M5 Gloucestershire - Mystery Access
Discussion
2 miles north of junction 11 (just north of the B4634 bridge), there are four short slip roads. They have the appearance of an original plan for a junction (or a services complex) that was subsequently abandoned. I presume they have been there since that section of the M5 was first built (probably late 1960s).
Do any of you know what the construction was intended for?
One guess is access to a northern bypass for Cheltenham, but even today, a bypass would only be justified for the 'rush hours' ?
Secret access to GCHQ for 007 maybe ?
Perhaps a mystery that has been long forgotten.
SABRE said:
Staverton services is an unbuilt motorway service area on the M5 in Gloucestershire, between junctions 10 and 11.
Although the services were never completed, short stubs of slip roads are visible at the location.
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Staverton_servicesAlthough the services were never completed, short stubs of slip roads are visible at the location.
Mammasaid said:
SABRE said:
Staverton services is an unbuilt motorway service area on the M5 in Gloucestershire, between junctions 10 and 11.
Although the services were never completed, short stubs of slip roads are visible at the location.
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Staverton_servicesAlthough the services were never completed, short stubs of slip roads are visible at the location.
Thank you Mammasaid.
Mystery solved.
Seems strange that services were even considered necessary for that location, because not far away (about 10 minutes drive) Strensham Services was already open, prior to that Staverton section of the M5 even being built. Perhaps they only realised that, after starting to build the slip road stubs. The M5 originally only went south as far as Strensham, then turned west as the M50. That route was probably given priority, because so many lorries were transporting steel from South Wales to the Midlands car manufacturers at the time.
Jon39 said:
One guess is access to a northern bypass for Cheltenham, but even today, a bypass would only be justified for the 'rush hours' ?
Secret access to GCHQ for 007 maybe ?
agent006 said:
They're only just getting to the point of making J10 have both north and southbound access. There are also plans for a link road from GCHQ to J10 to try and alleviate the dreadful gridlock it causes around J11
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