M50 motorway

(Great Britain)

M50 motorway

Length	21 miles (33.8 km)
Direction	East - West
Start	Strensham
Primary destinations	Ledbury
End	Ross-on-Wye
Construction dates	1960 - 1962
Motorways joined	M5 motorway

For other uses, see M50 motorway.

The M50 is a motorway in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England. It is 21 miles (34 km) long and is sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur.

Route

The M50 runs in a south westerly/north easterly direction between the M5 motorway just north of Tewkesbury and the A40 road and A449 road at Ross-on-Wye. After leaving the M5 at junction 8 it passes north of Tewkesbury and then south of Ledbury. Between Junctions 1 & 2 it crosses the River Severn on the Queenhill Bridge, which also covers the associated flood plain. After passing north of Newent the motorway reaches its terminus at Junction 4.

History

The M50 was built by Tarmac Construction between 1958 and 1962^[1]:

Junctions 1 to 4 opened in 1960.
M5 to Junction 1 opened in 1962.

The route was part of a strategic route from The Midlands to South Wales and so was constructed as an early priority^[2]. It is one of the few British motorways not to have been widened, retaining its original layout of only two lanes in each direction.

In July 2007, the road was closed by flooding at Junction 2.^[3]

Junctions

The M50

Looking along the M50 to its junction with the M5.

M50 Motorway
Eastbound	Junction	Westbound
The MIDLANDS, Worcester, Birmingham M5 The SOUTH WEST, Tewkesbury, Bristol M5	M5 J8	Start of Motorway
Tewkesbury A38	J1	Malvern A38
Gloucester A417	J2	Hereford, LedburyA417
Newent B4421	J3	NewentB4421
Start of motorway	J4	SOUTH WALES, Monmouth, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye A449

Services

Although not served directly by motorway service areas the M50 is served by a service area at Strensham services operated by RoadChef just north of the M50's north eastern terminus junction with junction 8 of the M5. Also at the other end of the M50 on the A449 road near to the junction 4 south western terminus of the M50 there was a service area operated by Welcome Break called Ross Spur services, however recently this has closed and only the southwest bound BP garage remains open. [1]

Descriptions

The junction with the M5 was originally a free-flowing trumpet-style junction ^[4], but was converted to a roundabout when the M5 was widened in the 1990s^[5]. Junction 1, where the M50 meets with the A38, is a Partial Cloverleaf. Junctions 2 and 3 have 90 degree turns from the deceleration lane into the slip roads which is hazardous for high-speed driving.

References

^ The Motorway Archive - M50 dates page
^ The Motorway Archive - M50 Scheme Page
^ M50 flooding: BBC photo
^ Major Roads of Great Britain Narrative description of the route
^ The Motorway Archive - M5 Widening

External links

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