M50 motorway (Great Britain)

M50 motorway
The M50, looking south-west from the Ryton Bridge towards Ross-on-Wye
Route information
Length:	21.6 mi (34.8 km)
Existed:	1960 – present
History:	Constructed 1960–62
Major junctions
East end:	Strensham
	M5 motorway
West end:	Ross-on-Wye
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The M50 is a 22-mile/35-km-long dual two-lane motorway in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire, England. It is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur, connecting, as it does, the M5 motorway to a point close to the Herefordshire town of Ross-on-Wye, where it joins the A40 road continuing westward into Wales.

Route

The M50 runs ENE-WSW between:

• junction 8 of the M5 motorway, 4 miles (6.4 km) NNE of Tewkesbury on the Gloucestershire-Worcestershire border; and
• a junction with the dualled A449 / A40 / A465 ("Heads of the Valleys Road") taking traffic on into South Wales.

Leaving the M5 at junction 8, it passes north of Tewkesbury then south of Ledbury. Between junctions 1 and 2 chiefly for these towns respectively, it crosses the River Severn on the Queenhill Bridge and Viaduct over the flood plain. After passing north of Newent, the motorway reaches its terminus, junction 4.

History

M50 under construction in 1960

A train using the newly constructed viaduct on the Tewkesbury and Malvern railway; the line was to be dismantled only a few years later.

The construction works for the M50 were let under two contracts:

• Contract 1 was awarded to Tarmac Construction
• Contract 2 was awarded to R M Douglas Construction

Both contracts were undertaken between 1958 and 1962:^[1]

• Junctions 1 to 4 opened in 1960.
• M5 to junction 1 opened in 1962.

The route forms a strategic (that is, trunk or main) route from the Midlands and northern British Isles to South Wales (also including the A449 and A40 and so was constructed as an early priority.^[2])^[3] It is one of the few British motorways not to have been widened, instead retaining its original layout of two lanes in each direction.

Junctions

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.^[4]

M50 motorway junctions
mile	km	Eastbound exits (B carriageway)	Junction	Westbound exits (A carriageway)	Coordinates
0.0	0.0	The Midlands, Worcester, Birmingham, The South West, Tewkesbury, Bristol M5	M5, J8 Terminus	Start of motorway	52°02′52″N 2°08′08″W / 52.0477°N 2.1355°W
1.7	2.8	Tewkesbury A38	J1	Malvern A38
10.9	17.5	Gloucester A417	J2	Hereford, Ledbury A417
18.0	28.9	Newent B4221	J3	Newent B4221
21.6	34.7	Start of motorway	J4 Terminus	South Wales, Monmouth, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye A449	51°55′49″N 2°33′44″W / 51.9302°N 2.5623°W
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Services

After both ends of the M50 are motorway service stations:

• Strensham services operated by RoadChef, north of the M50's northeastern terminus (unnamed, nominally 0) junction with junction 8 of the M5.
• BP garage on the combined short section of the A449 road and A40 remains westbound.

History

Instead of the latter, beyond junction 4 was a larger Ross Spur Services operated by Welcome Break which closed in the 2000s.^[5]

Descriptions

In Herefordshire the road passes mainly along gentle contour lines of many cultivated fields and pastures, including this field of poppies.

The minor Junction 3 exits, viewed from the adjoining minor road bridge

Junction 0 (and 8 of the M5) was originally a free-flowing trumpet-style junction, then converted to a roundabout with M5 flyover when the M5 was widened in the 1990s.^[6][7] Junction 1, where the M50 meets the A38, is a partial cloverleaf. Junction 2 has full slips roads from the deceleration lane into the slip roads save the kinked eastbound exit to local roads. Junction 3 consists of dual-carriageway-style 90° exits due to cost, low traffic volume and the style of road; however this has been the scene of various accidents.

See also

• List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References

1. "The Motorway Archive – M50 dates page". Iht.org. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
2. "Motorway Database » M50". CBRD. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
3. "The Motorway Archive – M50 Scheme Page". Iht.org. 3 March 1958. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
4. "Traffic England Live Traffic Condition Map (selected Popups)". Highways Agency. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
5. Good Stuff IT Services. "Ross Spur Services M50 | Information and Facilities | Motorway Services". Motorwayservices.info. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
6. Major Roads of Great Britain Narrative description of the route
7. "The Motorway Archive – M5 Widening". Iht.org. Retrieved 1 January 2012.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• CBRD Motorway Database – M50
• Motorway Archive – M50
• Pathetic Motorways – M50