M42 motorway

Motorway in England

For other uses of the term M42, see M42 (disambiguation).

It has been suggested that A42 road (England) be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since July 2024.

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M42

The M42 from a bridge just east of the M42/A45, looking south towards junction 6

Route information
Part of  E05
Maintained by National Highways
Length| 40.0 mi (64.4 km)
Existed| 1976–present
History| Opened: 1976
Completed: 1989
Major junctions
Southwest end| Catshill
Major intersections|
M5 motorway

J3a → M40 motorway

J7 → M6 motorway

M6 motorway

M6 motorway

M6 Toll
Northeast end|  A42 Appleby Magna
Location
Country| United Kingdom
Counties| Worcestershire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire
Primary
destinations| Bromsgrove
Solihull
Birmingham Airport
Tamworth
Road network

* Roads in the United Kingdom

* Motorways
* A and B road zones

| ←  M40| | →  M45

|
|

The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth on the way, serving the east of the Birmingham metropolitan area. The section between the M40 and junction 4 of the M6 forms – though unsigned as such – a part of Euroroute E05. Northwards beyond junction 11, the route is continued as the A42; the junctions on this section, 12–14, are numbered like a continuation of the motorway, but the road has non-motorway status from here.

## History

[edit]

### Planning and construction

[edit]

Plans for a new motorway by-passing the south and east of Birmingham, reaching Tamworth and connecting the M5 and M6 motorways, were announced in 1972.

The first section opened in November 1976 linking Birmingham Airport with the M6 motorway.[citation needed]

The curve around the south-eastern side of Solihull opened in September 1985 followed by the section from the M6 with the A5 at Tamworth in December 1985.[citation needed] The southern section of the motorway to Alvechurch just north of Redditch to form a junction with the A441 and from A5 at Tamworth with the A444 at Measham opened in 1986.[citation needed]

In 1987, the section to the A38 at Bromsgrove, 15 miles (24 km) south of Birmingham was completed.[citation needed] and then in December 1989, the motorway was completed with the opening of the link from the M5.[citation needed]

A planned section north of the M6 running to the M1 near Nottingham was never constructed as planned being replaced by the A42 link, a trunk road which was completed in August 1989 to link with the M1 motorway near Nottingham.[citation needed]

When first built, there was no direct connection between the M5 South and M42. Westbound M42 traffic similarly had no direct connection to the M5 North. Instead traffic had to use the A38 between M5 junction 4 and M42 junction 1.

### Operational history

[edit]

Junction 3a was remodelled to give priority to traffic operating between the now westbound section of the M42 and the extended M40 motorway, which opened in stages between December 1989 and January 1991.

The section of the M42 between junctions 7A and 9 was re-built as part of the M6 Toll works and now forms the link between the M6 and the southern end of the toll road. The M6 Toll opened in 2003.

Active Traffic Management with hard shoulder running and variable speed limits were introduced in 2006.

Since the 1980s, there have been constant plans to build a new service station on the motorway south of Birmingham Airport and the NEC, but this has yet to be built.[citation needed]

## Features

[edit]

### Birmingham Outer Ring Road

[edit]

Along with sections of the M5 and M6, the southern sections of the M42 form the Birmingham Outer Ring Road motorway around Birmingham. Much like the M25 around London, and the M60 around Manchester, there are areas where this orbital system does not work well. One such point is junction 3A, the link between the M42 and the M40, where traffic is often heavy in the rush hour. The intersection between the M42 and M6 is often very busy too,[citation needed] especially when travelling along the M6.

#### Managed motorways and Active Traffic Management

[edit]

Active Traffic Management (ATM) was launched as a pilot scheme on the M42 operating between junction 3a and 7 with mandatory variable speed limits, hard shoulder running, better driver information signs and a new incident management system. This system allows operators to open and close any lane to traffic in order to help manage congestion or an incident. Between 2006 and 2007, journey times have decreased by 26% northbound and 9% southbound and journey time variability has decreased by 27%.[1] Due to the success of the trial this system was later extended northbound to junction 9 of the M42 (and onto the adjacent M6 to junction 5) and southbound along the M40 to junction 15 as part of the first phase of a nationwide roll out of the rebranded 'Managed motorways; concept.

## Incidents and accidents

[edit]

* A collision involving 160 vehicles occurred on 10 March 1997 in fog in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire which resulted in three deaths and 60 injuries.[2]

## Future work

[edit]

As of 2022 work is under construction on a new junction (5A) located between Solihull junction 5 and Birmingham Airport/NEC junction 6 and 2.4KM of new dual carriageway alongside the motorway to:[3]

* ensure the safe and reliable operation of the road network
* increase the capacity at junction 6, reducing congestion
* improve access to key businesses and locations such as Birmingham Airport and support economic growth in the area
* improve access for cyclists, walkers and other vulnerable users of the network[4]

## Junctions

[edit]

This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consult this guideline for information on how to create one. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2021)

|

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[5] If a junction extends over several hundred metres and both start and end points are known, both are shown.

Map this section's coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

* KML
* GPX (all coordinates)
* GPX (primary coordinates)
* GPX (secondary coordinates)

M42 motorway junctions

mile  | km  | South-westbound exits (A carriageway)  | Junction  | North-eastbound exits (B carriageway)  | Coordinates
0.0
0.9  | 0.0
1.4  | The North West, Birmingham (W, N & C), Stourbridge, (M6) M5(N)
The South West, Worcester M5(S) | M5 J4A  | Start of motorway | 52°20′53″N 2°04′29″W﻿ / ﻿52.3480°N 2.0746°W﻿ / 52.3480; -2.0746﻿ (M42, Start of motorway)
1.4
1.6  | 2.3
2.6  | Bromsgrove A38 | J1  | No access (on-slip only) | 52°21′20″N 2°02′45″W﻿ / ﻿52.3556°N 2.0458°W﻿ / 52.3556; -2.0458﻿ (M42, J1)
5.6
6.0  | 9.0
9.6  | Birmingham (S) A441
Hopwood Park services | J2
Services | Birmingham (S) A441
Hopwood Park services | 52°21′42″N 1°56′56″W﻿ / ﻿52.3618°N 1.9489°W﻿ / 52.3618; -1.9489﻿ (M42, J2)
8.4  | 13.5  | Entering Worcestershire | J3  | Birmingham (S), Redditch, Evesham A435 | 52°21′18″N 1°53′09″W﻿ / ﻿52.3549°N 1.8859°W﻿ / 52.3549; -1.8859﻿ (M42, J3)
8.8  | 14.1  | Birmingham (S), Redditch, Evesham A435 | Entering Warwickshire
11.7
12.2  | 18.8
19.7  | End of variable speed limit | J3A
(TOTSO NB)
[coord 1] | Start of variable speed limit | 52°20′55″N 1°48′41″W﻿ / ﻿52.3486°N 1.8114°W﻿ / 52.3486; -1.8114﻿ (M42, J3A)
|  | London, Warwick, Stratford M40 | London, Warwick, Stratford M40
|  | Entering Warwickshire |  | Entering West Midlands | 52°21′46″N 1°48′15″W﻿ / ﻿52.3629°N 1.8043°W﻿ / 52.3629; -1.8043
14.2
14.5  | 22.8
23.3  | Shirley A34 | J4  | Shirley A34 | 52°22′47″N 1°47′11″W﻿ / ﻿52.3797°N 1.7865°W﻿ / 52.3797; -1.7865﻿ (M42, J4)
16.5
16.9  | 26.6
27.2  | Solihull A41 | J5  | Solihull A41 | 52°24′18″N 1°45′00″W﻿ / ﻿52.4051°N 1.7500°W﻿ / 52.4051; -1.7500﻿ (M42, J5)
19.9
20.3  | 32.1
32.7  | Birmingham (E), Birmingham International , Birmingham , National Exhibition Centre, Coventry A45 | J6  | Birmingham (E), Birmingham International , Birmingham , National Exhibition Centre A45(W)

Coventry (S & W), N.E.C. A45(E)

| 52°26′42″N 1°42′36″W﻿ / ﻿52.4451°N 1.7099°W﻿ / 52.4451; -1.7099﻿ (M42, J6)
22.1
22.6  | 35.6
36.4  | No access (on-slip only) | J7
[coord 2] | The North West, Birmingham (C & N) M6(N) | 52°28′26″N 1°42′41″W﻿ / ﻿52.4738°N 1.7115°W﻿ / 52.4738; -1.7115﻿ (M42, J7)
|  | Entering West Midlands |  | Entering Warwickshire | 52°28′28″N 1°42′41″W﻿ / ﻿52.4744°N 1.7114°W﻿ / 52.4744; -1.7114
22.7
22.9  | 36.6
36.8  | No access | J7A
(TOTSO SB)
[coord 3] | London (M1), Coventry M6 | 52°28′53″N 1°42′37″W﻿ / ﻿52.4815°N 1.7103°W﻿ / 52.4815; -1.7103﻿ (M42, J7A)
|  | London (N & E) (M1), Coventry (N & E) M6 | No access (on-slip only) | 52°29′28″N 1°42′54″W﻿ / ﻿52.4912°N 1.7151°W﻿ / 52.4912; -1.7151﻿ (M42, J7B)
24.5  | 39.4  | Birmingham (Central, E, N & W) M6(N) | J8  | No access (on-slip only) | 52°30′33″N 1°43′32″W﻿ / ﻿52.5091°N 1.7255°W﻿ / 52.5091; -1.7255﻿ (M42, J8)
|  | No access (on slip only) | J9  | The North West, Cannock, Lichfield M6 Toll | 52°31′45″N 1°43′47″W﻿ / ﻿52.5293°N 1.7296°W﻿ / 52.5293; -1.7296﻿ (M42, J8A)
26.7  | 42.9  | Start of variable speed limit | Kingsbury A4097, Lichfield A446 | 52°32′20″N 1°43′35″W﻿ / ﻿52.5388°N 1.7263°W﻿ / 52.5388; -1.7263﻿ (M42, J9)
The North West M6 Toll, Coleshill A446, A4097 | End of variable speed limit
32.4  | 52.2  | Nuneaton, Tamworth A5, Lichfield (A38)
Tamworth services | J10
Services | Nuneaton, Tamworth A5
Tamworth services | 52°36′12″N 1°38′30″W﻿ / ﻿52.6033°N 1.6416°W﻿ / 52.6033; -1.6416﻿ (M42, J10)
|  | Entering Warwickshire |  | Entering Leicestershire | 52°40′19″N 1°33′40″W﻿ / ﻿52.6720°N 1.5612°W﻿ / 52.6720; -1.5612
39.7  | 63.9  | Start of motorway | J11
Services
[coord 4] | Burton upon Trent, Measham A444 | 52°41′20″N 1°32′55″W﻿ / ﻿52.6890°N 1.5485°W﻿ / 52.6890; -1.5485﻿ (M42, J11)
40.0  | 64.4  | Nuneaton A444
Non-motorway traffic | End of motorway
Road continues as A42 towards East Midlands Airport | 52°41′34″N 1°32′50″W﻿ / ﻿52.6929°N 1.5471°W﻿ / 52.6929; -1.5471﻿ (M42, J11)
Notes

* Distances in kilometres and carriageway identifiers are obtained from driver location signs/location marker posts. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown.

1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

* Incomplete access

### Coordinate list

[edit]

1. ^ 52°20′56″N 1°48′35″W﻿ / ﻿52.3488°N 1.8097°W﻿ / 52.3488; -1.8097﻿ (Junction 3a) Termination point M40
2. ^ 52°28′39″N 1°42′39″W﻿ / ﻿52.4774°N 1.7109°W﻿ / 52.4774; -1.7109﻿ (Junction 7) Southern M6 / M42 intersection
3. ^ 52°29′01″N 1°42′38″W﻿ / ﻿52.4837°N 1.7106°W﻿ / 52.4837; -1.7106﻿ (Junction 7a) Northern M6 / M42 intersection
4. ^ 52°41′37″N 1°32′49″W﻿ / ﻿52.6935°N 1.5470°W﻿ / 52.6935; -1.5470﻿ (Junction 11) J11, A42

## See also

[edit]

* List of motorways in the United Kingdom
* Category:M42 motorway service stations

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "'Extra lane' plan to be extended". BBC News. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
2. ^ "M42 death crash driver wins back his licence". Archive.worcesternews.co.uk. 10 November 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
3. ^ "Works to create new slip roads on M42 to begin". Solihull Observer. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
4. ^ "M42 junction 6". nationalhighways.co.uk. National Highways. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2024. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
5. ^ Driver Location Signs, M42 J1-7 (map) – Highway Authority, 2009

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/M42 motorway

KML is from Wikidata

* The Motorway Archive – M42

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

* KML
* GPX (all coordinates)
* GPX (primary coordinates)
* GPX (secondary coordinates)

* v
* t
* e

Motorways in the United Kingdom

Great Britain|

* M1
* M11
* M18
* M180
* M181
* A1(M)
* A167(M)
* A194(M)
* A1077(M)

* M2
* M20
* M23
* M25
* M26
* M27
* M271
* M275

* M3
* M32
* A3(M)
* A38(M)
* A308(M)
* A329(M)

* M4
* M40
* M42
* M45
* M48
* M49
* A48(M)
* A404(M)

* M5
* M50
* M53
* M54
* M55
* M56
* M57
* M58
* A57(M)
* A58(M)

* M6
* M6 Toll
* M60
* M61
* M62
* M65
* M66
* M67
* M69
* M602
* M606
* M621
* A64(M)
* A66(M)
* A627(M)

* M73
* M74
* M77
* A74(M)

* M8
* M80
* M876
* M898
* A8(M)
* A823(M)

* M9
* M90

Northern Ireland|

* M1
* M2
* M3
* M5
* M12
* M22
* A8(M)

Former|

* M10
* M41
* M63
* M85
* A18(M)
* A40(M)
* A41(M)
* A102(M)
* A601(M)
* A6144(M)

Unbuilt|

* M12
* M15
* M16
* M31
* M64
* M4 relief road

Junctions
( Category)|

* Almondsbury
* Broxden
* Catthorpe
* Charing Cross, Glasgow
* Denton Island
* Handy Cross
* Longbridge
* Lydiate Ash
* Scotch Corner
* Spaghetti Junction
* Switch Island
* Thorney
* Thorpe
* Thurcroft

Bridges|

* Auchenshuggle
* Avonmouth
* Bromford
* Don
* Friarton
* Gathurst
* Kingston
* Medway
* to Nowhere
* Ouse
* Rakewood
* Scammonden
* Prince of Wales
* Severn
* Thames
* Thelwall
* Tinsley
* Queensferry
* Usk
* Weaver

Related articles|

* National Highways
* Traffic officers
* South Wales Trunk Road Agent
* Traffic officers
* Transport Scotland
* DfI Roads
* Preston By-pass
* Smart motorway
* Motorway service area
* List

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Strategic road network in England

South West|

* M4
* M5
* M32
* M48
* M49
* A4
* A30
* A36
* A38
* A40
* A46
* A303

Area 3
(South)|

* M3
* M4
* M27
* M271
* A3(M)
* A308(M)
* A404(M)
* A3
* A27
* A31
* A34
* A303
* A404

Area 4
(South East)|

* M2
* M20
* M23
* A2
* A20
* A21
* A23
* A26
* A27
* A259
* A2070

Area 5 (DBFO)
(M25 links)|

* M1
* M3
* M4
* M11
* M20
* M25
* M26
* A1(M)
* A1
* A2
* A3
* A13
* A20
* A23
* A30
* A40
* A282
* A316
* A405
* A1089
* A3113

East|

* M1
* M11
* A1(M)
* A1
* A5
* A11
* A12
* A14
* A47
* A120
* A141
* A414
* A421
* A428
* A1307

Area 7
(East Midlands)|

* M1
* M6
* M45
* M69
* A1
* A5
* A6
* A14
* A38
* A42
* A43
* A45
* A46
* A50
* A52
* A453
* A516
* A5111

Area 9
(West Midlands)|

* M5
* M6
* M40
* M42
* M50
* M54
* M69
* A5
* A38
* A40
* A45
* A46
* A49
* A50
* A446
* A449
* A458
* A483
* A500
* A4510
* A5148

North West|

* M6
* M53
* M55
* M56
* M57
* M58
* M60
* M61
* M62
* M65
* M66
* M67
* M602
* A74(M)
* A627(M)
* A41
* A55
* A56
* A66
* A483
* A494
* A550
* A556
* A585
* A590
* A595
* A663
* A5036
* A5103
* A5117

Area 12
(Yorks/Lincs)|

* M1
* M18
* M62
* M180
* M181
* M606
* M621
* A1(M)
* A1
* A57
* A61
* A63
* A64
* A160
* A162
* A180
* A616
* A628
* A1033

Area 14
(North East)|

* A1(M)
* A66(M)
* A194(M)
* A1
* A19
* A66
* A184
* A696

Other DBFO|

* M1
* M40
* M62
* A1(M)
* A6
* A19
* A30
* A35
* A50
* A69
* A168
* A174
* A249
* A417
* A419
* A1053

Toll roads|

* M6 Toll

* v
* t
* e

Transport in Worcestershire

Road|

| Motorways|

* M5
* M42
* M50

|

A-roads|

* A38
* A44
* A46
* A422
* A435
* A441
* A442
* A448
* A449
* A456
* A491
* A4025
* A4536

Service stations|

* Frankley services
* Hopwood Park services
* Strensham services

Other|

* Icknield Street
* List of settlements on the A38

Rail|

| Main lines|

* Cross-City Line
* Cross Country Route
* North Warwickshire Line
* Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line
* Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster line
* Cotswold Line

|

Closed lines|

* Oxford–Worcester–Wolverhampton line (Dudley to Wolverhampton section)

Stations|

* Alvechurch
* Barnt Green
* Blakedown
* Bromsgrove
* Droitwich Spa
* Evesham
* Great Malvern
* Hagley
* Hartlebury
* Honeybourne
* Kidderminster
* Malvern Link
* Pershore
* Redditch
* Worcester Foregate Street
* Worcester Shrub Hill
* Wythall

Closed stations|

* Astwood Bank
* Aston-under-Hill
* Beckford
* Bengeworth
* Bredon
* Eckington
* Foley Park Halt
* Hinton
* Littleton and Badsey
* Malvern Wells
* Ripple
* Upton-on-Severn
* Wadborough

Heritage stations|

* Arley
* Bewdley
* Kidderminster Town
* Northwood Halt

Heritage railways|

* Severn Valley Railway

Under construction|

* Broadway
* Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway

Buses|

| Routes|

* Worcestershire bus route 144

|

Companies|

* Diamond West Midlands
* First Midland Red

Other|

* Bus transport in Bromsgrove

Waterways|

| Rivers|

* River Arrow
* River Avon
* River Severn
* River Stour
* River Teme

|

Canals|

* Droitwich Canal
* Leominster Canal
* Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
* Worcester and Birmingham Canal

Other|

* Diglis Basin
* Hampton Ferry
* Tardebigge Engine House
* Tardebigge Locks

Footpaths|

| Long-distance footpaths|

* Cotswold Way
* Monarch's Way
* Severn Way
* Worcestershire Way
* Wychavon Way

|

Cycle paths|

* Route 5
* Route 54

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