Secrets of The Motorway - M40

#motorways #infrastructure #m40

The M40 is a delightful motorway that runs for around 90 miles from London to Birmingham. However, as one drives along, what are you missing... what secrets does the M40 hold and what interesting things are there to see.

That's what we'll be finding out in todays episode that features RAF Airfields, Ammunition storage sites, vehicle test facilities and a load more. Wonderful.

In this series we aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at the 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series aims to uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.

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[BuzbyWuzby]

The insect was merely trying to bring to your attention the fact that this section of tarmac was now a bee road

[trancemadmaz]

The king of motorways. England's unofficial autobahn

[YelpBullhorn]

You missed the most remarkable thing about the M40: the majestic red kites soaring above the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire section.

[PrincePawn]

This channel is a true gem.. how does he not have more subs?!

[ViscountAlbany]

M40 J7 has the slip roads taken out of use on the north side because when the motorway was extended towards Birmingham, it branched off the existing Oxford route just north of J7. That meant the new merge/diverge at J8 was too close to J7 for safety as traffic would be swerving in and out of the inside lane. As J7 isn't serving a major route, J8 was prioritised; the old north slips were converted into an emergency access route and the access to the Highways Agency facility, respectively. It is still easy to access/leave the M40 to the north at this point simply by driving the short distance along the A40 to J8A.

[GodlessGrandpa]

Found this channel via Jago Hazard and I'm glad I did. Always entertaining. Born and raised in England but moved to Canada 18 years ago. This is a welcome taste of home. Kept doing what you are doing. 👍

[davethedeerhunter]

I never imagined I'd enjoy watching videos about roads I will never use so much.

[Mr_Jimbo]

Prodrive, V bombers and a Fast show reference, where has this channel been all my life?! You mentioned the former RAF tower remaining at JLR Gaydon, when you go on track as a visitor/first timer you have to report to the Obs Tower as it is now known, which makes it feel very exciting (experienced users just go straight on the test track so it’s slightly less glamourous). The tower also serves as a meeting room/break room facilities in case anyone was interested.

[BarriesChannel]

Drove past that water tower today and I wondered what it was. I thought to myself 'John will have mentioned this on his secrets of the motorway series'. YEP.

[stanslad]

Spent loads of weekends metal detecting & fossil hunting when the Ardley junction 10 section area was being built, loads of great finds.

[RoyCousins]

The most annoying part of the M40 is Junction 4, Handy Cross (for High Wycombe). The motorway goes from 3 lanes to 2 lanes than back to 3 lanes again, as the construction was never built for a 3 lane motorway. As a result, the motorway is frequently jammed for miles, as traffic fails to filter down to pass under the roundabout, which itself fails to cope with the A404 traffic.

[caravaningincarathevan]

I love the M40 I live 10 miles away from the Oxford services. If I'm on the M40 it usually means I'm going racing somewhere around the country. Another great vlog well done 👏

[johnoblein]

Very enjoyable video, thank you. As a young boy, I was taken by a family friend with his two sons from High Wycombe, Handy Cross, on the then new M40 to the other end at Stokenchurch and back again, just for the hell of it. It was years before the eastern end leapt the Wycombe Marsh valley towards Denham, or west to Oxford, always as a two lane roadway. The expansion to three lanes meant years of roadworks to endure.

[AlanPope]

I absolutely love this series of videos. You've got the balance of humour and facts right, and the duration is spot on. Keep up the good work.

[Pslc]

I'd always wonder what the hell that tower was but by the time I'd reached my destination and could use my phone I'd forgotten all about it. I must have repeated that cycle a thousand times. Thanks for the info!

[charlesachurch]

I adore your enthusiasm for these hellish constructions.

[nathanw]

I wouldn't be surprised if the reason they didn't include northbound slip roads on some of the junctions is because they don't want anyone to go to the horror that is Birmingham. 🤣

[Jimmed]

I just discovered this series today -- thankyou for filling my Sunday with interesting content (and Gran Turismo menu music!)

[emsik]

Hi thanks for such a great video and I love a bit about buying a small plot of land and dividing it by 3.500 times!!! to stop building the road where locals didnt want it! Yes that was a clever move! Love it! :)

[trevornelmes]

Kineton is not Ki-NEE-TON but Kine as in Line. The curious arrangement at J13/14/15 was a cost saving last minute decision. Before the M40 there was a Kenilworth/Leamington/Warwick bypass. Originally, it was planned that the M40 would junction at the Stratford exit of the bypass (now J15), and also at the terminus of the bypass (now at the end of the long slip road off J14, at the Grays Mallory roundabout. At that roundabout the road in to Leamington was supposed to go south to meet the A429 to the south of Barford (to provide Barford with an Eastern bypass), and continue on over the River Avon just West of Charlecote and just to the East of Alveston and to continue all the way around Stratford to meet up with the Western bypass, thus giving Stratford upon Avon a ring road. Bits of the road are being built even to this day (if you drive down the Evesham Road out of Stratford they are building a new roundabout and road there right now). Bits are still missing. In the end, Barford got a bypass to the west and south instead. Anyhow, the KLW bypass lost itself after the Stratford turn and that became the M40 and the bypass River bridge was used as the Southbound M40 carriageway bridge. That forced J14 closer to J15 to where it is now, also moved to there to allow a sand quarry to the south side of that junction to supply sand and concrete to the whole project (look on the satellite map and you will see it). All for nought. It was (and still is) traffic chaos everyday, such that the original plan to separate the KLW bypass road to Stratford from J15 had to be undertaken as a hugely expensive retro project. J13 was redesigned as a consequence of the moving of J14, because otherwise traffic exiting Southbound would overwhelm local roads, so Southbound traffic has to come off at J14. Utter and total mess of a design. J13 at Gaydon had to be totally re-built also. And now, proposals are afoot to re-instate that last leg of the KLW bypass, as non-motorway traffic has no other means to go around Warwick. D'oh.