M42 motorway Totally Explained

Everything about M42 Motorway totally explained

ť For other uses of the term M42, please see M42.

The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms – though unsigned as such – a part of Euroroute E05.
   After the Burton-Upon Trent / A444 Exit (Junction 11) the road is downgraded to dual-carriageway status as the A42 road. The junctions on this section, 12-14, are numbered as a continuation of the motorway. Interestingly, the modern M42 does interchange with the ghost of the original A42 (which once ran from Reading to Birmingham) at junction 4, Stratford Road now being numbered A34 to the north, A3400 south of there.
   The section of the M42 between junctions 7A and 9 was re-built as part of the M6 Toll works and now forms the link between the M6 and the southern end of the toll road.
   Along with sections of the M5 and M6, the southern sections of the M42 form an orbital motorway around Birmingham. Much like the M25 around London, there are areas where this orbital system doesn't work well. One such point is junction 3A, the link between the M42 and the M40, where traffic is often heavy in the rush hour.
   Junction 6 for Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) can also be problem area when major events such as Crufts are taking place at the NEC.
   When the M42 was going through the planning stages in 1977 there was great opposition to the development by the residents of Bromsgrove. Ironically, much of the town's population now depends on this motorway (and the M5) for their commuting needs. Many of the people attracted to the town from the 1980s onwards have come because of the motorway links.
   The road also used innovative road surfaces, which were not adopted elsewhere because of the noise created. The latest scheme to be tested on a long gently climbing stretch is one in which eastbound HGVs are not allowed to overtake during daytime hours. This scheme was implemented because the route is often congested on account of the motorway having only four lanes (two lanes in each direction) as it leaves the West Midlands.
   The section of road between junctions 3A (M40) and the M5 was going to be renumbered as part of the M40 when it was extended to Birmingham, and the junction was built with prority going to the now westbound section of the M42 and the M40 towards London. However when the junction was opened, no renumbering took place.

Use of Hard Shoulder

Highways Agency is currently implementing an Active Traffic Management (ATM) system between junction 3a and 7 of the M42. This is a scheme which combines a number of new technologies with some tried and tested motorway traffic management techniques. The scheme includes mandatory variable speed limits, as on the M25, enhanced driver information signs and a new congestion and incident management system. This system allows operators to open and close any lane to traffic in order to help manage congestion or an incident. This includes using the hard shoulder as a running lane between junctions under controlled conditions. This has proved very successful, with journey times decreasing by 26% northbound and 9% southbound. Drivers can also better predict their journey times as the variability decreased by 27%. It has also proved popular with motorists, 60% of whom want to see it expanded to other English motorways. The government has already announced the system will be expanded to the M6, with a feasibility study to be undertaken to determine other likely motorways where this technology can be implemented.

Junctions

M42 Motorway

Northbound exits	Junction	Southbound exits
To/From the M5 for The South West & North East	4a of M5	To/From the M5 for The South West & North East
	1	A38 for Bromsgrove
A441 for Birmingham (South), Redditch and Hopwood Park services	2	A441 for Birmingham (South), Redditch and Hopwood Park services
A435 for Birmingham (South), Redditch & Evesham	3	A435 for Birmingham (South), Redditch & Evesham
M40 for London, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon	3a	M40 for London, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon
A3400 & A34 for Shirley & Henley-in-Arden	4	A3400 & A34 for Shirley & Henley-in-Arden
A41 for Solihull	5	A41 for Solihull
A45 for Birmingham (South East), The National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham International Airport & Coventry (South & West)	6	A45 for Birmingham (South East), The National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham International Airport & Coventry (South & West)
M6 for The North West & Birmingham (East, North & Central)	7
M6 for London, Coventry & M1	7a
	7b	M6 Toll for London, Coventry & M6
	8	M6 for Birmingham (East, North, West & Central)
M6 Toll for Lichfield & The North West	8a
A446 for Coventry (North & East), Lichfield, Brownhills & A4097 for Sutton Coldfield	9	A446 for Coventry (North & East), Lichfield, Brownhills & A4097 for Sutton Coldfield
A5 for Tamworth, Tamworth services & Nuneaton	10	A5 for Tamworth, Tamworth services & Nuneaton
A444 for Burton upon Trent	11	A444 for Burton upon Trent
	A42

Continues as A42 to/from The North, East Midlands Airport & M1Further Information

Get more info on 'M42 Motorway'.

External Link Exchanges

M42 motorway junctions map - Ask.com UK Web Search

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://m42_motorway.totallyexplained.com">M42 motorway Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.