M42 motorway

The M42 runs north-east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire. It passes Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth, serving the east of Birmingham. The motorway links the M5 and M6, forming part of Euroroute E05 between the M40 and junction 4 of the M6. Beyond junction 11, the route continues as the A42, with junctions numbered like a motorway but the road itself losing motorway status. The motorway was planned in the 1960s as a cheaper alternative to upgrading the A453. The M42 was built in stages from the mid-1970s to 1987. The first section opened in 1976, linking Birmingham Airport to the M6. Later sections opened in 1985 and 1986, extending the motorway towards Tamworth and Redditch. The final link from the M5 to Bromsgrove was completed in 1987. The motorway was constructed by firms such as R M Douglas, Alfred McAlpine and Leonard Fairclough & Son, with costs ranging from £17 million to £43 million for individual sections. Today, the M42 carries heavy traffic between the Midlands and the south. It passes through rural areas like No Man’s Heath and near Mercia Park. The motorway has seen upgrades such as Active Traffic Management with hard shoulder running and variable speed limits introduced in 2006. Plans for a service station near Birmingham Airport and the NEC have been discussed for decades but have yet to be realised. The route also follows part of the original A42, which once ran from Reading to Birmingham before being renumbered in the 20th century.