The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs south-west from the M6 at junction 8 (West Bromwich), north-west of Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. The M5 runs through Sandwell Valley and its early sections form part of the Birmingham Motorway Box, after which it passes Worcester, Cheltenham, and Gloucester. It intersects with the M4 motorway at Almondsbury Interchange north of Bristol, then serves Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton, and Tiverton, before terminating at junction 31 to the south of Exeter. At a total length of 163 miles (262 km), the M5 is the fourth-longest motorway in the UK.
Route The M5 quite closely follows the route of the A38 road. The two deviate slightly around Bristol and the area south of Bristol from junctions 16 to the Sedgemoor services north of junction 22. The A38 goes straight through the centre of Bristol and passes by Bristol Airport, while the M5 skirts both, with access to the airport from junctions 18, 19 or 22. The A38 continues south into Devon from junction 31, near Exminster. Junction 15 of the M5 is a large four-level stack interchange, named the Almondsbury Interchange, where the M5 meets the M4. The Avonmouth Bridge, between junctions 18 and 19, is often a bottleneck during heavy traffic periods, due mainly to lane drops at either end of the bridge for the respective junctions, and the sharp angle in the centre of the bridge, which causes larger vehicles to slow considerably. There are split-level carriageways where the M5 ascends the hillsides above the Gordano Valley, between Portishead, junction 19 and Clevedon, junction 20. Between junction 21, Weston-super-Mare and junction 22, Burnham-on-Sea, the M5 passes by an isolated landmark hill called Brent Knoll and crosses the western end of the Mendip Hills. The Willow Man sculpture is visible from both carriageways, and acts as a landmark just to the south of junction 23, which had degraded and lost its head and arms.
History In the mid-1960s, the section north of Bristol was planned, predicted to be only two lanes in each direction.
In late June 1964, the extension to Edithmead was announced. The route would cross the Avon at a large viaduct at Bredon. This became the Birmingham – Bristol – East Brent motorway.
By 1964, the M5 was planned to go no further than East Brent (Brent Knoll). The Somerset county surveyor had written in his annual report in June 1964 that the motorway should be extended to go beyond Exeter.Bristol Evening Post Friday 12 June 1964, page 36 A route was designed around 1954. An official survey for a possible motorway beyond East Brent was carried out by Somerset from July 1964.Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 15 July 1964, page 3 On 3 April 1968, Barbara Castle announced the definite extension from Edithmead to Exeter, as a motorway.Western Daily Press Thursday 4 April 1968, page 3 Before this date, this section to Exeter could have been simply modest upgrades of the A38.
When construction of the motorway reached Avonmouth in August 1969, the plan was to reach Edithmead by late 1972, and to reach Exeter by the mid-1970s.Western Daily Press Friday 29 August 1969, page 5
Construction
The first of the M5 motorway was constructed as a dual two-lane motorway with Worcestershire County Council acting as engineer. This sectionfrom junction 4 (Lydiate Ash) in the north to a trumpet junction with the M50 in the southopened in July 1962., Table 7.3 The section was constructed by Monk, being 28 miles, from Lydiate Ash to the M50 junction 1, with the A38, at Brockeridge Common (Twyning).Western Daily Press Tuesday 9 July 1968, page 14
This original section of the M5, from junctions 4 to 8, was widened to provide six lanes, by late June 1993, by the technique of 'parallel widening'.Torbay Express Thursday 1 July 1993, page 22 During this work, the northbound Strensham services were rebuilt further away from the modified M50 junction.
Worcestershire County Council, the police and particularly the county surveyor of Worcestershire had made repeated representations, in the late 1950s, that a dual three-lane standard motorway was appropriate. The Ministry of Transport insisted that a dual two-lane motorway would be built at a cost of around £8million. The Motorways Archive also records that the carriageways were also built to a lower overall width of rather than to reduce the loss of agricultural land. When the decision became necessary to widen the Worcestershire section of M5, it cost £123million.
The dual two-lane section between junctions 16 and 17 built at Filton, near Bristol, was also opened in 1962, and was intended to replace the pre-war Filton bypass.Ordnance Survey One Inch Map of Great Britain, Series 7 Sheet 156, major roads revised 1963. Gloucestershire County Council acted as engineer for this section, which was widened to a dual three-lane motorway in 1969.
North of junction 4 the M5 was constructed in sections, from 1967 to 1970, together with the Frankley services. Much of the northern section beyond junction 3, from about Oldbury to the junction with the M6 motorway, was constructed as an elevated dual three-lane motorway over Birmingham Canal (Old Main Line), Birmingham Canal (New Main Line), and Titford Pool using concrete pillars.
West Bromwich to Ray Hall (M6); the contract was given in June 1967 for £5,808,401, to take two and a half years.Birmingham Mail Tuesday 13 June 1967, page 5 It was planned to open in January 1970, but would remain closed until May 1970, due to local traffic in Smethwick, and consultation with the local police.
Oldbury to West Bromwich was to open in May 1970, constructed by W. & C. French.
Quinton to Oldbury was planned to open in March 1970.
The M5 was also extended southwards, in sections, from 1967 to 1977, through Gloucestershire and Somerset, to Exeter in Devon as a dual three-lane motorway, together with the Strensham services.
Costain built the section from Bredon, Worcestershire, to Tredington, of 4.75 miles, of £3,392,392, with the contract awarded on 23 July 1968. It was to open in March 1970. In 1968, it was hoped to reach Edithmead, in Somerset, by the end of 1972, and Exeter by 1975.Bristol Evening Post Tuesday 23 July 1968, page 8 Concrete for the motorway junctions came from Beckford, Worcestershire.Birmingham Daily Post Wednesday 25 June 1969, page 6
Cementation and Leonard Fairclough built the section from Tredington, Gloucestershire to Brookthorpe-with-Whaddon, being £9,998,163, with the contract awarded on 25 April 1969, of 12.5 miles.Manchester Evening News Friday 25 April 1969, page 20 Work started in May 1969.Times Saturday April 26 1969, page 15
Strensham to Piff's Elm was planned to open in May 1970, but there were defects in the asphalt, that had to be removed. It opened on Tuesday 16 June 1970, when the A38 through Tewkesbury was finally bypassed.Birmingham Mail Thursday 18 June 1970, page 13 Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, the Conservative candidate, and incumbent MP, for Cirencester and Tewkesbury gave a speech at the unofficial opening ceremony. Tewkesbury Borough Council had wanted an official opening ceremony, but this was prohibited by the Ministry of Transport as the purdah period was in force ahead of the 1970 General Election later that week. Nonetheless the borough council arranged an opening ceremony, with a ceremonial motorcade. At the Ashchurch roundabout, Nicholas Ridley cut a white ribbon, and drove off in a 1911 Renault vehicle. The police escorted the unofficial impromptu motorcade off the motorway. Such an event had been restricted by the Ministry of Transport.Western Daily Press Wednesday 17 June 1970, page 7
Sydney Green & Sons built the section from Brookthorpe (Junction 12, B4072) to Alkerton, Gloucestershire (Junction 14, A4096 Stroudwater Interchange), being 6.25 miles. Work started in late June 1969.Bristol Evening Post Thursday 5 June 1969, page 1 The section opened on Tuesday 6 April 1971 at 12pm, with section north from A4019 Junction at Junction 10 Piff's Elm Interchange.Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 7 April 1971, page 31
Central crash barriers were added to the Gloucestershire section in late 1973.Birmingham Daily Post Wednesday 10 October 1973, page 14
For the section north of Almondsbury, Kier had an office on Wickwar Road in Falfield. Kier had a £1.6m contract to build 19 bridges and structures.Times Tuesday February 10 1970, page 29Western Daily Press Friday 24 July 1970, page 10
The 'Filton Bypass' was a two-lane section built for Gloucestershire County Council, which was not built as the M5. Work began in May 1960,Bristol Evening Post Thursday 14 April 1960, page 3 planned to take 15 months, built by Sydney Green & Sons.Bristol Evening Post Friday 20 January 1961, page 23 It opened on Friday 31 May 1963, and cost £500,000, from Cribbs Causeway to theAlmondsbury A38 roundabout, being two and a quarter miles.Western Daily Press Saturday 1 June 1963, page 15 Widening began June 1966, costing £250,000,Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 22 June 1966, page 27 built by a consortium of Alfred McAlpine and Leonard Fairclough, with the contract awarded in May 1965.Bristol Evening Post Friday 7 May 1965, page 2
Avonmouth to Cribbs Causeway was four and a quarter miles. The £3,673,429 contract was awarded in February 1967.Birmingham Mail Friday 17 February 1967 Five miles opened on Thursday 28 August 1969, by a junior minister, costing £4.5m in total.Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 27 August 1969, page 24Western Daily Press Thursday 28 August 1969, page 3
South of Avonmouth began on Tuesday 2 September 1969.Western Daily Press Wednesday 16 July 1969, page 14
The plan for Avonmouth to Clevedon, junctions 19 to 20, was displayed to public in March 1967, where the route ran along the scenic Gordano Valley.Bristol Evening Post Saturday 11 March 1967, page 8
The Wynhol Viaduct, with 187ft spans, in Clapton in Gordano, was named after Wynhol Farm, which follows the Failand Ridge.Wynhol Viaduct The contract of £5.75m was awarded to Cementation Construction, who had a site office on Caswell Lane in Portbury, and another office at Clapton Wick.Western Daily Press Tuesday 3 February 1970, page 8The Gordano Valley section opened on 25 January 1973.
Rock blasting with explosives took place east of Clevedon in January 1970.Bristol Evening Post Tuesday 30 December 1969, page 9 Laing built the Clevedon Hills section.
In 1966 there was a proposal for a 'Bristol Spur' off the M5, to the Long Ashton bypass, to be built in 1968, to Clevedon. There was a public inquiry in 1966.
St Georges (Banwell) to Edithmead, junctions 21 to 22, was built through the western edge of the Mendip Hills. A E Farr, of Westbury in Wiltshire, part of Bovis, built the section, with the £8.5m contract awarded on 19 November 1969 for 8.7 miles.Times Thursday November 20 1969, page 22Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 19 November 1969, page 2
Edithmead to Dunball (Brent Knoll) was built by W. & C. French, with the contract awarded in January 1971. The site office was at Puriton, where a Roman villa was discovered on 18 February 1971,Bristol Evening Post Wednesday 24 February 1971, page 27 so work stopped for a week, whilst the site was investigated.Times Wednesday February 24 1971, page 14
Cementation Construction built the 4.9-mile section from Dunball (J23) to Huntworth (J24). Construction started in June 1971 and finished in December 1973, with the contract costing £5.26m. The 17-span Huntworth Viaduct, was a box girder bridge, built by Cleveland Bridge Engineering. It was the first box girder bridge in the UK after an enquiry in the early 1970s.