roads in the United Kingdom

The UK has a road network totalling about {{convert|262300|mi|km}} of paved roads—{{convert|246500|mi|km}} in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and {{convert|25500|km|mi|order=flip}} in Northern Ireland.{{cite web|title=Road Lengths in Great Britain 2016|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/611185/road-lengths-in-great-britain-2016.pdf|website=DfT Statistical Release|publisher=UK Government (Crown copyright)|access-date=14 November 2017|date=27 April 2017}}{{cite web|title=Northern Ireland Transport Statistics 2016-2017|website=Department for Infrastructure|publisher=UK Government (Crown copyright)|page=57|date=28 September 2017}}

Responsibility for the road network differs between trunk and non-trunk routes. Trunk roads, which are the most important roads, are administered by National Highways in England, Transport Scotland in Scotland, the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent, and South Wales Trunk Road Agent in Wales.{{cite web|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/roads/howroadsaremanagedintheuk |title=How roads are managed in the UK |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=18 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025014933/http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/roads/howroadsaremanagedintheuk |archive-date=25 October 2007 }} England's {{convert|4300|mi|km|0}} of trunk roads account for 33% of all road travel and 50% of lorry travel.{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/highways-england/about |title=Trunk Road Proposals and Your Home |publisher=Highways Agency |access-date=10 December 2019}} Scotland has {{convert|2174|mi|km|0}}{{cite web |url=http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/key-facts-about-trunk-road-network-scotland |title=Scottish trunk road network and Transport Scotland |publisher=Transport Scotland |access-date=18 November 2007}} (about 7% of the total roads in Scotland), accounting for 35% of all road journeys and over 50% of lorry movements.{{cite web |url=http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/defaultpage1221cde0.aspx?pageID=268&rlID=1268&pubID=97&ChptId=872 |title=Road details |publisher=Transport Scotland |access-date=18 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316022118/http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/defaultpage1221cde0.aspx?pageID=268&rlID=1268&pubID=97&ChptId=872 |archive-date=16 March 2012}} Wales has {{convert|1000|mi|km}} of trunk roads.{{cite web |url=http://gov.wales/topics/transport/roads/?lang=en |title=Transport - Who are we? |publisher=Welsh Assembly Government |access-date=18 November 2007}} In London, Transport for London is responsible for all trunk roads and other major roads, which are part of the Transport for London Road Network. All other roads are the responsibility of the relevant county council or unitary authority. In Northern Ireland, DfI Roads is responsible for all {{convert|5592|mi|km}} roads.{{cite web |url=https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/transportni-overview-0 |title=What We Do |publisher=Roads Service Northern Ireland |access-date=18 November 2007}} The pan-UK total is {{convert|15260|mi}}.

Whilst generally they are trunk roads, some motorways are the responsibility of local authorities, for example the M275.{{UK SI |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1997/19972683.htm |year=1997 |number=2683 |title=The Portsmouth City Council (M275 Northbound Motorway Slip Road) Scheme 1996 Confirmation Instrument 1997}}

Since 2008, location marker posts have appeared on motorways and major A roads in England,{{cn|date=September 2024}} situated generally at intervals of 500{{nbsp}}metres (though the units are not given). These repeat the information given on the co-sited surveyors' marker post which, since the 1960s, have reported distances on such roads in kilometres from a datum—usually the start of the road, or the planned start-point of the road.

{{See also|Great Britain road numbering scheme}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| total_width = 340

| caption_align = center

| header = Examples of road numbers and colour schemes

| image_style = border:none;

| image1 = UK-Motorway-M25.svg | caption1 = Motorway

| image2 = UK road A40.svg | caption2 = Primary route

| image3 = UK road A73.svg | caption3 = Non-primary A road

| image4 = UK road B1159.svg | caption4 = B road

}}

Numbered roads in the UK are signed as M (Motorway), A, or B roads (legal "classification" varies between countries), as well as various categories of more minor roads: for internal purposes, local authorities may also use C,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7143295.stm |title=Road speed limits to be reviewed |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |work=BBC News |access-date=1 January 2008 |date=13 December 2007}} D{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} and U (the letter standing for "Unclassified"); use of C and U numbers on signs is unusual but examples can be found in all four countries in the UK.[https://www.roads.org.uk/photo/c-roads www.roads.org.uk - C roads] Each road is given a number which is combined with the prefix, for example M40, A40 and B1110, although their informal or traditional names may still be used or heard occasionally: for instance, the Great North Road (now part of the A1) and the Great Cambridge Road (modern A10). These numbers follow a zonal system.{{cn|date=September 2024}} There is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers in Northern Ireland. The majority of the major inter-urban routes are motorways, and are designed to carry long-distance traffic. The next category is the primary route network, formed from parts of the A-road network. A primary route is defined as:{{UK SI |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/4/made |year=2002 |number=3113 |title=The Traffic Signs Regulations 2002 |access-date=31 May 2016}}, regulation 4.

{{Blockquote|...a route, not being a route comprising any part of a motorway, in respect of which the Secretary of State —

(a) in the case of a trunk road is of the opinion, and

(b) in any other case after consultation with the traffic authority for the road comprised in the route is of the opinion,

that it provides the most satisfactory route for through traffic between places of traffic importance}}

In Scotland, the Scottish Government has confirmed that Primary Routes should be defined by and be consistent with the trunk road network.{{Cite web |author=Transport Scotland |date=2024

|title = Primary routes and destinations in Scotland |location=Glasgow |url=https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/industry-guidance/traffic-signs-and-road-markings/#78121 }}

A new standard was set in April 2015 to formally designate certain high-quality routes as Expressways,{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-forward-a-new-era-for-englands-major-roads|title=Driving forward: a new era for England's major roads|publisher=Highways Agency|access-date=15 May 2015}} but whether this will result in any existing road classifications changing is unclear.

{{Main|List of primary destinations on the United Kingdom road network}}

Primary destinations are usually cities and large towns, to which, as a result of their size, a high volume of traffic is expected to go. However, in rural areas, smaller towns or villages may be given primary status if located at junctions of significant roads: for example, Llangurig in Wales and Crianlarich in Scotland. As a further example, Scotch Corner in northern England is not even a village—merely a hotel and a few other buildings—yet has the status of a primary destination due to its location at the interchange of the A1 and A66 roads. For similar reasons, certain airports, sea ports, bridges and tunnels have been designated as primary destinations. Conversely, some towns with a population of over 50,000 are not primary destinations, including Woking, Chatham and Cumbernauld.

The status of both primary destinations and roads is maintained by the Department for Transport in combination with National Highways (for England), the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.{{Specify|date=December 2009}} The concept of primary roads was introduced in the 1960s as part of a national reclassification of roads.

{{redirect-several|East|The Lakes|Midlands|North|Northeast|Northwest|South|Southwest|West}}

File:M5 northbound Junction 16 geograph-1993658-by-Andrew-Hackney.jpg with South Wales, the Midlands and London in capitals, although London is a not a regional destination, therefore should not be in capitals]]

Regional destinations are commonly used on long-distance routes throughout the country alongside primary destinations. They are displayed on signs in capitals to distinguish them from towns and cities.[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/330323/ltn-1-94_design-directional-signs.pdf The design and use of directional informatory signs] The boundaries of these regional destinations are not specifically defined and apply to generalised areas. The regions are: Mid Wales, North Wales, Scotland, South Wales, The East, The Lakes, The Dales, The Midlands, The North, The North East, The North West, The South, The South West and The West.

{{Main|Road signs in the United Kingdom}}

File:A702 - M74 and A74(M) Road sign - geograph.org.uk - 74688.jpg

Signage on the UK network conforms broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique to Britain and direction signs omit European route numbers. All length distances are shown in miles or yards,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6988709.stm |title=Q&A: Pounds, pints and the EU |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=11 September 2007 |access-date=29 December 2007}} speed is in miles per hour{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4741894.stm |title=Call for metric road sign switch |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=23 February 2006 |access-date=29 December 2007}} whilst height and width restrictions are required to be shown in feet and inches (though the metric measurements may optionally also appear). In September 2007 the European Commission ruled that the United Kingdom would never be required by them to convert signs to metric.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6988521.stm |title=EU gives up on 'metric Britain' |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=23 February 2006 |access-date=29 December 2007}}

The signage system currently in use was developed in the late 1950s and the early 1960s by the Anderson Committee, which established the motorway signing system, and by the Worboys Committee, which reformed signing for existing all-purpose (non-motorway) roads. It was introduced in 1965 and is governed by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.{{Specify|date=December 2009}} Signs may be of an informative, warning or instructional nature.{{Specify|date=December 2009}} Instructional signs are generally circular, warnings are triangular and informative signs are rectangular or square.{{Specify|date=December 2009}} Motorway informative signs use white text on a blue background, primary routes are indicated by green directional and distance signs with yellow text, whilst secondary roads use black text on a white background.{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code |title=The Highway Code |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=18 November 2007}}

File:UK traffic sign 6001.jpg

On 27 March 1972, the first motorway computer-controlled warning lights in the UK, with 59 miles on the M6 from Broughton, Lancashire to Barthomley, on the Cheshire boundary, and 26 miles on the M62 east of Whitefield, was switched on by Michael Heseltine and Charles Legh Shuldham Cornwall-Legh, 5th Baron Grey of Codnor at the headquarters of Cheshire Constabulary on Nuns Road.Birmingham Daily Post Tuesday 28 March 1972, page 7Chester Chronicle Thursday 30 March 1972, page 2

It was centred at a police computer centre at Westhoughton, that connected to police stations in Preston and Chester. The Chester site was soon be connected to the M53 and M57.Cheshire Observer Friday 31 March 1972, page 21 Four other regional computer centres would be opened at Perry Barr near the M6, Scratchwood near the M1, at Hook near the M3, and at Almondsbury near the M4. Most British motorways would be covered by 1975. The system was designed by GEC and had taken five years to design.Times Tuesday March 28 1972, page 5

{{See also|Driving in the United Kingdom|Road speed limits in the United Kingdom}}

In the UK, vehicles are normally driven or ridden on the left and required to keep to the left except when overtaking, turning right or passing pedestrians, parked vehicles and other obstructions in the road.{{cite web |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070308 |title=133-143:Multi-lane carriageways |work=The Highway Code |publisher=HMSO |access-date=18 November 2007}} In Great Britain, the Highway Code applies.{{cite web |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070236 |title=Introduction |work=Highway Code |publisher=HMSO |access-date=18 November 2007}} In Northern Ireland, the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies.{{cite web |url=http://www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk/index/highwaycode.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103145803/http://www.roadsafetyni.gov.uk/index/highwaycode.htm |archive-date=3 January 2007 |title=Highway Code for Northern Ireland|publisher=Department of Environment |access-date=30 March 2010 }}

UK speed limits apply only to motor vehicles and are shown in mph. With a few exceptions, they are in multiples of 10, ranging from {{convert|20|mph|0}} to {{convert|70|mph|0}}. Unless a lower speed limit is posted on a road, the national speed limit applies, which varies between class of vehicles and the type of road. In a built-up area (usually indicated by street lights),{{Cite web |title=DfT Circular 01/2006: Setting Local Speed Limits |website=Department for Transport |date=8 August 2006 |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/speedmanagement/dftcircular106/dftcircular106newguidanceons4799|access-date=10 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206194630/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/speedmanagement/dftcircular106/dftcircular106newguidanceons4799 |archive-date=6 February 2007 }} unless signs indicate otherwise, a limit of {{convert|30|mph}} applies. Other limits are shown in the table.{{cite web |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070304 |title=117-126: Control of the vehicle |work=The Highway Code |publisher=HMSO |access-date=18 November 2007}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits|title= Speed limits}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-29708280|title=50mph lorry speed limit on A9 single carriageway agreed|work=BBC News|date=21 October 2014}}

{{clear}}

For a road to be classed as a dual carriageway, the two directions of traffic flow must be physically separated by a central reservation.

Enforcement of UK road speed limits increasingly uses speed guns, automated in-vehicle systems and automated roadside traffic cameras.

{{Main|Motoring taxation in the United Kingdom}}

File:M6 Toll plaza, Great Wyrley.jpg on the M6 Toll at Great Wyrley]]

After the end of the Turnpike trusts, roads have been funded from taxation. Two new vehicle duties were introduced—the locomotive duty and the trade cart duty in the 1888 budget. Since 1910, the proceeds of road vehicle excise duties were dedicated to fund the building and maintenance of the road system.{{Cite report |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvaud/907/907.pdf|title=Vehicle Excise Duty as an environmental tax|author=House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee|publisher=The Stationery Office Limited|date=22 July 2008}} From 1920 to 1937, most roads in the United Kingdom were funded from the Road Fund using taxes raised from fuel duty and Vehicle Excise Duty.{{cite web |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10021514 |title=Car tax rules |work=Directgov |access-date=18 November 2007}} Since 1937, roads have been funded from general taxation with all motoring duties, including VAT, being paid directly to the Treasury.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/world/2000/world_fuel_crisis/933648.stm |title=UK fuel tax: The facts |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |work=BBC News |date=21 September 2000 |access-date=5 January 2008}}

{{main|Road pricing in the United Kingdom}}

Tolls or congestion charges are used for some major bridges and tunnels, for example the Dartford Crossing has a congestion charge.{{cite web|url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/stacharregdart |title=Charging regime at the Dartford -Thurrock river crossings |work=Statement by The Minister of State for Transport (Dr Ladyman) |publisher=Department for Transport |date=19 October 2006 |access-date=18 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716171405/http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/stacharregdart |archive-date=16 July 2007 }} The M6 Toll, originally the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, is designed to relieve the M6 through Birmingham, which is one of the most heavily used roads in the country.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/motorway-listing/m6/m6-toll-formerly-birmingham-northern-relief-road/ |title=M6 Toll (formerly Birmingham Northern Relief Road) |work=The Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=18 November 2007}} There were two public toll roads (Roydon Road in Stanstead Abbots and College Road in Dulwich) and about five private toll roads.

Since 2006, congestion charging has been in operation in London and in Durham.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/4893106.stm |title=Toll road lawyers in award hope |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |date=9 April 2006 |access-date=23 November 2007}}

Before 14 December 2018, the M4's Second Severn Crossing (officially 'The Prince of Wales Bridge') included tolls. However, after being closed for toll removal for three days, the bridge opened up again on 17 December starting with a formal ceremony. Toll payment was scrapped and it marked history as it is believed to be the first time in 400 years that the crossing will be free.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46220659|title=M4 Severn bridge to shut for toll removal|date=19 November 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=13 January 2019|language=en-GB}}

Since the abolition of tolls on the Forth and Tay Road Bridges in 2008,{{cite act|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2008/1/contents|title=Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Act 2008|legislature=Scottish Parliament|year=2008}} there are no longer any toll roads in Scotland.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7235131.stm|title=Tolls removed from Scots bridges|date=11 February 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=15 October 2023|quote=Legislation to remove the [bridge] fee was given royal assent last month. It means Scotland now has no chargeable roads.}}

{{see also|Road speed limits in the United Kingdom|Reported Road Casualties Great Britain}}

{{Update section|date=November 2017}}

In June 2008, the Road Safety Foundation reported that 30 per cent of the primary route network in Great Britain failed to rate as safe, and a quarter of all motorways were outside the safest risk band.[http://www.eurorap.org/library/pdfs/news/20080627_GB_Results_Release.pdf EuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515211714/http://www.eurorap.org/library/pdfs/news/20080627_GB_Results_Release.pdf |date=15 May 2012 }}

In 2006, the {{convert|8|mi|adj=on}} Cat and Fiddle Road between Macclesfield and Buxton was named as Britain's most dangerous road. The single-carriageway road has been the scene of 43 fatal or serious collisions since 2001, nearly three-quarters of them involving motorcyclists. When collisions involving motorcyclists are removed from the analysis, the A61 between Barnsley and Wakefield was found to be the most dangerous road in Britain.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130627063357/http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00683/Britain_s_worst_roa_683190a.pdf Britain's persistently higher-risk roads (2001-2003 & 2004-2006)]

Between 2003 and 2006, the most improved safety record was for the A453 from the A38 to Tamworth in Staffordshire. This rural single carriageway saw an 88 per cent drop in the number of fatal or serious collisions in the last six years, taking it from a medium risk road to one of the safest. According to the Foundation, this has been achieved by introducing traffic lights, speed limit reductions and village pedestrian facilities.[http://www.eurorap.org/library/pdfs/20080627_GB_Improved.pdf Britain's most improved roads (2001-2003 vs. 2004-2006)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726043347/http://www.eurorap.org/library/pdfs/20080627_GB_Improved.pdf |date=26 July 2011 }}

Research undertaken in July 2008 has shown that investment in a safe road infrastructure programme could yield a one-third reduction in road deaths, saving as much as £6{{nbsp}}billion per year.{{cite web |url=http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.org/media/14940/getting%20ahead.pdf |title=Getting Ahead: Returning Britain to European leadership in road casualty reduction |access-date=1 October 2008 |last=Hill |first=Joanne |publisher=Campaign for Safe Road Design |archive-date=22 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922212650/http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.org/media/14940/getting%20ahead.pdf }} A consortium of 13 major road safety stakeholders have formed the Campaign for Safe Road Design, which is calling on the UK Government to make safe road design a national transport priority.{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.org/news/2008/7/8/safe-road-design-to-save-uk-%C2%A36bn-every-year.aspx|title=SAFE ROAD DESIGN TO SAVE UK£6BN EVERY YEAR|access-date=1 October 2008 |format=Word DOC |publisher=Campaign for Safe Road Design }}

The earliest evidence of engineered roads dates back to the 1st century BC. A metalled and cambered road, 1.5 metres high and six metres wide, was unearthed at Bayston Hill quarry, near Shrewsbury.{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/15/britannia-roman-roads-iron-age | title = Britannia Superior: Why Roman roads may not be quite as Roman as we think | last = Morris | first = Steven |date = 15 March 2011 | work = The Guardian | access-date = 16 March 2011}} A timber road was preserved in peat in Geldeston, Norfolk, with tree rings suggesting a date of 75 BC, probably built by the Iceni tribe.{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14503302 | title = Iron Age road link to Iceni tribe | last = Ord | first = Louise |date = 15 August 2011 | work = BBC News | access-date = 16 August 2011}}

{{See also|Roman roads in Britain}}

Roads built in the first phase of Roman occupation (43–68{{nbsp}}AD) connected London with the ports used in the invasion (Chichester and Richborough), and with the earlier legionary bases at Colchester (Camulodunum), Lincoln (Lindum), Wroxeter (Viroconium), Gloucester and Exeter.{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Porter |first2=Ron|last2=Bridle|title=The Motorway Achievement |year=2002 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=0-7277-3196-3 |page=3}}

As Roman influence expanded, so did the network, until around 180{{nbsp}}AD when the known network was complete.{{Specify|date=December 2009}}

Few Roman roads extended into Scotland due to their inability to subjugate the local population. Part of the Scottish Lowlands came under Roman control in 142{{nbsp}}AD, and the Antonine Wall was constructed on the northern boundary. However, the Roman legions withdrew in 164{{nbsp}}AD to their former northern boundary, Hadrian's Wall.

The primary function of Roman roads was to allow the rapid movement of troops and military supplies, but it also provided vital infrastructure for trade and the transport of goods. The roads were paved, a first for the island, and could carry heavy goods in all weathers.{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/snapshot_romanroads.html |work=Roman Occupation 43 AD-c410 |title=Roman roads in Britain |access-date=28 December 2007 |publisher=Channel 4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104010506/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/snapshot_romanroads.html |archive-date=4 November 2007 }} Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, road maintenance became a very ad hoc activity.

{{See also|Corpse road|Drovers' road|Salt road}}

{{Expand section|date=January 2008}}

A network of roadways was developed in Britain in the Middle Ages to supplement the use of rivers as a system of transportation. Many of these roadways were developed as a result of trading of goods and services, such as wool, sheep, cattle and salt. They linked together market towns, towns with bridges, harbours and ports. Other roadways developed to meet the needs of pilgrims visiting shrines, such as Walsingham, and for transporting corpses from isolated communities to local graveyards.

The Icknield Way was one of four highways that appear in the literature of the 1130s. Henry of Huntingdon wrote that the Ermine Street, Fosse Way, Watling Street and Icknield Way had been constructed by royal authority.

{{See also|Turnpike trust|Toll roads in Great Britain}}

file:Enclosure Road, Lazonby.jpg in Cumbria. The roads were made as straight as possible, and the boundaries much wider than a cart width to reduce the ground damage of driving sheep and cattle.]]

The first legislated control in England was introduced under the Highways Act 1555.{{cite web |url=http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/hantsmap/hantsmap/turnpike.htm |title=Timeline of British Turnpike Trusts |publisher=University of Portsmouth, Department of Geography |access-date=18 November 2007}} Road rates were introduced in England and Wales in the 17th century. The first turnpike road, whereby travellers paid tolls to be used for road upkeep, was authorised by the Highways Act 1663 for a section of the Great North Road in Hertfordshire.{{cite web|url=http://www.hertsheritage.org.uk/transport/turnpike.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010220155539/http://www.hertsheritage.org.uk/transport/turnpike.htm |archive-date=20 February 2001 |title=The World's First Turnpike |work=Herts Heritage |publisher=Hertfordshire County Council |access-date=18 November 2007 }} The first turnpike trust was established by the Parliament of England through a Turnpike Act in 1706. Scotland continued to maintain its own Parliament until the Acts of Union 1707, when the two parliaments merged to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In the second half of the 18th century, turnpike trusts became numerous, with trusts also set up in Wales and lowland Scotland.{{cite book |last=Morriss |first=Richard K. |year=2005 |title=Roads: Archaeology and Architecture |location=Stroud |publisher=Tempus Publishing Limited |isbn=0-7524-2887-X}} This expansion was facilitated by the ability to use mortgages to fund the work. By 1821 there were {{convert|18000|mi}} of turnpike roads in England, with 1,000 trusts by 1845.{{cite web |url=http://www.thepotteries.org/dates/land_roads.htm |title=Key dates in Land, Road, Building Great Britain 1200-1899 |access-date=18 November 2007}}

Also, in England, the process of land owners enclosing land had been happening since medieval times.{{Cite web|author=UK Parliament|title=Enclosing the Land|publisher=UK Parliament|location=London|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/landscape/overview/enclosingland/|access-date=5 September 2021|year=2021}} During the 17th century a practice developed of obtaining authorisation by Act of Parliament. The statutory process included the appointment of enclosure commissioners. Commissioners were given authorisation to replace old roads and country lanes with new roads that were wider and straighter than those they replaced. Straight roads of early origin, if not Roman were probably enclosure roads. They were established in the period between 1750 and 1850.{{Cite book|last=Friar|first=Stephen|title=The Sutton Companion to Local History|publisher=Sutton Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7509-2723-2|page=146}}{{Cite book|last=Whyte|first=Ian|title=Transforming Fell and Valley Landscape and Parliamentary Enclosure in North West England|publisher= University of Lancaster|year=2003|isbn=978-18622-0132-3|page=63}}{{Cite book|last=Mingay|first=G.E.|title=Parliamentary Enclosure in England|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-582-25725-2|year=2014|page=48}}

The high cost of tolls, on the turnpikes, caused social unrest in Wales. A protest against the tolls that became known as the Rebecca Riots took place, in Wales, between 1839 and 1843.{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/pontarddulais/pages/rebecca_riots1.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070812013815/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/pontarddulais/pages/rebecca_riots1.shtml |archive-date=2007-08-12 |last=Griffiths |first=Ivor |title=Rebecca Riots - Part 1 |work=BBC}} The riots ceased after some ringleaders, John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) and David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr), were convicted and transported to Australia.{{cite web |url=https://biography.wales/article/s-JONE-JOH-1811|title=Jones, John (fl. 1811-1858; 'Shoni Sguborfawr'), Rebecca rioter |first=David |last=Williams |work=Dictionary of Welsh Biography |publisher=National Library of Wales |access-date=12 January 2010}} Following several attempts at reform, detrunking began in the 1860s with the last trust ending in 1885. The protests prompted several reforms, including a royal commission into the question of toll roads. The growing popularity of cycling also prompted calls for road improvements, with the Cyclists' Touring Club and National Cyclists' Union pooling resources to form the Roads Improvement Association in October 1886; this focused on producing technical literature distributed to highways boards and surveyors to promote improved construction and maintenance methods.{{cite book |last=Reid |first=Carlton |title=Roads Were Not Built For Cars |date=2014 |publisher=Red Kite Prayer/Front Page Creations |location=Newcastle |isbn=978-0-9930057-0-1}}, p.131 The Local Government Act 1888 created borough and county councils with responsibility for maintaining the major roads.

After complaints about the first tram companies damaging the road surface, Parliament introduced the Tramways Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 78), making tram companies responsible for the maintenance of the shared surface of the tramway and several feet either side, as a condition of being granted a licence.{{cite news |title=Street Tramways |newspaper=The Times |date=26 May 1869 }} This was a popular move as maintenance was removed from the public purse. The local authority could also purchase the whole line at a later date at a discount, or force the tram company to reinstate the road.

{{See also|Motoring taxation in the United Kingdom|driving licence}}

The Roads Act 1920 brought in the Road Fund, with the government receiving revenue from excise duty on road vehicles and from the sale of licences for horse-drawn carriages and driving licences.{{cite book |last=Charlesworth |first=George |date=1984 |title=A History of British Motorways |location=London |publisher=Thomas Telford Limited |isbn=0-7277-0159-2}}. As road traffic began to grow, the condition of the road network became an issue, with most of it in a poor state of repair.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/publication/visualisation--policy/part-1-visualising-the-system--insights-into-the-history-of-britains-motorways/ |title=A history of the "motorway concept" before construction began in the UK |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=18 November 2007}} The new Ministry of Transport created a classification system for the important routes connecting large population centres or for through traffic, with the definitive list being published in 1922/3 and revised in 1926/7.{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/foi/responses/2005/aug/roadnumbering/letteraboutroadclassification |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070403181235/http://www.dft.gov.uk/foi/responses/2005/aug/roadnumbering/letteraboutroadclassification |archive-date=3 April 2007|title=FOI Request - Road numbering |publisher=Department for Transport |date=5 August 2005 |access-date=27 December 2007}}

High unemployment after the end of World War I led the Minister of Transport to provide grant funding to the county councils to improve roads, particularly where labour was recruited from areas of high unemployment and adjoining areas, and men with dependants. Two unemployment relief programmes were run, the first from 1920 to 1925 and the second from 1929 to 1930. Government grants were limited to trunk roads and bridges, with the money coming from the Road Fund. Some {{convert|500|mi|km}} of bypasses were built by 1935, about half of what was originally planned at the start of the programmes. In 1930, responsibility for all roads was vested in the county councils. The first inter-urban new road built in the UK was the East Lancs Road, which was built between 1929 and 1934 at a cost of £8 million.{{cite web|url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |title=Early Highways: Liverpool-East Lancashire Road A580 |publisher=Lancashire County Council |access-date=23 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229070048/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |archive-date=29 December 2007}}

For the first time since the Roman occupation, the Ministry of Transport took direct control of the core road network through the Trunk Roads Act 1936.{{cite web|url=http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/trunkroads/ |title=Trunk Roads Homepage |publisher=Cheshire County Council |access-date=18 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017155210/http://cheshire.gov.uk/trunkroads/ |archive-date=17 October 2007 }} During the 1930s, both the Institution of Highway Engineers and The County Surveyors' Society had published plans for a network of high-speed roads,{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/archive/motorwaymap-1930.cfm |title=Proposals for Motorway Netwirks Published in the 1930s |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |date=18 November 2007}} whilst the Minister of Transport, Leslie Burgin, also visited the autobahn under construction in Germany. Lancashire County Council proposed a new scheme for a motorway and it was agreed to go ahead. This was, however, postponed due to the start of World War II.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/regions/north-west-england/the-origins-of-the-motorways-of-the-region.cfm |title=Region: North West - The origins of the motorways of the region |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |date=18 November 2007}}

During World War II, government plans were drawn up to create a new network of high-speed routes across the country. The passing of the Special Roads Act 1949 gave the government legal powers to build roads that were not automatically rights of way for certain types of user.

In 1958, the first motorway was opened as the Preston Bypass, now part of the M6 motorway.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/statistics/index.cfm |title=Statistics |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=18 November 2007}} The first major motorway to open was the M1 between Crick and Berrygrove.

In 1963, a report on urban transport planning policy, Traffic in Towns, was produced for the UK Department of Transport by a team headed by the architect, civil engineer and planner Colin Buchanan.{{cite web|title=Professor Sir Colin Buchanan |publisher=Colin Buchanan and Partners Ltd |url=http://www.cbuchanan.co.uk/about/about.asp?abId=2&part=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928120836/http://www.cbuchanan.co.uk/about/about.asp?abId=2&part=1 |archive-date=28 September 2007 }} While it advocated the construction and reorganisation of towns to accommodate the motor car and lorry, it stressed that this would have to be balanced with restrictions, in accordance with local needs. It highlighted the urgency of the problem of dealing with the expected massive growth in road traffic,Traffic in Towns, "It is impossible to spend any time on the study of the future of traffic in towns without at once being appalled by the magnitude of the emergency that is coming upon us. We are nourishing at immense cost a monster of great potential destructiveness, and yet we love him dearly. To refuse to accept the challenge it presents would be an act of defeatism." the damage it could cause to our towns and cities if unplanned,Traffic in Towns, para 22: "The American policy of providing motorways for commuters can succeed, even in American conditions, only if there is a disregard for all considerations other than the free flow of traffic which seems sometimes to be almost ruthless. Our British cities are not only packed with buildings, they are also packed with history and to drive motorways through them on the American scale would inevitably destroy much that ought to be preserved. the eventual need for demand managementTraffic in Towns, para 30: "Distasteful though we find the whole idea, we think that some deliberate limitation of the volume of motor traffic is quite unavoidable. The need for it just can't be escaped. Even when everything that it is possibly to do by way of building new roads and expanding public transport has been done, there would still be, in the absence of deliberate limitation, more cars trying to move into, or within our cities than could possibly be accommodated." but with implications of restricting the mass of the population from doing something they didn't see as wrong,Traffic in Towns: Introduction para 31: "It is a difficult and dangerous thing, in a democracy, to try to prevent a substantial part of the population from doing things that they do not regard as wrong; black markets and corruption are the invariable fruit of such attempts to prohibition. Even if this overriding objection could be removed, there would still be severe difficulties in pushing any of the particular methods very far" and of the inevitable need for a change in policy as the social costs increased.Traffic in Towns, para 68: "Indeed it can be said in advance that the measures required to deal with the full potential amount of motor traffic in big cities are so formidable that society will have to ask itself seriously how far it is prepared to go with the motor vehicle."

In 1966, a revision of design standards was proposed which would, it was stated, save "acres of land" and £22,000 per mile in construction costs. The revision involved reducing from {{cvt|10|ft}} to {{cvt|5|ft}} the width of roadside grass verges on newly constructed "rural" motorways, and removing {{convert|1|ft|sing=on}} of the width of the "marginal strips" that separated each carriageway from the central reservation.{{cite journal|title = News and views: revised motorway standards| journal = Autocar | page = 1154|date = 25 November 1966 }}

The 1968{{ndash}}1969 Ministry of Transport report Roads in England planned to complement the new interurban routes with £1{{nbsp}}billion of new urban trunk roads outside London in order to "alleviate traffic congestion", complemented by parking controls, traffic management and public transport.{{cite news | newspaper = The Times | date = 30 October 1969 | title = Trunk roads to get priority in 1970s }}

The first {{convert|1000|mi|km}} of motorway had been built by 1972,{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Porter|first2=Ron|last2=Bridle |title=The Motorway Achievement |year=2002 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=0-7277-3196-3 |quote=...the construction industry was commissioned, in sequences of contracts spread over the years, to build {{convert|1000|mi|km}} of new motorway and duly so by 1972... |page=223}} followed by more motorways opened into the 1980s.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/openings/ |title=Opening dates for Motorways in the UK in chronological order |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=18 November 2007}}

Roads outside urban areas continued to be built throughout the 1970s, but the urban routes soon ran into opposition. Plans by the Greater London Council for a series of ringways were cancelled following extensive protests headed by Homes before Roads and a rise in costs.{{cn|date=September 2024}} Plans to widen the Archway Road in London{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hyg-AAAAIAAJ&q=archway+road+inquiry&pg=PA62

|title=Transport Planning, Vision and Practice

|access-date=7 November 2008|isbn=978-0-7100-0844-2|author1=Adams, John|year=1981|publisher=Routledge & K. Paul

}} were also hit by determined opposition over a 20-year period from the 1970s.{{cite web|url=http://www.roadblock.org.uk/resources/roadsvictories.pdf |title=A road can be stopped |access-date=8 November 2008 |publisher=Road Block |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216104935/http://www.roadblock.org.uk/resources/roadsvictories.pdf |archive-date=16 February 2008 }}

Work on planning motorways in Northern Ireland had begun before the Second World War, but the legal authority for motorways was not provided for until the Special Roads Act (Northern Ireland) 1963, similar to that in the 1949 Act.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/regions/northern-ireland/ |title=Conceptions and early history of the motorways in Northern Ireland |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=31 December 2007}} The first motorway to open was the M1 motorway in 1962, though did so under temporary powers until the Special Roads Act had been passed.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/motorway-listing/motorways-in-northern-ireland/m1-belfast-to-dungannon/index.cfm |title=M1 Belfast to Dungannon and M12 to Craigavon |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=31 December 2007 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425061244/http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/motorway-listing/motorways-in-northern-ireland/m1-belfast-to-dungannon/index.cfm |url-status=dead }} Work on the motorways continued until the 1970s, when the oil crisis and The Troubles both intervened, causing the abandonment of many schemes.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/motorway-listing/motorways-in-northern-ireland/westlink-m1-to-m2/index.cfm |title=Westlink (M1 to M2) |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=31 December 2007}}

{{See also|Road protest in the United Kingdom#1979–1997}}

The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher from 1979 adopted a pro-roads policy. During this period, numerous road upgrades were built and the M25 motorway was completed. In 1989, it announced a large-scale roads programme (stated to be the largest since the Romans) in the Roads for Prosperity White Paper. It proposed 500 road schemes at a cost of £23 billion and predicted an increase of road traffic of 142% by 2025.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228953/7226.pdf |chapter=History and context |isbn=978-0-10-172262-9 |title=Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Growth in a Low Carbon World |access-date=18 November 2007 |date=October 2007 |location=London |publisher=Department for Transport}} It would have involved the doubling of the trunk road capacity with around 150 bypasses being built, caricatured in later years as predict and provide, whereby the government predicted the required capacity in forthcoming years and built roads to match.{{cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-370500781.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911203816/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-370500781.html |archive-date=11 September 2016 |title=Do we have to set England alight again? |work=New Statesman |date=30 June 2003 |first=Paul |last=Kingsnorth |access-date=28 December 2007 }} From 1985 to 1995, the road network expanded by {{convert|24000|mi|0}}.{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article635115.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524063659/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article635115.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2011 |first=Ben |last=Webster |title=Broken promises leave dozens of towns in queue for a bypass |work=The Times |date=11 September 2006 |publisher=News International |access-date=18 November 2007 | location=London}}

File:Twyford down cutting 03.jpg cutting at Twyford Down]]

This road building programme continued into the start of the premiership of John Major. In the early-1990s, the government decided to complete the M3 motorway by building a six-lane road in a cutting through Twyford Down. This attracted the first direct action protests against a major road in the country. Building work was delayed considerably, and anti-roads protesters gained large amounts of publicity.{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/features/spiritual_places/spiritual_places2.shtml |title=Features - Spiritual Places - Twyford Down |date=9 March 2004 |work=BBC Southampton |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=18 November 2007}} The Newbury bypass saw some of the largest protests against a road in the UK. Proposed originally in the 1980s, the bypass was subject to strong support and opposition.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/18/newsid_2530000/2530307.stm |title=1996: Green groups join bypass battle |work=BBC News - On This Day |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=18 November 2007 | date=18 January 1996}} Also in this time frame, the M11 link road protest saw protracted disturbance during the upgrading of a section of the A12 through East London. Costs increased rapidly, the Newbury bypass being 50% over budget and many other schemes showed increases of 100%.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4911468.stm |title=Anti-road protests 'boosted cost' |date=15 April 2006 |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=18 November 2007}}

The Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment had also concluded in 1994 that building new roads simply generated more traffic, and was therefore largely self-defeating.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/131885.stm |title=Better late than never |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |work=BBC News |date=14 July 1998 |first=Simon |last=Montague |access-date=28 December 2007}} By 1994, following the recession of the early 1990s, a significant number of remaining schemes were cancelled, although the government still intended to continue with others using private financing.{{cite web|url=http://archive.treasury.gov.uk/pub/text/budget95/ogd8.txt |title=PRIVATE FINANCE THE "CENTREPIECE" OF REVISED NATIONAL ROAD PROGRAMME - SIR GEORGE YOUNG |publisher=The Treasury |access-date=8 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107130536/http://archive.treasury.gov.uk/pub/text/budget95/ogd8.txt |archive-date=7 November 2007 }} The Secretary for state for transport, Dr Brian Mawhinney launched a "Great Debate" about the future direction for transport in the UK and the required level of road building{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/otr/intext94-95/Mawhinney14.5.95.html|title=Interview with Brian Mawhinney by John Humphrys|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 November 2008}} stating that the road network was "broadly complete".{{cite hansard | url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1994-12-19/Writtens-1.html | title=Written Questions: National Roads Program|house=House of Commons | date=19 December 1994| column_start=874 | column_end=875 }}

A major Royal Commission report, "Transport and the Environment", was published in October 1994 to highlight the serious environmental consequences of UK's transport system in response to which the New Scientist commented "Rarely, if ever, can a ministry have emerged so badly from an official report as John MacGregor's old department" in an article titled "Head-on collision over transport: The British government has received its sternest warning yet that its unflagging support for the car is seriously at odds with its own green principles".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14419512.300-headon-collision-over-transport-the-british-government-has-received-its-sternest-warning-yet-that-its-unflagging-support-for-the-car-is-seriously-at-odds-with-its-own-green-principles.html?full=true|title=Head-on collision over transport: The British government has received its sternest warning yet that its unflagging support for the car is seriously at odds with its own green principles |magazine=New Scientist|access-date=11 March 2010}}

The last new motorway in the United Kingdom (The M3 motorway in Northern Ireland) opened in 1994.{{cite web |url=http://motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/en/motorways/motorway-listing/motorways-in-northern-ireland/m3-dock-street-to-bridge-end-and-sydenham-bypass/index.cfm |title=M3 Dock Street to Bridge end and Sydenham By-pass |work=Motorway Archive |publisher=The Motorway Archive Trust |access-date=31 December 2007}} In 1996 the total length of motorways reached {{convert|2000|mi}}.{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Porter|first2=Ron|last2=Bridle |title=The Motorway Achievement |year=2002 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=0-7277-3196-3 |quote=With 2000 miles of motorway completed and in operation by 1996... |page=189}}

{{See also|Road protest in the United Kingdom#1997–present}}

After the election of the Labour government in 1997, most remaining road schemes were cancelled{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/142959.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |title=UK Politics - More than 100 road schemes shelved |date=31 July 1998 |access-date=18 November 2007}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/143017.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |title=UK Politics - Road scheme details in full |date=31 July 1998 |access-date=18 November 2007}} and problem areas of the road network subject to multi-modal studies to investigate non-road alternatives, following the introduction of the A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England White Paper.{{cite web|url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/10567.aspx |publisher=Highways Agency |work=Multi-Modal Studies |title=What are Multi-Modal Studies? |access-date=1 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226194112/http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/10567.aspx |archive-date=26 December 2007 }}

In 1998, it was proposed to transfer parts of the English trunk road network to local councils, retaining central control for the network connecting major population centres, ports, airports, key cross-border links and the Trans-European Road Network.{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/whitepapers/previous/anewdealfortransportbetterfo5695#a1027 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100303184715/http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/whitepapers/previous/anewdealfortransportbetterfo5695#a1027 |archive-date=3 March 2010 |work=A new deal for transport: better for everyone - white paper |title=Chapter 3 - Integrated Transport |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=18 November 2007}} Around 40% of the network was transferred to local authorities.

In 2002, the government proposed a new major road building program with {{convert|360|mi|km}} of the strategic road network to be widened, 80 major new trunk road schemes to improve safety and 100 new bypasses on trunk and local roads.{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmtlgr/558/55808.htm#a27|title=Select Committee on Transport, Local Government and the Regions Eighth Report|publisher=House of Commons|access-date=16 January 2008}} The protesters reformed.{{cite web|url=http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/westcountry/2004/07/295124.html|title=Direct action road protest veterans delegation to Dept for Transport|publisher=indymedia|access-date=13 January 2008}}

In 2004, the Government announced in the Queen's speech a major new funding source from transport schemes, the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF).

In 2007, a new Planning Bill was introduced to parliament which would speed up the process of approving new roads and other transport infrastructure but which has raised concerns that it may erode democracy{{cite news

|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/not-in-our-backyard-a-bill-that-threatens-historic-right-to-protest-852824.html

|title=Not in our backyard! A Bill that threatens historic right to protest

|work=The Independent

|date=24 June 2008

|access-date=8 November 2008

| location=London

| first1=Andrew

| last1=Grice

| first2=Ben

| last2=Russell}}

and be a "developer's charter".{{cite web

|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-176817

|title=Planning bill could fast track environmental harm

|publisher=RSPB

|date=7 November 2007

|access-date=8 November 2008}}

Traffic has increased by 80% between 1980 and 2005 whilst road capacity has increased by 10%.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/oct/26/epublic.technology12 |title=Smooth-flowing traffic is on the way |work=Society - The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |access-date=31 December 2007 |date=26 October 2005 |last=Murray|first=Louise | location=London}}

In 2011, Transport Scotland proposed a plan to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness with construction to start in September 2015 and to finish in 2035.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34197501 Work begins on dualling A9 from Inverness to Perth - BBC News] September 10, 2015{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-67771630 | title=A9 dualling project delayed by 10 years until 2035 | work=BBC News | date=20 December 2023 }} Another plan is underway to do the same to the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness.[https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/a96-dualling-inverness-to-aberdeen/ A96 Dualling Inverness to Aberdeen] Retrieved 17 July 2024

On 4 June 2018, a change in the law meant that learner drivers, who had previously been banned from driving on motorways, were allowed to use them when accompanied by a driving instructor in a car with dual controls.{{Cite web|title=Learner drivers on motorways from 4 June 2018|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-will-be-allowed-on-motorways-from-2018|access-date=10 April 2021|website=GOV.UK|date=March 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Learner drivers now allowed on motorways|url=https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/100447/new-uk-driving-test-learner-drivers-now-allowed-on-motorways|access-date=10 April 2021|website=Auto Express|language=en}} As motorway driving is not offered as part of the practical driving test in the United Kingdom, these measures were put in place in an effort to teach motorway safety.{{Cite web|title=Learner drivers allowed on motorways|url=https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/driving-law/learner-drivers-to-be-allowed-on-motorways|access-date=10 April 2021|website=www.confused.com|language=en}}{{Cite news|date=4 June 2018|title=Learner drivers allowed on motorways after law change|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44350285|access-date=10 April 2021}}

In the 2020s, there was a policy shift away from "predict and provide" to "decide and provide" in which transport planning aims to achieve a desired level of road use rather than unconstrained growth as before, also aiming to secure Net Zero. This concept was developed by the TRICS Consortium;{{cite web |title=Decide and Provide Guidance | url=https://www.trics.org/decideandprovideguidance.html |publisher=TRICS Consortium Limited}} Oxfordshire County Council was the first local authority to adopt it formally as Council policy.{{cite web |publisher=Transport Planning Society |url=https://tps.org.uk/news/oxfordshire-county-council-approve-implementing |date=4 October 2022 |title=Oxfordshire County Council Approve Implementing 'Decide & Provide': Requirements for Transport Assessments}}

{{Main|Odonymy in the United Kingdom}}

Road names have traditional conventions in the UK.

• Transport in the United Kingdom
• List of motorways in the United Kingdom
• Roads in Northern Ireland

{{See also|List of road projects in the UK}}

{{reflist}}

• Benson, Bruce L. The Rise and Fall of Non-Government Roads in the United Kingdom in STREET Competition, Entrepreneurship, and the Future of Roads SMART (Routledge, 2017). [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315130330-14/rise-fall-non-government-roads-united-kingdom-bruce-benson abstract]
• Bishop, M. C. The Secret History of the Roman Roads of Britain: And their Impact on Military History (Pen and Sword, 2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=wOuwBAAAQBAJ&dq=HISTORY+ROADS+England+Britain+UK++&pg=PP1 online]
• Bogart, Dan. "The turnpike roads of England and Wales." in The online historical atlas of transport, urbanization and economic development in England and Wales (2017) pp:1680-1911. [http://www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/transport/onlineatlas/britishturnpiketrusts.pdf online]
• Charlesworth, George. A History of British Motorways (Thomas Telford, 1984).
• Fuller, G. Joan. "The Development of Roads in the Surrey. Sussex Weald and Coastlands between 1700 and 1900." Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers) 19 (1953): 37-49. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/621226 online]
• Ishaque, Muhammad M., and Robert B. Noland. "Making roads safe for pedestrians or keeping them out of the way? An historical perspective on pedestrian policies in Britain." Journal of Transport History 27.1 (2006): 115-137. [https://www.camcycle.org.uk/images/blog/Ishaque_2006_Making_roads_safer_for_pedestrians_or_getting_them_out_of_the_way.pdf online]
• Mackie, Peter, and Nigel Smith. "Financing roads in great Britain." Research in Transportation Economics 15 (2005): 215-229. [http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/1676/1/4.pdf.pdf#page=232 online]
• Moran, Joe. On roads: a hidden history (Profile Books, 2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=bGIgduj1cUEC&dq=HISTORY+ROADS+England+Britain+UK++&pg=PA1 online]
• Moran, Joe. "Crossing the road in Britain, 1931–1976." The Historical Journal 49.2 (2006): 477-496. [https://www.academia.edu/download/56761455/crossing_the_road.pdf online]

• Rolt, L.T. C. Thomas Telford (1958) [https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.527142/page/n5/mode/1up online]
• Rosevear, Alan, Dan Bogart, and Leigh Shaw-Taylor. "Government, trusts, and the making of better roads in early nineteenth century England and Wales." European Review of Economic History (2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/head030
• Smiles, Samuel. The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer: With an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great Britain (J. Murray, 1867) [https://books.google.com/books?id=bgg0klBixUUC&dq=HISTORY+ROADS+England+Britain+UK++&pg=PR23 online].

• West, Graham. The Technical development of roads in Britain (Routledge, 2019).

• [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524170/s150003_Network_Management_interim_update.pdf Highways England network map]
• [http://www.transport.gov.scot/road/maintenance/key-facts-about-trunk-road-network-scotland#map Map of Scottish Trunk Roads]
• [https://archive.today/20130616152118/http://transportreview.co.uk/road/road-traffic-map Interactive Map of Average Daily Traffic for every major UK Road]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080705091844/http://www.iraptranstats.net/gb International Transport Statistics Database: Transport in Great Britain]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120210151331/http://www.eurorap.org/gb2008 EuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008]
• [http://pathetic.org.uk/ Pathetic Motorways], a list of unusual or "lost" motorways in Britain
• [http://www.ukmotorwayarchive.org/ The Motorway Archive]

{{UK road lists}}

{{Roads in Europe}}

{{Road types}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roads in the United Kingdom}}