What was the first motorway in the UK?

Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, opened in 1958. Designed by Lancashire County Council under civil engineer Sir James Drake – regarded as the pioneer of the UK motorway network – it's now part of the M6. The next 10 years saw UK's network expand as hundreds of miles of motorway were built.



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The first section of motorway built in Britain was the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, which opened in 1958 and is now part of the M6 motorway. However the M1 was Britain's first full-length motorway and opened in 1959.

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Historical map of the original A8-A9 motorway, Italy. The first motorway ever built in the world was opened on 21 September 1924.

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Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, opened in 1958. Designed by Lancashire County Council under civil engineer Sir James Drake – regarded as the pioneer of the UK motorway network – it's now part of the M6. The next 10 years saw UK's network expand as hundreds of miles of motorway were built.

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Motorway In Britain, a multi-lane controlled-access road is known as a motorway, a word that never caught on in the United States.

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There is no M7 because there has never been a need to replace the A7 with a motorway. There was an idea in the 1990s to build a new toll road linking Edinburgh and the A74 (M), along the lines of the A702, and the idea was floated that this could take the M7 number.

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A building with several levels for parking cars is called a parking garage in American English, and a multi-storey car park in British English.

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Somewhere to the east of Glasgow lies the A8(M) - but look carefully, because it's not easy to find. The A8(M) is the UK's shortest motorway, running for just over 280 metres (308 yards). It forms a link between two roundabouts at Baillieston Interchange, better known as the junction between the M8 and M73.

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As part of the Icknield Way, The Ridgeway has been identified as Britain's oldest road. The Anglo-Saxons mentioned it in the early 10th century and historians believe this ancient track has been in use by traders making their way from the Dorset coast in the west to The Wash in East Anglia for around 5,000 years.

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The A1 also known as the Great North Road is the longest numbered road in the United Kingdom, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

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