Over 16,525,823 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
Choosing which motorway to review for my first "Motorway of the Week" feature was never going to be easy. So many to choose from, the heritage rich M1, the glamourous M4, the largely pointless A57(M), the choice was bewlidering. But then I had to drive my BMW k1100lt from Cambridge to the Docklands area in London, and my choice became clear, the elusive and "built on the cheap" M11.
Running the 49.7 miles from Woodford in North-East London to Girton near Cambridge, the M11 is perhaps one the UK's lesser known Motorways, but is nonetheless offers an excellent escape route from London. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1980 - meaning that during the late 70's, people that were sick of London would have struggled to sneak out via this route. The connecting motorway is the infamous M25, but you can also get onto the A406 north circular, which give access to north london...if thats your kind of thing.
Features of Interest
The four illuminated sections (southern terminus near junction 4, at junction 6 (M25 interchange), junction 8 (Stansted Airport/Bishop's Stortford), and the northern terminus at junction 14) were originally lit using yellow low pressure sodium (SOX) lighting, but in 2005 this was replaced by high pressure sodium (SON) lighting - fascinating huh?
The M11 holds a record amongst UK motorways for the longest uninterupted stretch of motorway. The distance between junction 8 and junction 9 is 15.2 miles (24.3 km). However, junction 9 only has northbound slip roads, and in a southbound direction there is an interrupted length of 17 miles (27.1 km) between junction 10 and junction 8, which is just great if you are not a fan of exit ramps.
As alluded to earlier, the M11 was "built on the cheap". Evidence of this can be found between junctions 7 and 14, which due to budget constraints is made of unsrfaced concrete. This was obviously useless, and fell to pieces pretty quickly. In the early 90's much of this concrete was replaced by tarmac, but a few stretches of the original concrete still remain as testament to the highways agenci's commitment to cheapness. In the northern reaches of the road, there are only two lanes, which is also a bit cheap.
Historical stuffs
Plans for the M11 started as early as 1966, but there were endless arguments, and nobody could decide on a route. Some said "so long as it goes out of london, who gives a fuck?" others said "I have a weekend residence on the outskirts of Norwich, it should go there". Evidence of the meanderings of the planners can be seen on the northbound A406, where there is a bridge the crosses...well, nothing. Originally, the motorway would have gone under it...but it didn't in the end.
In June 2002, a brake failure on an Aero L-39 Albatross landing at Imperial War Museum caused the plane to run off the end of the runway and down the embankment on to the motorway. The trainee pilot was killed when he ejected from ground level (which does seem a bit of a dumb thing to do) but the instructor survived the accident and no vehicles on the motorway were involved.
In January 2003, thousands of motorists became stranded for up to 20 hours between junctions 7 & 9 during a snowstorm. I remember seeing that on the TV, and a guy I know who is a drummer was there. But he wasn't an idiot, he turned his van round and drove the wrong way up the hard shoulder to escape. Some say that was illegal, but then he didn't get stuck in the snow for a day.
Places along the way.
Conclusions
So how to summarise the M11? It runs through some kinda pretty coutryside, and has a quaint charm to its two lane, cheaply build concrete sections. But, if you live in the east midlands, and need to get to East London, the M11 is the motorway for you.
