M10 motorway

The M10 was a short motorway in Hertfordshire, running about 4.5 kilometres southeast from the M1 at Hemel Hempstead to the A414 at Park Street Roundabout, just south of St Albans. It opened in 1959 as a spur to ease traffic at the M1’s southern end. The motorway was designed by Tarmac Construction as part of the St Albans bypass. At the time, the M1 ended at junction 5, and the A41 Watford Bypass carried traffic toward London. The M10 split southbound M1 traffic onto the A5 or the North Orbital Road and A6 toward the A1. The M10’s purpose faded as the M1 was extended south and the M25 was built. Plans to extend it to the M25 were never proposed. A plane crash during construction in 1959 killed the pilot and a county surveyor, who had parachuted in the war. The aircraft, hired by Tarmac, was a De Havilland Rapide. The assistant managing director of Tarmac Civil Engineering was among the passengers. The crash occurred at Leverstock Green while surveyors worked on the route. Today, the former M10 forms part of the A414. Collector lanes now link Hemel Hempstead and Park Street Roundabout without using the M1. The downgrade in 2009 removed the need for the motorway. The M45, its sister motorway at the M1’s northern end, served a similar purpose. The M10’s brief history reflects changes in Britain’s road network over half a century.