{{UK motorway routebox|
| motorway= M40
| length-mi= 89
| length-km= 144
| direction= Southeast - Northwest
| start= London
Uxbridge | destinations= Beaconsfield
High_Wycombe
Oxford
Banbury
Warwick
Royal_Leamington_Spa
Stratford-upon-Avon
Birmingham | end= Earlswood | opening-date= 1967 | completion-date= 1990 | junctions= 1A - 50px
M25_motorway
50px
M42_motorway | euroroute= {{European route number small sign|05}} }} Image:M40_in_Warwickshire.jpg The '''M40 Motorway''' is the second motorway in the English Transport network to connect London to Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European_route_E05. The M40 was constructed in stages with the first section being the Wycombe Bypass from Handycross to Stokenchuch (Junctions 4-5) opening in 1967. In 1969 a temporary junction (Junction 2*) was built at Holtspur just outside of Beaconsfied that carried the motorway to the first section at Handycross (Junction 4). The Beaconsfield bypass (Junction 2) which was part of the motorway was built in 1971 and the Gerrards Cross Bypass (Junctions 1-2) conecting to this was completed in 1973. Junctions 5-8 Pitmore to Chilworth just outside of Oxford were completed in 1974. Construction from Birmingham to Oxford (the "missing link") started in 1988 from the M42 near Longbrige (Junctions 15 - M42) and finishing with construction through Warwickshire and the Cherwell Valley in 1990 linking Junction 15 to Junction 8. The motorway opened for its full length of 89 miles in 1990. The M40 was to be the last major motorway construction in the UK; however, during the final stages of construction the Conservative government of the time announced a major new road building scheme. When the motorway was first opened it carried surprisingly little traffic (compared, for instance, to the M25, which was congested from the start). The reason was said to be the lack of Motorway_service_areas, which kept HGV traffic in particular from using the route, the M1 and M6, or A34, being existing routes to Birmingham. Now that service areas exist, traffic is heavy. The M40 motorway hit the headlines on 18_November 1993. The previous night a minibus, carrying 15 pupils from Hagley R.C High School in Worcestershire back from a concert at the Royal_Albert_Hall in London, crashed on the motorway near Warwick after the teacher driving the minibus allegedly fell asleep at the wheel. Ten pupils and the teacher died at the scene; two more pupils died within the next three days as a result of their injuries. The two pupils who survived went on to make a full recovery from their injuries and were discharged from hospital within a week. The tragedy resulted in seatbelts becoming compulsory equipment on all buses and coaches, although it is still not compulsory for them to be worn. ==Route== {{expandsection}} The M40 begins at the Denham_Roundabout near Uxbridge just east of the M25 and finishes at the M42 near Birmingham. ==Junctions== {| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" bgcolor="0080d0" style="color: white;font-size:120%;" | colspan="3" | '''M40 Motorway''' |- align="center" bgcolor="000000" style="color: white" | Eastbound exits | Junction | Westbound exits |- align="center" | ''Road continues as '''A40''' to London'' | rowspan="2"|J1 | Slough '''A412'''
Uxbridge '''A4020'''
''Non motorway traffic'' |- align="center" | Slough '''A412'''
Uxbridge '''A4020''' | ''Start of Motorway'' |- align="center" | Watford, Rickmansworth, Slough, Heathrow_Airport '''M25''' | J1A | Watford, Rickmansworth, Slough, Heathrow Airport '''M25''' |- align="center" | Beaconsfield, Amersham, Slough '''A355''' | J2 | Beaconsfield, Amersham, Slough '''A355''' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J3 | High_Wycombe (East) '''A40''' |- align="center" | High Wycombe, Marlow, Maidenhead '''A404''' | J4 | High Wycombe, Marlow '''A404''' |- align="center" | High Wycombe (West), Stokenchurch '''A40''' | J5 | Stokenchurch '''A40''' |- align="center" | Watlington, Princes_Risborough '''B4009''' | J6 | Thame, Watlington, Princes Risborough '''B4009''' |- align="center" | ''No Access'' | J7 | Thame, Wallingford, '''A329''' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J8 | Oxford, Cheltenham '''A40''' |- align="center" | Thame, Aylesbury '''A418'''
Oxford ('''A40''')
''Oxford_Services'' | J8A | Thame, Aylesbury '''A418'''
Oxford ('''A40''') ''Oxford Services'' |- align="center" | Bicester, Aylesbury '''A41'''
Oxford, Newbury '''A34''' | J9 | Bicester '''A41'''
Oxford, Newbury '''A34''' |- align="center" | Northampton '''A43'''
'''B430'''
''Cherwell_Valley_services'' | J10 | Northampton '''A43'''
'''B430'''
''Cherwell Valley services'' |- align="center" | Banbury '''A422'''
Daventry '''A361''' | J11 | Banbury '''A422'''
Chipping Norton '''A361''' |- align="center" | Gaydon '''B4451''' | J12 | Gaydon '''B4451''' |- align="center" | colspan=3 | ''Warwick_Services'' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J13 | Leamington, Warwick '''A452'''
'''B4100''' |- align="center" | Leamington '''A452''' | J14 | ''No Access'' |- align="center" | Warwick '''A429'''
Stratford, Coventry '''A46''' | J15 | Warwick '''A429'''
Stratford, Coventry '''A46''' |- align="center" | Henley '''A3400''' | J16 | ''No exit'' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | rowspan="2"| M42 J3A | THE NORTH Birmingham (North & East)
Solihull, NEC, Birmingham International Airport '''M42''' |- align="center" | ''Start of Motorway'' | ''Road continues as '''M42''' to The SOUTH WEST,
Birmingham (South & West), Redditch & '''M5''''' |} :''Note: The M40 runs south-east/north-west between Junctions 16 and 8'' ==Trivia== * The M40 features in the film ''Thunderbird_6'', where it doubles for the fictional M104 motorway. The M40 had not been opened to traffic at the time. * The M40 features in the opening titles of ''The_Vicar_of_Dibley''. The titles show a bird's eye view of the Stokenchurch_Gap affording a fine view of the Oxfordshire countryside. * Travelling eastbound as you approach London and on the left hand side, a long concrete wall bordering a forest area. For many months, this was daubed with the words "why do I do this every day?", but was recently changed to "Why do I still do this every day?". The author of this "work" is not known but it was likely a message to the thousands of commuters that drive by every weekday morning. The graffito has been mentioned on the BBC motoring programme, ''Top_Gear''. * In 2005 The Stokenchurch Gap featured in the BBC's ''Seven Natural Wonders of The South'', presented by Aubrey_Manning. * The fact that the M40 leads from London to Oxford and the M4 from London passes south of Oxford at junction 13 led to a famous sketch in one episode of the BBC's sitcom ''Yes_Minister''. Jim_Hacker, a Government minister and a lead character in the show, pondered why Britain had two fast motorways to the ancient University town of Oxford but not to important Seaports such as Dover and Southampton. Bernard_Woolley, his Principal_Private_Secretary, gave Hacker an insight into the Civil Service by explaining that the motorway network had been approved by Civil_service Permanent Secretaries, all of whom had been educated at Oxford and desired a fast route to excellent evening dinners at their old colleges, upon which the Cabinet put their foot down and demanded in return the M1 motorway to take Cabinet Ministers hunting in the Shires. When Hacker observes that the M11 to Cambridge had only just been completed (the episode was first screened in 1981), Woolley is forced to explain that although Cambridge colleges may give a very good dinner, "it's years since the Department_of_Transport had a Permanent Secretary from Cambridge". == See also == *List_of_motorways_in_the_United_Kingdom ==External links== *Seven Natural Wonders of the South * CBRD Motorway Database - M40 *Pathetic Motorways - A40(M) High Wycombe bypass *The Motorway Archive **Stokenchurch to Waterstock **In Buckinghamshire **Waterstock to Umberslade {{Template:UK motorways}} 4-0040 4-0040 4-0040 4-0040 De:Motorway_M40 No:M40_(motorvei) Sv:M40_(motorväg,_Storbritannien)
Uxbridge | destinations= Beaconsfield
High_Wycombe
Oxford
Banbury
Warwick
Royal_Leamington_Spa
Stratford-upon-Avon
Birmingham | end= Earlswood | opening-date= 1967 | completion-date= 1990 | junctions= 1A - 50px
M25_motorway
50px
M42_motorway | euroroute= {{European route number small sign|05}} }} Image:M40_in_Warwickshire.jpg The '''M40 Motorway''' is the second motorway in the English Transport network to connect London to Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European_route_E05. The M40 was constructed in stages with the first section being the Wycombe Bypass from Handycross to Stokenchuch (Junctions 4-5) opening in 1967. In 1969 a temporary junction (Junction 2*) was built at Holtspur just outside of Beaconsfied that carried the motorway to the first section at Handycross (Junction 4). The Beaconsfield bypass (Junction 2) which was part of the motorway was built in 1971 and the Gerrards Cross Bypass (Junctions 1-2) conecting to this was completed in 1973. Junctions 5-8 Pitmore to Chilworth just outside of Oxford were completed in 1974. Construction from Birmingham to Oxford (the "missing link") started in 1988 from the M42 near Longbrige (Junctions 15 - M42) and finishing with construction through Warwickshire and the Cherwell Valley in 1990 linking Junction 15 to Junction 8. The motorway opened for its full length of 89 miles in 1990. The M40 was to be the last major motorway construction in the UK; however, during the final stages of construction the Conservative government of the time announced a major new road building scheme. When the motorway was first opened it carried surprisingly little traffic (compared, for instance, to the M25, which was congested from the start). The reason was said to be the lack of Motorway_service_areas, which kept HGV traffic in particular from using the route, the M1 and M6, or A34, being existing routes to Birmingham. Now that service areas exist, traffic is heavy. The M40 motorway hit the headlines on 18_November 1993. The previous night a minibus, carrying 15 pupils from Hagley R.C High School in Worcestershire back from a concert at the Royal_Albert_Hall in London, crashed on the motorway near Warwick after the teacher driving the minibus allegedly fell asleep at the wheel. Ten pupils and the teacher died at the scene; two more pupils died within the next three days as a result of their injuries. The two pupils who survived went on to make a full recovery from their injuries and were discharged from hospital within a week. The tragedy resulted in seatbelts becoming compulsory equipment on all buses and coaches, although it is still not compulsory for them to be worn. ==Route== {{expandsection}} The M40 begins at the Denham_Roundabout near Uxbridge just east of the M25 and finishes at the M42 near Birmingham. ==Junctions== {| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" bgcolor="0080d0" style="color: white;font-size:120%;" | colspan="3" | '''M40 Motorway''' |- align="center" bgcolor="000000" style="color: white" | Eastbound exits | Junction | Westbound exits |- align="center" | ''Road continues as '''A40''' to London'' | rowspan="2"|J1 | Slough '''A412'''
Uxbridge '''A4020'''
''Non motorway traffic'' |- align="center" | Slough '''A412'''
Uxbridge '''A4020''' | ''Start of Motorway'' |- align="center" | Watford, Rickmansworth, Slough, Heathrow_Airport '''M25''' | J1A | Watford, Rickmansworth, Slough, Heathrow Airport '''M25''' |- align="center" | Beaconsfield, Amersham, Slough '''A355''' | J2 | Beaconsfield, Amersham, Slough '''A355''' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J3 | High_Wycombe (East) '''A40''' |- align="center" | High Wycombe, Marlow, Maidenhead '''A404''' | J4 | High Wycombe, Marlow '''A404''' |- align="center" | High Wycombe (West), Stokenchurch '''A40''' | J5 | Stokenchurch '''A40''' |- align="center" | Watlington, Princes_Risborough '''B4009''' | J6 | Thame, Watlington, Princes Risborough '''B4009''' |- align="center" | ''No Access'' | J7 | Thame, Wallingford, '''A329''' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J8 | Oxford, Cheltenham '''A40''' |- align="center" | Thame, Aylesbury '''A418'''
Oxford ('''A40''')
''Oxford_Services'' | J8A | Thame, Aylesbury '''A418'''
Oxford ('''A40''') ''Oxford Services'' |- align="center" | Bicester, Aylesbury '''A41'''
Oxford, Newbury '''A34''' | J9 | Bicester '''A41'''
Oxford, Newbury '''A34''' |- align="center" | Northampton '''A43'''
'''B430'''
''Cherwell_Valley_services'' | J10 | Northampton '''A43'''
'''B430'''
''Cherwell Valley services'' |- align="center" | Banbury '''A422'''
Daventry '''A361''' | J11 | Banbury '''A422'''
Chipping Norton '''A361''' |- align="center" | Gaydon '''B4451''' | J12 | Gaydon '''B4451''' |- align="center" | colspan=3 | ''Warwick_Services'' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | J13 | Leamington, Warwick '''A452'''
'''B4100''' |- align="center" | Leamington '''A452''' | J14 | ''No Access'' |- align="center" | Warwick '''A429'''
Stratford, Coventry '''A46''' | J15 | Warwick '''A429'''
Stratford, Coventry '''A46''' |- align="center" | Henley '''A3400''' | J16 | ''No exit'' |- align="center" | ''No exit'' | rowspan="2"| M42 J3A | THE NORTH Birmingham (North & East)
Solihull, NEC, Birmingham International Airport '''M42''' |- align="center" | ''Start of Motorway'' | ''Road continues as '''M42''' to The SOUTH WEST,
Birmingham (South & West), Redditch & '''M5''''' |} :''Note: The M40 runs south-east/north-west between Junctions 16 and 8'' ==Trivia== * The M40 features in the film ''Thunderbird_6'', where it doubles for the fictional M104 motorway. The M40 had not been opened to traffic at the time. * The M40 features in the opening titles of ''The_Vicar_of_Dibley''. The titles show a bird's eye view of the Stokenchurch_Gap affording a fine view of the Oxfordshire countryside. * Travelling eastbound as you approach London and on the left hand side, a long concrete wall bordering a forest area. For many months, this was daubed with the words "why do I do this every day?", but was recently changed to "Why do I still do this every day?". The author of this "work" is not known but it was likely a message to the thousands of commuters that drive by every weekday morning. The graffito has been mentioned on the BBC motoring programme, ''Top_Gear''. * In 2005 The Stokenchurch Gap featured in the BBC's ''Seven Natural Wonders of The South'', presented by Aubrey_Manning. * The fact that the M40 leads from London to Oxford and the M4 from London passes south of Oxford at junction 13 led to a famous sketch in one episode of the BBC's sitcom ''Yes_Minister''. Jim_Hacker, a Government minister and a lead character in the show, pondered why Britain had two fast motorways to the ancient University town of Oxford but not to important Seaports such as Dover and Southampton. Bernard_Woolley, his Principal_Private_Secretary, gave Hacker an insight into the Civil Service by explaining that the motorway network had been approved by Civil_service Permanent Secretaries, all of whom had been educated at Oxford and desired a fast route to excellent evening dinners at their old colleges, upon which the Cabinet put their foot down and demanded in return the M1 motorway to take Cabinet Ministers hunting in the Shires. When Hacker observes that the M11 to Cambridge had only just been completed (the episode was first screened in 1981), Woolley is forced to explain that although Cambridge colleges may give a very good dinner, "it's years since the Department_of_Transport had a Permanent Secretary from Cambridge". == See also == *List_of_motorways_in_the_United_Kingdom ==External links== *Seven Natural Wonders of the South * CBRD Motorway Database - M40 *Pathetic Motorways - A40(M) High Wycombe bypass *The Motorway Archive **Stokenchurch to Waterstock **In Buckinghamshire **Waterstock to Umberslade {{Template:UK motorways}} 4-0040 4-0040 4-0040 4-0040 De:Motorway_M40 No:M40_(motorvei) Sv:M40_(motorväg,_Storbritannien)