on 16 February 1878 as the Bicycle Union. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain. It merged ...
pooling resources to form the
Roads Improvement Association The Roads Improvement Association, established in 1882, was a British organisation which campaigned for better roads in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Founded by cycling organisations ten years before the first motor c ...
in October 1886; this focused on producing technical literature distributed to highways boards and surveyors to promote improved construction and maintenance methods., p.131 The Local Government Act 1888 created borough and county councils with responsibility for maintaining the major roads. After complaints about the first tram companies damaging the road surface, Parliament introduced the
Tramways Act 1870 The Tramways Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 78) was an important step in the development of urban transport in United Kingdom. Street tramways had originated in the United States, and were introduced to UK by George Francis Train in the 1860s, the f ...
, making
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
companies responsible for the maintenance of the shared surface of the tramway and several feet either side, as a condition of being granted a licence. This was a popular move as maintenance was removed from the public purse. The local authority could also purchase the whole line at a later date at a discount, or force the tram company to reinstate the road.


1900–1950

The Roads Act 1920 brought in the Road Fund, with the Government receiving revenue from excise duty on road vehicles and from the sale of licences for horse-drawn carriages and
driving licence A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...
s.Charlesworth, George (1984). ''A History of British Motorways''. London: Thomas Telford Limited. . As road traffic began to grow, the condition of the road network became an issue, with most of it in a poor state of repair. The new
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...
created a classification system for the important routes connecting large population centres or for through traffic, with the definitive list being published in 1922/3 and revised in 1926/7. High unemployment after the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
led the Minister of Transport to provide grant funding to the
County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
s to improve roads, particularly where labour was recruited from areas of high unemployment and adjoining areas, and men with dependants. Two unemployment relief programmes were run, the first from 1920 to 1925 and the second from 1929 to 1930. Government grants were limited to trunk roads and bridges, with the money coming from the Road Fund. Some of
bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...
were built by 1935, about half of what was originally planned at the start of the programmes. In 1930, responsibility for all roads was vested in the County councils. The first inter-urban new road built in the UK was the
East Lancs Road The A580 (officially the Liverpool–East Lancashire Road, colloquially the East Lancs Road) is the United Kingdom's first purpose-built inter-city highway. The road, which remains a primary A road, was officially opened by King George V on 18 ...
, which was built between 1929 and 1934 at a cost of £8 million. For the first time since the Roman occupation, the Ministry of Transport took direct control of the core road network through the Trunk Roads Act 1936. During the 1930s, both the Institution of Highway Engineers and The County Surveyors' Society had published plans for a network of high-speed roads, whilst the Minister of Transport,
Leslie Burgin Edward Leslie Burgin (13 July 1887 – 16 August 1945) was a British Liberal and later Liberal National politician in the 1930s. Biography Born to Edward Lambert Burgin, a solicitor, Burgin studied law at the University of London, graduating w ...
, also visited the
autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
under construction in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
proposed a new scheme for a motorway and it was agreed to go ahead. This was, however, postponed due to the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During World War II, government plans were drawn up to create a new network of high-speed routes across the country. The passing of the
Special Roads Act 1949 The Special Roads Act 1949 (c.32) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that: *Authorised the construction of special roads (that became known as motorways) *Allowed these roads to be restricted to specific types of vehicles The S ...
gave the government legal powers to build roads that were not automatically rights of way for certain types of user.


1950–1979

In 1958, the first motorway was opened as the
Preston Bypass The Preston Bypass was the United Kingdom’s first motorway. It was designed and engineered by Lancashire County Council surveyor James Drake as part of a larger initiative to create a north-south motorway network that would later form part ...
, now part of the M6 motorway. The first major motorway to open was the M1 between
Crick Crick may refer to: Places * Crick, Monmouthshire, Wales * Crick, Northamptonshire, England * Crick Road, Oxford, England People with the name * Crick (surname) Other uses * Crick, the cricket from ''Beat Bugs'' * Francis Crick Institute ...
and Berrygrove. In 1963, a report on urban transport planning policy, ''
Traffic in Towns ''Traffic in Towns'' was an influential report and popular book on urban and transport planning policy published 25 November 1963 for the UK Ministry of Transport by a team headed by the architect, civil engineer and planner Colin Buchanan. ...
'', was produced for the UK Department of Transport by a team headed by the
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and planner Colin Buchanan. While it advocated the construction and reorganisation of towns to accommodate the motor car and lorry, it stressed that this would have to be balanced with restrictions, in accordance with local needs. It highlighted the urgency of the problem of dealing with the expected massive growth in road traffic, the damage it could cause to our towns and cities if unplanned, the eventual need for
demand management Demand management is a planning methodology used to forecast, plan for and manage the demand for products and services. This can be at macro-levels as in economics and at micro-levels within individual organizations. For example, at macro-leve ...
but with implications of restricting the mass of the population from doing something they didn't see as wrong, and of the inevitable need for a change in policy as the social costs increased. In 1966, a revision of design standards was proposed which would, it was stated, save "acres of land" and £22,000 per mile in construction costs. The revision involved reducing from 10 ft (3 m) to 5 ft (1.5 m) the width of roadside grass verges on newly constructed "rural" motorways, and removing 1 foot (0.3 m) of the width of the "marginal strips" that separated each carriageway from the central reservation. The 1968-9 Ministry of Transport report ''Roads in England'' planned to complement the new interurban routes with £1bn of new urban trunk roads outside London in order to "alleviate traffic congestion", complemented by parking controls, traffic management and public transport. The first of motorway had been built by 1972 and more motorways opened into the 1980s. Roads outside urban areas continued to be built throughout the 1970s, but the urban routes soon ran into opposition. Plans by the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
for a series of ringways were cancelled following extensive protests headed by
Homes before Roads Homes before Roads was a 1970s political movement and campaign in the United Kingdom initially formed in London in 1970 to oppose plans to construct a system of four interlinked concentric motorways through and around London, known as London Rin ...
and a rise in costs. Plans to widen the
Archway Road The A1 in London is the southern part of the A1 road. It starts at Aldersgate in the City of London, passing through the capital to Borehamwood on the northern fringe of Greater London, before continuing to Edinburgh. The road travels throug ...
in London were also hit by determined opposition over a 20-year period from the 1970s. Work on planning motorways in Northern Ireland had begun before the Second World War, but the legal authority for motorways was not provided for until the Special Roads Act (Northern Ireland) 1963, similar to that in the 1949 Act. The first motorway to open was the M1 motorway in 1962, though did so under temporary powers until the Special Roads Act had been passed. Work on the motorways continued until the 1970s, when the oil crisis and
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
both intervened, causing the abandonment of many schemes.


1979–1997

The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher from 1979 adopted a pro-roads policy. During this period, numerous road upgrades were built and the
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
was completed. In 1989, it announced a large-scale roads programme (stated to be the largest since the Romans) in the
Roads for Prosperity ''Roads for Prosperity'' (often incorrectly called Road to Prosperity) was a controversial white paper published by the Conservative government in the United Kingdom in 1989; detailing the 'largest road building programme for the UK since the Roma ...
White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
. It proposed 500 road schemes at a cost of £23 billion and predicted an increase of road traffic of 142% by 2025. It would have involved the doubling of the trunk road capacity with around 150
bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...
being built, caricatured in later years as predict and provide, whereby the government predicted the required capacity in forthcoming years and built roads to match. From 1985 to 1995, the road network expanded by . This road building programme continued into the start of the premiership of
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
. In the early-1990s, the government decided to complete the M3 motorway by building a six-lane road in a cutting through Twyford Down. This attracted the first
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
protests against a major road in the country. Building work was delayed considerably, and anti-roads protesters gained large amounts of publicity. The Newbury bypass saw some of the largest protests against a road in the UK. Proposed originally in the 1980s, the bypass was subject to strong support and opposition. Also in this time frame, the M11 link road protest saw protracted disturbance during the upgrading of a section of the A12 through
East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. Costs increased rapidly, the Newbury bypass being 50% over budget and many other schemes showed increases of 100%. The Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment had also concluded in 1994 that building new roads simply generated more traffic, and was therefore largely self-defeating. By 1994, following the recession of the early 1990s, a significant number of remaining schemes were cancelled, although the government still intended to continue with others using private financing. The Secretary for state for transport, Dr
Brian Mawhinney Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, (26 July 1940 – 9 November 2019) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1997 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2005. Early life Mawhinney ...
launched a "Great Debate" about the future direction for transport in the UK and the required level of road building stating that the road network was "broadly complete". A major Royal Commission report, " Transport and the Environment", was published in October 1994 to highlight the serious environmental consequences of UK's transport system in response to which the
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...
commented "Rarely, if ever, can a ministry have emerged so badly from an official report as John MacGregor's old department" in an article titled "Head-on collision over transport: The British government has received its sternest warning yet that its unflagging support for the car is seriously at odds with its own green principles". The last new motorway in the United Kingdom (The M3 motorway in Northern Ireland) opened in 1994. In 1996 the total length of motorways reached .


1997–present day

After the election of the Labour government in 1997, most remaining road schemes were cancelled and problem areas of the road network subject to multi-modal studies to investigate non-road alternatives, following the introduction of the
A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England was a response by the United Kingdom Government's Department for Transport to '' A New Deal for Transport: Better for everyone'' - a report that reviewed the government's strategic roads programme, based on ...
White Paper. In 1998, it was proposed to transfer parts of the English trunk road network to local councils, retaining central control for the network connecting major population centres, ports, airports, key cross-border links and the Trans-European Road Network. Around 40% of the network was transferred to local authorities. In 2002, the government proposed a new major road building program with of the strategic road network to be widened, 80 major new trunk road schemes to improve safety and 100 new bypasses on trunk and local roads. The protesters reformed. In 2004, the Government announced in the Queen's speech a major new funding source from transport schemes, the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). In 2007, a new Planning Bill was introduced to parliament which would speed up the process of approving new roads and other transport infrastructure but which has raised concerns that it may erode democracy and be a "developer's charter". Traffic has increased by 80% between 1980 and 2005 whilst road capacity has increased by 10%. On 4 June 2018, a change in the law meant that learner drivers, who had previously been banned from driving on motorways, were allowed to use them when accompanied by a driving instructor in a car with dual controls. As motorway driving is not offered as part of the practical driving test in the United Kingdom, these measures were put in place in an effort to teach motorway safety.


Naming

Road names have traditional conventions in the UK.


See also

*
Transport in the United Kingdom Transport in the United Kingdom is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks. A radial road network totals of main roads, of motorways and of paved roads. The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 km) in Great B ...
* List of motorways in the United Kingdom *
Roads in Northern Ireland The main roads in Northern Ireland are signed "M"/"A"/"B" as in Great Britain. Whereas the roads in Great Britain are numbered according to a zonal system, there is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers in Northern Ireland ...


References


External links


Highways England network mapMap of Scottish Trunk RoadsInteractive Map of Average Daily Traffic for every major UK RoadInternational Transport Statistics Database: Transport in Great BritainEuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008Pathetic Motorways
a list of unusual or "lost" motorways in Britain
The Motorway Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roads in the United Kingdom