The M69 is a dual three-lane dual carriageway

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England. It runs between junction 21 of the M1 near

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and junction 2 of the M6 near

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. It opened in 1977.

History

The motorway, also known at the time as the 'Coventry – Leicester Motorway' was completed in 1977 following a public inquiry in 1972.The Motorway Archive – M69
It took traffic from the A46, which was subsequently downgraded.

Route

Starting at the north-eastern

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Coventry at junction 2 of the M6, the motorway crosses the

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...

and then continues north-east past Bulkington and west of Wolvey before turning more easterly to run south of

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

(junction 2, known locally as 'Reacharound Island' because of the limited slip roads). It then crosses the Birmingham to Peterborough railway line terminating in the vicinity of suburban Enderby and Braunstone to the south-west of Leicester junction 3, where it meets the M1 with continuation along the A5460/A563 towards Leicester. The M69 has no

motorway service area Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...

given that this function is fulfilled at present by Leicester Forest East services and Corley services in close proximity to the start and end points of this relatively short motorway.

Proposed developments

There is an aspiration to construct a new slip road and road bridge for traffic travelling southbound on the M1 to join the M69. Plans for a service station were announced in November 2023, to be located at junction one at the Stretton Baskerville roundabout. Welcome Break's application will be the first service station for the route. The route has been without services for over 50 years and currently has a 26-mile unserviced stretch, which exceeds the government's maximum recommendation of 14 miles between heavy goods vehicle stations.Bid to build new motorway service station in Leicestershire would be first for M69 after almost 50 years
''Leicester Mercury'' (11 November 2023). Retrieved 14 November 2023.

Junctions

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, 0 , 0 , bgcolor="#ddffdd" , M6 J2 , bgcolor="#ddffdd" , –

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

–

, bgcolor="#ddffdd" , road continues south as A46 , - , rowspan="2" , — , 6.2 , 10.0 , 1 , – Tamworth, Rugby
B4109 –

, , - , rowspan="2" ,

, 8.9 , 14.3 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , 2 , bgcolor="ffdddd" , B4669 –

, Sapcote , bgcolor="ffdddd" , No Northbound entrance or Southbound exit , - ,

, 15.7 , 25.3 , M1 J21 , –

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

–

, ;Coordinate list

References

External links