Happy birthday M1 as UK's first intercity motorway turns 65

PA Media A black and white photo of a man holding a brush cleaning part of a newly construction motorway, dressed in an unexpectedly smart jacket — A worker sweeping part of the M1 near Dunstable in October 1959

The UK’s first cross-country motorway is set to mark a major milestone on Saturday with 65 years since the road welcomed traffic for the first time.

The M1 project to link London to Leeds was decades in the making, with the first plans for a motorway network in the UK now dating back more than a century according to author and former chief highways engineer Ron Bridle.

Aspirations go as far back as 1923 for a London to Birmingham route, but it took until the Special Roads Act 1949 was passed to allow the first motorways to be planned in the 1950s.

The first to open was Lancashire’s Preston Bypass, now part of the M6, in 1958 – but the M1 became the first to link up far-flung towns and cities the following year.

M1 archive footage released on 65th anniversary

The first stretch opened between Watford and Rugby, according to the AA, and this section took 19 months to construct including work through one of the wettest summers on record in 1958.

Over four phases, the final 193 miles of the M1 were laid out from London to Leeds, with the final part opening in 1999.

Minister of Transport Barbara Castle cut the tape on the new 11 mile Hendon Urban Motorway in 1967, which extended the M1 four miles southwards towards London

PA Media A black and white photo shows a woman in a large overcoat cutting a ribbon, with two gentlemen in smart suits and a bowler hat, with a crowd of onlookers of all ages behind them in smart dress and some in uniforms — Minister of Transport Barbara Castle cut the tape on the new 11 mile Hendon Urban Motorway in 1967, which extended the M1 four miles southwards towards London

The early M1 had no speed limit, crash barriers, or lights, and had soft verges rather than hard shoulders.

It also had a 24 hour restaurant at Watford Gap Services – which even attracted the likes of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones as in the 1960s London’s pubs shut at 23:00 on the dot.

According to the AA, 20,000 drivers used the M1 each day in the first year – compared to between 130,000 and 140,000 a day 65 years on.

One of the darkest days of the M1 was the Kegworth disaster of January 1989

Colour photo of the wreckage of the British Midlands Boeing 737 400 plane on the M1 motorway embankment near East Midlands Airport — One of the darkest days of the M1 was the Kegworth disaster of January 1989

The recovery firm’s research shows not every one of these motorists is happy to head down a slip road however.

A survey of more than 7,000 drivers who have used the M1 found 60% find congestion on the motorway poor, 47% think the road is badly littered, and 37% think the service station provision is poor.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “The M1 is a key artery of the UK’s road network.

“Sixty-five years on, the motorway continues to support the British economy and moves goods and people to places around the country.

“The improvements we are making now will keep road users safer and ensure it lasts for years to come.”

The M1 doesn’t always run smoothly – this closure is from April 1997 due to an IRA bomb threat

PA Media A vintage looking police car protecting a line of cones diverting drivers off the motorway at a junction slip road, with heavy congestion on the approach — The M1 doesn’t always run smoothly – this closure is from April 1997 due to an IRA bomb threat

AA president Edmund King said: “The M1 has been the backbone of British motoring for 65 years.

“Whilst it has its issues, people forget or don’t realise what it was like before our major motorways were constructed.

“The M1 transformed mobility in the UK – it enabled families to visit relatives in far-flung parts of the country which would have taken many more hours to get to and led to the expansion of motorway network we recognise today.”