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

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.