M180 motorway
Encyclopedia
The M180 motorway is a short but major (25 miles (40.2 km)) motorway in England from junction 5 on the M18 motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
to a point close to Humberside Airport
some 5 miles (8 km) from the ports of Immingham
and Grimsby
and the east coast and provides access for major routes to Cleethorpes
, Grimsby
, Hull
(via the Humber Bridge
), Immingham
, Lincoln
, Scunthorpe
and also provides major access for Humberside Airport
and the Killingholme Oil Refineries
. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute
E22
and is the main route along the south bank of the Humber Estuary. It is an unusual motorway as it is the longest motorway within the United Kingdom
as well as being one of only two major motorways (the other being the M621
) to carry a three digit number as all other motorways that carry three digit numbers are short spurs that lead off other major motorways that only tend at most to be a couple of miles long.
gave it more importance, and was built three years later in 1977 as the second section of the motorway. At this time the A15 ran through Hibaldstow and Redbourne to Brigg, and the junction with the motorway was at Castlethorpe Corner, about 1 miles (1.6 km) east of the current A15 junction on the line of the Roman Ermine Street
. The initial, and somewhat diminutive section of the motorway was the short-lived A18(M) also known as the Tudworth Link, which connected the roundabout junction with the M18 to the A18/A614
. The easterly A18(M) sliproad is still used, though the original roundabout at junction 1 has now been replaced by a bridge close to Tudworth Hall Farm. The last section to be built was the Trent
viaduct, opened in October 1979 by Kenneth Clarke
, despite being 43 weeks late on account of strikes and bad weather.
The motorway is built to dual three-lane standard for most of its duration (aside from a short dual two-lane section past Scunthorpe
), and is quite straight and flat.
The M180 has its own spur - the M181
. It is somewhat strange that while the M180 has to make do with a roundabout
junction with the M18, its spur has a large, freeflowing trumpet interchange. At the start of the M180 are the Doncaster North services
, owned by Moto
.Doncaster North
and Cleethorpes
. In its early planning stages, it was to be named the A18.
The £18 million 6 miles (9.7 km) section from Brigg to Ulceby
(A160) was opened on 29 March 1983 by Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, and the £21 million 7 miles (11.3 km) section from Ulceby to Grimsby opened in late 1983. the road surface of this section is particularly noisy.
The lack of observable landscape features, the flat and straight dimensions of the road, and the hypnotic
effect of the concrete surface have helped to make it difficult for some drivers to stay awake whilst at the wheel when tired, or have had not enough sleep. Many of the fatalities on the road have been attributed to drivers being asleep at the wheel.
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster
The Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster is a metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber Region of England.In addition to the town of Doncaster, the borough covers Mexborough, Conisbrough, Thorne and Finningley....
to a point close to Humberside Airport
Humberside Airport
-Cargo flights:Icelandair Cargo operate a weekly Sunday flight from Keflavík which then departs to Liege-Passenger statistics:-Bus service:An hourly daytime bus service runs from Grimsby and Hull to the airport from Monday to Saturday.-External links:**...
some 5 miles (8 km) from the ports of Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
and Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and the east coast and provides access for major routes to Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
, Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
(via the Humber Bridge
Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world...
), Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
, Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
and also provides major access for Humberside Airport
Humberside Airport
-Cargo flights:Icelandair Cargo operate a weekly Sunday flight from Keflavík which then departs to Liege-Passenger statistics:-Bus service:An hourly daytime bus service runs from Grimsby and Hull to the airport from Monday to Saturday.-External links:**...
and the Killingholme Oil Refineries
Killingholme
Killingholme is an area of Lincolnshire, comprising the villages of North Killingholme and South Killingholme. It is the site of two oil refineries, the Humber Refinery and Lindsey Oil Refinery, and an liquid petroleum gas storage facility .It is also a fast expanding port, handling RORO ferries...
. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute
International E-road network
The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . The network is numbered from E 1 up and its roads cross national borders...
E22
European route E22
The European route E 22 is one of the longest European routes. It has a length of about . Many of the E-roads have been extended into Asia since the year 2000; the E 22 was extended on 24 June 2002.-United Kingdom:...
and is the main route along the south bank of the Humber Estuary. It is an unusual motorway as it is the longest motorway within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as well as being one of only two major motorways (the other being the M621
M621 motorway
The M621 motorway is a short loop of motorway in England that takes traffic into central Leeds between the M1 and M62 motorways. It is the second longest motorway in the United Kingdom to carry a three digit number although it carries more junctions than any other three digit motorway within the...
) to carry a three digit number as all other motorways that carry three digit numbers are short spurs that lead off other major motorways that only tend at most to be a couple of miles long.
Planning and construction
The motorway bypass around Brigg was discussed for many years, but the Flixborough explosionFlixborough disaster
The Flixborough disaster was an explosion at a chemical plant close to the village of Flixborough, England, on 1 June 1974. It killed 28 people and seriously injured 36.-Background:...
gave it more importance, and was built three years later in 1977 as the second section of the motorway. At this time the A15 ran through Hibaldstow and Redbourne to Brigg, and the junction with the motorway was at Castlethorpe Corner, about 1 miles (1.6 km) east of the current A15 junction on the line of the Roman Ermine Street
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is the name of a major Roman road in England that ran from London to Lincoln and York . The Old English name was 'Earninga Straete' , named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire and Royston,...
. The initial, and somewhat diminutive section of the motorway was the short-lived A18(M) also known as the Tudworth Link, which connected the roundabout junction with the M18 to the A18/A614
A614 road
The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but...
. The easterly A18(M) sliproad is still used, though the original roundabout at junction 1 has now been replaced by a bridge close to Tudworth Hall Farm. The last section to be built was the Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
viaduct, opened in October 1979 by Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
, despite being 43 weeks late on account of strikes and bad weather.
The motorway is built to dual three-lane standard for most of its duration (aside from a short dual two-lane section past Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
), and is quite straight and flat.
The M180 has its own spur - the M181
M181 motorway
The M181 motorway links the town of Scunthorpe, England, to the M180 motorway. A spur of the M180, the road is virtually straight through its entire length...
. It is somewhat strange that while the M180 has to make do with a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
junction with the M18, its spur has a large, freeflowing trumpet interchange. At the start of the M180 are the Doncaster North services
Doncaster North services
Doncaster North services is a motorway service station located at junction 5 of the M18 motorway near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England.-Overview:Doncaster North services is operated by the Moto chain of service stations...
, owned by Moto
Moto Hospitality
Moto Hospitality is a company which operates 58 motorway service stations across the UK.Moto is owned by a consortium of shareholders including Australian Pension Funds and European and New Zealand Infrastructure Funds and is asset managed by Macquarie Investment Bank...
.Doncaster North
A180 extension
It was extended in the 1980s to trunk-road standard as the A180 which is a two lane dual carriageway which continues on to GrimsbyGrimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
. In its early planning stages, it was to be named the A18.
The £18 million 6 miles (9.7 km) section from Brigg to Ulceby
Ulceby, North Lincolnshire
Ulceby is a village, civil parish and Post town of North Lincolnshire in EnglandUlceby is situated on the eastern side of North Lincolnshire roughly equidistant to Grimsby and Scunthorpe. Ulceby is a rural village surrounded by fields, forests, farms and nearby villages such as Kirmington, Wootton...
(A160) was opened on 29 March 1983 by Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, and the £21 million 7 miles (11.3 km) section from Ulceby to Grimsby opened in late 1983. the road surface of this section is particularly noisy.
The lack of observable landscape features, the flat and straight dimensions of the road, and the hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
effect of the concrete surface have helped to make it difficult for some drivers to stay awake whilst at the wheel when tired, or have had not enough sleep. Many of the fatalities on the road have been attributed to drivers being asleep at the wheel.
Junctions
| M180 Motorway Junctions | |||
| Westbound exits | Junction | Eastbound exits | Coordinates |
| Doncaster Doncaster Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"... , Sheffield Sheffield Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely... M18 |
M18, J5 Doncaster North services Doncaster North services Doncaster North services is a motorway service station located at junction 5 of the M18 motorway near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England.-Overview:Doncaster North services is operated by the Moto chain of service stations... |
Start of Motorway | 53.59200°N 0.98336°W |
| No access | J1 | Thorne A18 Hatfield A614 A614 road The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but... |
53.59189°N 0.97006°W |
| Goole Goole Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England... , Epworth, Crowle A161 |
J2 | Epworth, Crowle A161 | 53.56932°N 0.81822°W |
| Scunthorpe Scunthorpe Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,... (West) M181 M181 motorway The M181 motorway links the town of Scunthorpe, England, to the M180 motorway. A spur of the M180, the road is virtually straight through its entire length... |
J3 | Scunthorpe Scunthorpe Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,... (West) M181 |
53.55678°N 0.71257°W |
| Lincoln A15 Scunthorpe (East) A18 |
J4 | Lincoln A15 Scunthorpe (East), Brigg Brigg Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire... A18 |
53.54429°N 0.55799°W |
| Start of Motorway | J5 | Humber Bridge Humber Bridge The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world... , Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... A15 |
53.58389°N 0.42272°W |
| Humber Bridge, Hull A15 Non-motorway traffic |
Road continues as A180 to Grimsby Grimsby Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996... and Cleethorpes Cleethorpes Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :... |
||
Famous Patrons of the M180
- Gary Hart - Fell asleep on the M62M62 motorwayThe M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
after driving the entire length of the M180, causing the Selby rail crashSelby rail crashThe Great Heck rail crash, widely known as the Selby rail crash, was a high-speed train accident that occurred at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, England on the morning of 28 February 2001...
, and killing ten people. - Gaizka MendietaGaizka MendietaGaizka Mendieta Zabala is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder.Versatile, with good offensive and tackling skills, also being capable of creating goals for teammates and himself, he played mainly for Valencia CF, and finished his career at Middlesbrough of England.He played 40...
- was fined for speeding on this motorway after playing in Scunthorpe United player Alex Calvo-Garcia's testimonial matchTestimonial matchA testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....