| Motorways page 3 |
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| M60, the Manchester orbital motorway, seen from Barton Upon Irwell |
| Road classification |
| Motorways are the most important roads for transporting traffic between cities and on long journeys, and are the widest roads in the British Road Network. British motorways usually have 3 lanes in each direction, plus a hard shoulder for emergency breakdowns. In some cases, motorways can be as wide as 5 lanes each way in busy stretches, and as narrow as just one lane each way (for example the A6144 (M) near Manchester). Motorways such as the A1(M) are often confused with the M1. The difference is (apart from obviously they take different routes) the M1 was always a motorway. The A1(M) was not always a motorway, and is simply part of the A1 which has been upgraded to motorway standard. |
| Primary routes are usually A-roads, and are the second most important class of road. They are higher class than ordinary A-roads. The direction signs on trunk roads are green, with yellow numbering and white text. Important primary routes include the A1 (London to Edinburgh road), and the A34 (Manchester to Winchester road). |
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| A roads are arterial routes. They are often primary routes. Direction signs on non-primary A roads are white with black text. On AA maps they are usually shown in red, and on Ordnance survery maps, usually in red also. |
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| (c) Aidan O' Rourke |
| There are also B-roads (next down in importance from A roads), Croads, and D roads (the latter two of which road numbers are rarely signposted on signs). |
| Chiendemere Cumberland 2004 |