M23 shield
M23
Route information
Length15.9 mi (25.6 km)
Existed1974–present
HistoryConstructed 1974–75
Major junctions
FromMarling Glen, Surrey
Major intersections
J8 → M25 motorway
ToCrawley, West Sussex
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Primary
destinations
Croydon, Reigate, Gatwick Airport, Crawley
Road network
Junction 9, looking north
M23 looking north from Crawley
Looking north between junctions 9 and 10
The unfinished junction 7 (no southbound access) near Hooley

The M23 is a motorway in the United Kingdom. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a 2-mile (3.2 km) spur north from junction 7 of the M25 motorway (junction 8 on the M23). From Hooley it runs for 17 miles (27 km) past Redhill, Gatwick Airport and Crawley. A spur runs from junction 9 to Gatwick Airport.

History

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The motorway was constructed between 1972 and 1975, at the same time as the southern section of the M25 from Godstone to Reigate (M25 junctions 6 to 8).[1] The current northern terminus at junction 7 uses the original sliproads to meet the A23 and a flyover above the junction built for the onward northern continuation remains unused.[2]

A new junction (J10A) was opened in 1997,[citation needed] between J10 and J11, for access to the new Crawley neighbourhood of Maidenbower.[3] It was financed as part of the development of Maidenbower by the construction consortium. It gives only off-access southbound and on-access northbound.

Unbuilt sections

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The M23 was planned to relieve congestion on the A23 through Streatham, Thornton Heath, Purley and Coulsdon in south London and was originally intended to terminate in Streatham Vale at a junction with the controversial London Ringways Plan's Ringway 2 (the intended replacement of the South Circular Road (A205)).[4]

In an earlier version of the Ringways Plan it would have continued into central London where it would have met the Balham Loop spur from Ringway 1 (the London Motorway Box) at Tooting.[citation needed] This was dropped in 1967 when the northern terminus was changed to Ringway 2. While a definite route had not been chosen at that time for the northern section, approval was met for the route south of the Greater London boundary at Hooley.[5]

By 1972 the southern section of Ringway 2 had been dropped from the plan,[6] with an alternative proposal that the M23 continue further into London to end on Ringway 1. This was immediately countered in the same year by the GLC, who announced they would not be building that Ringway,[5] which meant that had the M23 continued north into inner London it would not have had the motorway required at its northern end to distribute traffic to the east and west. The M23 plan was gradually scaled back further to omit the section across Mitcham Common and end the motorway at an unsuitable location on Croydon Road (A232)[5] before the plan was postponed indefinitely. By the late 1970s, the area along the proposed line of the motorway had become affected by blight,[7] and while the proposals were finally dropped in the mid-1980s, much of the land reserved for the route was not released by the Department for Transport until the mid-1990s.

The missing section of motorway and the missing six junctions north of Hooley were not constructed due to the refusal of the GLC to finance the project, having encountered large scale opposition to the construction of Ringways elsewhere in London.[5] However, the scale of the four-tier junction between the M23 and the M25, one of only three stack interchanges in the UK, is indicative of the importance attached to the M23 at that time.

Junctions

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Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[8] Where a junction spans several hundred metres and start and end points are available, both are cited.

County Location Coordinates Mile km Junction Destinations Notes
Southbound Northbound
West Midlands West Bromwich 52°32′10″N 1°58′12″W / 52.5360°N 1.9699°W / 52.5360; -1.9699 (M6, Junction 8) 0.0 0.0   M6 - The North West, Wolverhampton, Birmingham (north & east), Walsall
52°30′43″N 1°58′31″W / 52.5119°N 1.9754°W / 52.5119; -1.9754 (M5, Junction 1) 2.7 4.4 1   A41 - West Bromwich, Birmingham (north west)
Oldbury 52°29′34″N 2°01′08″W / 52.4927°N 2.0188°W / 52.4927; -2.0188 (M5, Junction 2) 5.4 8.7 2   A4123 - Dudley, Wolverhampton, Birmingham (west)
Halesowen 52°26′57″N 2°00′55″W / 52.4491°N 2.0152°W / 52.4491; -2.0152 (M5, Junction 3) 8.2 13.3 3   A456 - Kidderminster   A456 - Birmingham (south west)
Worcestershire Frankley 52°25′45″N 2°01′04″W / 52.4292°N 2.0179°W / 52.4292; -2.0179 (M5, Frankley services) Services Frankley services
Catshill 52°22′43″N 2°02′47″W / 52.3786°N 2.0465°W / 52.3786; -2.0465 (M5, Junction 4) 14.8 23.8 4   A38 - Birmingham (south);
  A491 Stourbridge
Bromsgrove-Catshill boundary 52°21′15″N 2°04′16″W / 52.3543°N 2.0711°W / 52.3543; -2.0711 (M5, Junction 4A) 16.3 26.3 4a   M42 - Birmingham (south & east), London, Redditch   M42 - NEC, Birmingham Airport, London, the North East
Wychbold 52°17′15″N 2°07′13″W / 52.2876°N 2.1202°W / 52.2876; -2.1202 (M5, Junction 5) 21.6 34.9 5   A38 - Droitwich   A38 - Droitwich, Bromsgrove
Worcester-Tibberton, Worcestershire boundary 52°12′46″N 2°09′28″W / 52.2128°N 2.1579°W / 52.2128; -2.1579 (M5, Junction 6) 27.0 43.5 6   A449 - Worcester (north);
  A4538 - Evesham
  A449 - Worcester (north), Kidderminster
Whittington 52°10′07″N 2°10′49″W / 52.1687°N 2.1803°W / 52.1687; -2.1803 (M5, Junction 7) 30.2 48.6 7   A44 - Worcester (south)   A44 - Worcester (south), Evesham
Hill Croome (northbound)-Strensham (southbound) 52°03′27″N 2°08′33″W / 52.0574°N 2.1426°W / 52.0574; -2.1426 (M5, Strensham services) Services Strensham services
Strensham 52°02′52″N 2°08′08″W / 52.0478°N 2.1356°W / 52.0478; -2.1356 (M5, Junction 8) 39.8 64.2 8   M50 - South Wales, Ross-on-Wye
Gloucestershire Tewkesbury-Northway-Ashchurch Rural boundary 51°59′47″N 2°07′25″W / 51.9965°N 2.1237°W / 51.9965; -2.1237 (M5, Junction 8) 44.0 70.9 9   A46 - Evesham;
  A438 - Tewkesbury, Evesham
Boddington, Gloucestershire-Elmstone Hardwicke boundary 51°55′44″N 2°08′24″W / 51.9290°N 2.1400°W / 51.9290; -2.1400 (M5, Junction 10) 48.0 77.4 10   A4019 - Cheltenham No exit Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Badgeworth 51°53′23″N 2°09′05″W / 51.8897°N 2.1514°W / 51.8897; -2.1514 (M5, Junction 11) 51.2 82.6 11   A40 - Cheltenham, Gloucester, Gloucestershire Airport   A40 - Cheltenham, Gloucester
Hucclecote-Brockworth boundary 51°51′28″N 2°10′25″W / 51.8578°N 2.1735°W / 51.8578; -2.1735 (M5, Junction 11A) 53.6 86.4 11a   A417 - London, Cirencester   A417 - Gloucester, Cirencester Southbound exit limited to only eastbound A417
Brookthorpe-with-Whaddon 51°51′44″N 2°10′00″W / 51.8621°N 2.1667°W / 51.8621; -2.1667 (Gloucestershire gateway services) Services Gloucestershire gateway services Due to open in 2014 (Northbound only)
Haresfield 51°47′54″N 2°17′20″W / 51.7982°N 2.2889°W / 51.7982; -2.2889 (M5, Junction 12) 60.3 97.3 12 B4008 - Gloucester
Rows omitted
Devon Exeter-Clyst St George boundary 50°42′45″N 3°27′50″W / 50.7124°N 3.4638°W / 50.7124; -3.4638 (M5, Junction 30) 157.6 254.2 30   A376 - Exmouth, Sidmouth;
  A379 - Exeter, Dawlish;
Exeter services
  A376 - Exmouth, Sidmouth;
  A379 - Exeter;
Exeter services
Exminster 50°40′48″N 3°31′00″W / 50.6801°N 3.5166°W / 50.6801; -3.5166 (M5, Junction 31) 162.4 261.4 31   A30 - Bodmin, Okehampton End of motorway and multiplex with A38; continues as A38
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Construction Contracts". 8 July 1975. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  2. ^ "1:50 000 Landranger map". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ^ "M23, Crawley". 23 February 1987. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  4. ^ Fred Mulley (9 December 1969). "M23 Northern terminals Inquiry". Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d William Shelton (12 November 1974). "M23 (London)". Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  6. ^ Geoffrey Ripon (19 February 1973). "Greater London Development Plan". Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  7. ^ William Shelton (26 July 1978). "Motorway (London)". Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  8. ^ Traffic England Live Traffic Condition Map Highways Agency – Locations extracted from Traffic Camera Popup identifier text