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 M40 highlighted in blueShow interactive map _map.svg) Shown with UK motorway network Show UK motorways map | ||||
 Looking north atWarmington, Warwickshire, 2007 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
Part of E05 | ||||
| Maintained byNational Highways | ||||
| Length | 89 mi (143 km) | |||
| Existed | 1967–present | |||
| History | Opened: 1967 Completed: 1991 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Southeast end | Denham | |||
| Major intersections |
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| Northwest end | Tanworth in Arden | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | Buckinghamshire,Oxfordshire,Northamptonshire,Warwickshire | |||
| Primary destinations | ||||
| Road network | ||||
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TheM40motorway linksLondon,Oxford, andBirmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).
The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entryslip-roads at junction 4 (which is two lanes in both directions) and also between the slip-roads at junction 9 (in the south-eastbound direction only).
AnActive Traffic Management system operates on the short section north-westbound from junction 16 (A3400) to theM42.
The motorway between London and Oxford was constructed in stages between 1967 and 1974. The first section opened in June 1967, fromHandy Cross roundabout,High Wycombe toStokenchurch (junctions 4–5).[1] In 1969, extending in a southerly direction to Holtspur,Beaconsfield, a temporary junction 2 was opened. The section bypassing Beaconsfield was built in 1971 and the section pastGerrards Cross to junction 1 was completed in 1973. In 1974, the motorway between junctions 5 to 8 was completed toGreat Milton.
Between junctions 3 and 4, the beginnings of slip roads were built on both carriageways for a service area at Abbey Barns between Beaconsfield and High Wycombe.[2] Beaconsfield services off junction 2 opened in 2009.
Late in the 1960s, not long after the first stretch opened, the Ministry of Transport announced the possibility of building a new motorway to linkLondon withBirmingham as an alternative to theM1–M6 route – as well as improving road links to the South Coast ports forThe Midlands – but it was not until December 1984 that the decision to extend the M40 from Oxford to the south of Birmingham was given the go-ahead, with the anticipation of the route being built in three phases and being fully operational by 1990.
The preferred route was altered to avoidOtmoor after a vigorous road protest, which included selling over 3,000 small squares of a field to people all over the world. The field had been renamed 'Alice's field' as a reference toAlice in Wonderland byLewis Carroll who lived in the area at the time of the book's writing.[3]
Construction began atWarwick in October 1987, with work on the section aroundBanbury starting in February 1988, and finally, the section north ofOxford in July 1989. The 12-mile section between the M42 and Warwick opened in December 1989, and the remaining 48-mile section in January 1991. The section between Banbury and Warwick had been completed several months earlier, but its opening was delayed until the Banbury to Oxford section was ready, to avoid the inevitable congestion of A-roads in north Oxfordshire towards the end of 1990 that an earlier opening would have caused.[4]
At the time of being fully opened, the original M40 had been widened, creating a dual three-lane motorway from start to finish, with the exception of the Handy Cross underpass, which remains dual two-lane.
The M40 had been expected to be the last major motorway to be built in Britain, but in 1986 the Conservative government announced a major new road-building scheme,Roads for Prosperity, much of which was cancelled in 1996 after majorroad protests.
Beginning in 1997, the motorway was widened to dual-four-lane between J1A and J3 (High Wycombe East) under aPrivate Finance Initiative. It was completed by aCarillion-John Laing joint venture in October 1998 – the original plan included widening between J3 and J4.Oxford services andWarwick Services opened in 1998.
Work to separate local and long-distance traffic at J4 was completed in 2007, including a new dedicated left-turn slip lane between the A404 Marlow Bypass and the Oxford-bound M40; additional lanes on the slip roads entering the roundabout; an additional lane between the A404 Marlow Hill and the London-bound M40; and a five-lane cross-link between the M40 and the A404(S).[5]
In 2009 theHighways Agency extended theActive Traffic Management (ATM) system onto the northbound carriageway from J16 to the junction with the M42.Beaconsfield services opened in 2009, near the site of the service station proposed at Abbey Barns almost 40 years earlier.
In August 2010 work started on J9, upgrading the southbound exit slip road to three lanes, and similar widening on the connecting A34 and A41 junctions betweenOxford andBicester. This was the first part of the work at this busy junction since it was built 20 years earlier. If the necessary funding becomes available, a second phase of improvement will be carried out, upgrading the northbound entrance and the A41 southbound entrance.[6]
The following table only includes places situated near the motorway and those close enough to be considered 'near the motorway' (likeAylesbury). Other places that may use the motorway (for access to the north) are not included as they have other motorway access (for exampleSlough). Small villages are not included. Population figures are based on the 2001 census by theOffice for National Statistics[7]
| Place | Population | Ceremonial County | Main Railway station | Motorway junction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerrards Cross/Chalfont St Peter | 19,622 | Buckinghamshire | Gerrards Cross | 1,2 |
| Beaconsfield | 10,679 | Buckinghamshire | Beaconsfield | 2 |
| High Wycombe Urban Area | 118,229 | Buckinghamshire | High Wycombe | 3,4 |
| Thame | 10,886 | Oxfordshire | Haddenham & Thame Parkway | 7,8A |
| Oxford | 134,248 | Oxfordshire | Oxford | 8,8A |
| Bicester | 28,672 | Oxfordshire | Bicester North | 9 |
| Aylesbury Urban Area | 69,021 | Buckinghamshire | Aylesbury | 7,8A,9 |
| Banbury | 43,867 | Oxfordshire | Banbury | 11 |
| Leamington Spa | 45,114 | Warwickshire | Leamington Spa | 13,14,15 |
| Warwick | 25,434 | Warwickshire | Warwick | 15 |
| Stratford-upon-Avon | 23,676 | Warwickshire | Stratford-upon-Avon | 15 |
 | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections whichshould be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consultthis guideline for information on how to create one. Pleaseimprove this article if you can.(December 2021) |
Data[8] fromdriver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres, both start and end locations are given.
AnActive Traffic Management system operates on the short section northbound from junction 16 (A3400) to theM42.
The motorway has four service areas:
A motorway service station was proposed at Abbey Barn to cost £700,000, south ofHigh Wycombe in November 1973, north ofLittle Marlow, next to the formerWycombe Summit.[9] A similar motorway service station was proposed atHensall, North Yorkshire on the (unbuilt) M62 in December 1973, and which likewise was neither built.[10]
Junction 1 of the M40 is at theDenham Roundabout nearUxbridge just east of the M25. The motorway is carried over the top of the roundabout, which interchanges with the A40, the A412, the A4020 and links to the A413 off the A40 westbound.
The motorway carries on for another1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) before it reaches junction 1a, the free-flow interchange with theM25 London Orbital. It is a partially unrolled cloverleaf, with the smoothest turns from the London-bound M40 (from Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and the wider West Midlands) to the anti-clockwise M25 (London Heathrow, Gatwick, The Channel Ports) and vice versa, since this is the largest exchange of traffic between the two motorways. The M40 passes over the interchange, with the M25 on the bottom. The clockwise M25 enters the junction with four lanes with a lane drop to accommodate traffic heading for the M40 westbound, leaving the junction with three lanes. The anti-clockwise M25 enters the junction with three lanes and gains a lane from the London-bound M40 to accommodate the extra traffic.The London-bound M40 enters with four lanes, with a lane drop for the M25 exit, leaves with three lanes, and the westbound M40 enters with lanes and gains a lane from the anti-clockwise M25.
After junction 1a the motorway is four lanes, and carries on for 3 miles (4.8 km) until it reaches junction 2 for the A355 to Slough and the A40 to Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross. Junction 2 is the standardroundabout interchange over the M40.Beaconsfield services are located at this junction.
Junction 3 is 3 miles (4.8 km) further on, and serves the A40 for High Wycombe East and Loudwater. This is a restricted junction; the only flows are from the westbound M40 to the A40 and from the A40 to the London-bound M40. The westbound carriageway loses a lane, remaining three lanes for the rest of the route, and the London-bound carriageway gains a lane. The motorway then immediately crosses the valley on a large ramp-like bridge.
Junction 4 is the interchange with the A404, forHigh Wycombe,Marlow,Maidenhead,Reading,Windsor and theM4. The motorway through the junction was not widened from the original two lanes when the rest of the motorway from junction 8 to London was, and so both carriageways experience a temporary lane drop. The junction used to be a straightforward roundabout interchange with exits for the M40 (west and east), High Wycombe (A404), the A4010, two local roads and the A404 dual carriageway to the south. During 2007, work was completed which included extra stacking space on the sliproads from the M40, provision for traffic from the A404 northbound to join the M40 westbound slip road without joining the roundabout and provision for the London-bound M40 to skip the section of the roundabout which serves the A4010,High Wycombe, and the A404 north.
Junction 5 is for the A40 andStokenchurch, a basic diamond interchange and the fourth junction of the M40 with the A40. Within a mile there is a largeroad cutting known as theStokenchurch Gap or The Canyon where the motorway enters Oxfordshire and meets junction 6 with the B4009 forLewknor,Watlington, andChinnor. This junction is a variant on the diamond interchange, with the slip roads from the M40 having sharp bends.[citation needed]
Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) after junction 6 the motorway passes to within 330 feet (100 m) of St Giles Church,Tetsworth and 2 miles (3.2 km) farther on meets the first of three junctions in close succession. Junction 7 is a restricted junction with theA329 servingThame and the A40. Access is limited allowing exit for only northbound traffic and entry only for southbound traffic. The exiting slip road on the southbound M40 at junction 7 is for "Works Traffic Only" to a depot. A slip road allows traffic from the A329 to join the M40 north but is closed to motorway traffic by a gate, so traffic must continue for 2 miles (3.2 km)to junction 8.
At junction 8, a spur off the M40, with two-lane carriageways, leaves the mainline of the motorway as far as a trumpet junction for Wheatley and the A418, then continuing as the A40 towardsOxford. The spur can be accessed via the M40 northbound or by leaving the M40 at junction 8a southbound and crossing the M40 via the A418, and traffic heading towards the M40 can only join the southbound carriageway. Traffic going in the other direction has to use the trumpet junction, and follow the A418 pastOxford services. The M40 heads north from junction 8A. This was the temporary end of the M40 before the northern section was open. Visible either side of the junction are the embankments and remains of the overbridge which carried the Wycombe railway line.
The motorway continues for 12 miles (19 km) to junction 9 for the A34(E05) and theA41. The A34 dual carriageway serves Oxford and is a trunk route for Newbury, Winchester and Southampton (via theM3) as well as the rest of the South Coast — for this the reason it is part of the unsigned European route E05. The A41 dual carriageway servesBicester and Aylesbury, and both roads meet the motorway at Wendelbury roundabout junction. Its design is inefficient and cannot cope with a very large volume of traffic using the junction.[citation needed] To try to alleviate this problem, there is a temporary lane drop for the London-bound carriageway. The largest exchange of traffic is between the A34 and the M40 north, and traffic on those roads backs up and causes congestion on both roads (going north and south), as well as on the interchange itself. North of the junction, the existing A34 becomes theA3400. This means the A34 is now technically in two halves (it regains status farther up the road at junction 16, although signs on the motorway do not mention this). Instead, the first signs for the A34 from a motorway are on the M42 at junction 4, as with the A41. The road also becomes part of the E05 north of junction 9.
The M40 follows a course of almost due north for 5 miles (8.0 km) before reaching junction 10, for theCherwell Valley services, theA43 and the village ofArdley. The A43 terminates at junction 10, although originally it carried on to Kidlington, the southern part of the old route now used by the re-routed A34. (The original A43 towards Oxford is now the B430.) The A43 serves Brackley,Silverstone and itsracing circuit, home to theBritish Grand Prix. Farther on, the A43 leads toNorthampton and the M1. Junction 10 was originally a dumbbell junction. The capacity of both the junction and the single carriageway A43 proved too small when the road was used as a freight thoroughfare from the congested M1 to the M40 to London, and the A34 at junction 9 to the south coast — in fact the 5 miles (8.0 km) stretch between these junctions is the busiest on the motorway in both directions. When the A43 (between the M1 and M40) was upgraded to dual carriageway, the junction was redesigned and rebuilt by theHighways Agency to cope with the extra traffic. A third roundabout was added to the junction, to the north, with the slips for the southbound M40 and the A43, with the slip roads for the northbound M40 remodelled as well, and the roundabout in the middle now serving the services.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Last update: Junction 10 was rebuilt in 2015, criticism is no longer applicable; source is now returning 404 error(August 2017) |
The slip road for the London-bound carriageway which used to be accessed from the roundabout is now reached only via the services. The design and execution of the revised design of new junction is greatly derided, mostly because of the three roundabouts giving no priority to the main flow of traffic, (A43-M40 London), and the slip roads off and onto the motorway (except the one accessed via the services) have sharp turns and adverse cambers, which results in lorries frequently tipping over and spilling their loads especially on the roundabout at the end of the northern carriageway. The junction fails to perform its function as an effective traffic junction. As well, the slip roads onto the motorway give little manoeuvring space as both join the motorway under (the same) bridge built for the old junction.[citation needed]
The motorway then follows a winding route north for 10 miles (16 km) until junction 11, theA422 andA361, servingBanbury. The motorway does not follow the straight route to the east of Middleton Cheney, meeting with the A422, as it had once been planned, due to a major landowner refusing his land to be cut in two. If built as planned, junction 11 would be east of Middleton Cheney, meeting with the A422, and probably would have fuelled major growth in the village as well as Banbury, the primary destination of the junction. As it is, the junction was built 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west along the A422, with the motorway skirting Banbury. The junction itself is a regular roundabout interchange, and has the single carriageway A361 fromDaventry the dual-carriageway A422 from Brackley and the A43 from the west, and the dual-carriageway A422 (A361) toward Banbury feeding to/from it.
Another 12 miles (19 km) north-west along the motorway is junction 12, servingGaydon and theHeritage Motor Centre via theB4451. The junction is a box-standarddiamond interchange. Farther along the motorway isWarwick Services, the last on the motorway, before it reaches the restricted access junction 13. This servesLeamington Spa andWarwick via theA452, and Gaydon via the B4100. The junction is incomplete as a half-diamond interchange, with access only from the northbound carriageway and access to the southbound M40.
The junction is completed 2 miles (3.2 km) farther on at junction 14, another restricted access junction, with access to the A452 from the southbound M40, and the access on to the motorway is in a northbound direction. The slip roads join at a roundabout and carry on as the single carriageway A452 to meet with the A452 to Leamington Spa,A425 to Warwick, and the A452 to J13. A few hundred yards further up is junction 15, known as Longbridge island. This is a large, regular roundabout interchange, and is always busy during peak times due to the various destinations it serves, including The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, and Warwick. Farther north, Henley-in-Arden (J16) is again 'incomplete' to discourage local traffic.
The motorway joins the M42 in both directions, with northbound traffic taking the left lane to exit eastbound, eventually forming the outer lanes of the M42 via a tight-bending two lane connecting road, and the right lanes being taken eastbound. Similarly, southbound, eastbound traffic from the M42 splits off from the outer two lanes, whereas westbound traffic of the M42 has a single lane, widening to a two lane slip road, which merges with the middle lane and forms the outer lane of the southbound M40.
More than 100 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on the M40 southbound in Oxfordshire, in which two people were killed
At least two people died in a 100-car pile-up on the London-bound section of the M40 today when fog cut visibility to 10 metres.
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