List of unused roads in the United Kingdom

An unused road is a road or slip road that was partially or fully constructed but was unused^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} or later closed.^[10][11][12] An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp,^[13] stub street,^[2][14][15] stub-out,^[2] or simply stub.^[16][17] The following is a list of such locations within the United Kingdom:

England

Unused slip road at the junction of the A57(M) with the A34

• In Crowthorne, Berkshire, South Road used to be a shortcut from Broadmoor Hospital to Sandhurst. It is now used as foot/cycle path, however the road markings and speed bumps are still there. It was closed as it made traffic around Broadmoor worse, as well as the speed bumps being too big.
• In South Yorkshire the former A18 (M) has partly been turned into the western end of the M180 with the remains of the eastbound carriageway being used as a sliproad. The remaining part of the westbound carriageway is unused.
• In Manchester, the A57(M) motorway has an unfinished slip road that hangs 6 metres (20 ft) in the air. It is hidden from view from the road. It had been constructed incorrectly and if completed would have taken traffic the wrong way down a one-way street.^[18][19]
• In London, the M11 motorway has two short unused slips at Junction 4 (Charlie Brown's) which would have been a link for the M12 motorway to head east into Essex.^[20] The M12 was in fact never built.
• Newcastle has two ramp stubs on the northbound Central Motorway East (originally A1(M), now A167(M)), links from a proposed Central Motorway East By-pass (A third northbound link was opened as the local access from Camden Street).^[21]
• In Surrey, the M23 begins with junction seven and has a ramp stub that was intended to extend the M23 further into London.^[22][23]
• On many early rural motorways, ramp stubs can be found at locations proposed for motorway service areas. Sites for services were designated at regular intervals, about 12 or 13 miles apart, and the ramp stubs built as part of the original motorway construction. Land adjacent to the motorway was often obtained for the future services - usually a neat circular or hexagonal plot that is easily identified on aerial photos.^[24] While many of these original sites were opened as service areas, those remaining unused are now unlikely ever to be developed, either because the sites are too small and restricted, or because they are in the wrong place: Doncaster North services recently opened less than 2 miles from the ramp stubs at Hatfield.^[25]
• Improvement works in 1987 rerouted the A47 in Rutland near Wardley resulting in an unused stretch of carriageway being left behind which functions only as access to a transmitting station.^[26]
• The former line of the A33 Winchester Bypass remains very clear on the ground after having been replaced by the M3 motorway through Twyford Down.^[27]
• In 1979, after continued efforts at maintenance, the A625 road on the south side of Mam Tor, Derbyshire, was closed due to the instability of the shale layers. The road lies abandoned and crumbling.
  

  The abandoned A625 road at Mam Tor, Derbyshire
• There are several sections of the old route of the A30 in Cornwall, between Launceston and Bodmin following the upgrading and rebuilding of the route to a dual carriage way. The most visible of which is at Jamaica Inn near Bodmin where the old stretch of road runs next to the dual carriage way.

Scotland

Stubs on M8 at West Street

• Glasgow's M8 motorway has several ramp stubs built for the abandoned Inner Ring Road. The most famous examples are the West Street ramps at Junction 20 (Kingston),^[28] and another pair can be found at Junction 15 (Townhead).^[29][30] There are also ramp stubs on the westbound M8 between junctions 16 and 17, for an unbuilt motorway leading out to the north and west.^[31][32]
• The A75 has been upgraded in many areas since the 1960s. Many areas of the old road are still intact, but with road marks fading and grassed over tarmac.

See also

• List of unused highways

References

1. "US&R and NY-TF1 Practice for the Real Thing." City of New York 20 June 2005. 15 Jan. 2007 .
2. "Kentucky Model Access Management Ordinance." Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Oct. 2004. 15 Jan. 2007 .
3. "Barrie (City) v. 1606533 Ontario Inc.", 2005 CanLII 24746 (ON S.C.). 15 Jan. 2007 .
4. Iowa House. 1998. House File 686., 77th, H.R. 0686. .
5. "PETITIONED PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT." New York City. 15 Jan. 2007 .
6. House. 1993. LAND TITLE AMENDMENT ACT, 1993. 35th Parliament, 2nd sess., H.R. 78. .
7. Munroe, Tapan. "TRENDS ANALYSIS for PARKS & RECREATION: 2000 AND BEYOND." California Park & Recreation Society Jan. 1999. 15 Jan. 2007
8. "Chapter 5: Detailed Comparison of Alternatives – Seattle." SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Project, Washington Department of Transportation, 2 May. 2005. 15 Jan. 2007 .
9. Anderson, Steve. "CT 11 Expressway." New York City Roads. 15 Jan. 2007 .
10. "Leasing of Closed Highways Regulation", Alta. Reg. 36/1986. 15 Jan. 2007 .
11. "R. v. Sanders", 2004 NBPC 12 (CanLII). 15 Jan. 2007 .
12. "HIGHWAY CLOSINGS", R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 599. 15 Jan. 2007 .
13. "Washington State Department of Transportation Public Transportation and Rail Division Monthly News, October 2006, page 4" (PDF). (286 KiB), accessed December 28, 2006
14. Sommer, Dick. "Ten Ways to Manage Roadway Access in Your Community." Ohio Department of Transportation, 2005. 15 Jan. 2007 .
15. Bauserman, Christian E. "DELAWARE COUNTY ENGINEER’S DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION & SURVEYING STANDARDS." 18 May 1998. 15 Jan. 2007 .
16. Geiger, Gene. "Ohio DOT Constructs I-670 over a Water Treatment Sludge Lagoon in Columbus." Ohio LTAP Quarterly. Ohio Department of Transportation. 15:3 (1999) .
17. "CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY." City of Union, Kentucky 23 June 2006. 15 Jan. 2007 .
18. Google Maps
19. Pathetic Motorways - A57(M) Ghost Ramp
20. Google Map; last accessed 2008-08-20
21. Google Local (UK) overhead photo
22. Google Maps
23. CBRD - Histories - M23
24. e.g., M18 near Hatfield
25. Motorways Services Online - Doncaster (North) services
26. Unused Stretch of A47, Rutland on Wikimapia
27. http://wikimapia.org/#lat=51.043094&lon=-1.306987&z=15&l=0&m=h&v=2
28. http://local.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=glasgow&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=55.852276,-4.268467&spn=0.002523,0.010815&t=h&om=1
29. http://local.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=glasgow&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=18&ll=55.864993,-4.235643&spn=0.001261,0.005407&t=k&iwloc=addr
30. http://local.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=glasgow&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=18&ll=55.868066,-4.237064&spn=0.001261,0.005407&t=k&iwloc=addr
31. http://local.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=glasgow&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=55.870056,-4.257588&spn=0.002522,0.010815&t=k&iwloc=addr
32. Photographs and explanation on "ski ramps"

External links

• Motorway Services Online - includes information on unbuilt service areas and photos of some locations.
• Pathetic Motorways - Looks at unimpressive motorways, including ones that were never or only half-built.