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Content:
Secret Exits
MSO Home - Misc MSAs - Secret Exits
When building a motorway service area, one of the things which should be considered is whether or not new journeys will be generated. In other words, will people be using the motorway primarily to get to the services?
To try and stop this happening, motorway services which are far from a local junction can have 'secret exits' built. This is where there are sliproads from the services to a local road which do not appear on a map or road signs. They are used to prevent staff, deliveries and the emergency services from having to loop round on the motorway (which would take longer and cause congestion) to get to the services, and so that staff can walk or cycle to the services.
This has actually opened a new gateway of problems; the general public using them to get to the local road network or to get off the motorway if it is congested. Two famous examples of this are at Keele (university students found out about the exit and were queueing through the services to get to the local road) and Northampton, where so many people were trying to get to the A43 that the Highways Agency rebuilt the services to allow such movements. Despite this, be aware, as they are strictly for authorised access only, and have CCTV cameras, rising bollards, barriers and all sorts. From now on, new services have to have the rear access (if it's deemed to be necessary at all) separated from the main car park and access roads, to try and prevent problems like these from arising again.
Anyway, more to the point, I spent a very long Friday evening on MultiMap
and produced this list. If I have missed anything out, let me know!
Services which don't have a rear exit have been omitted from the list.
M1:
London Gateway - Ellesmere Avenue
Toddington - B530
Newport Pagnell - Little Linford Lane
Watford Gap - Station Road
Leicester Forest East - Chapel Green (northbound), Baines Lane (southbound), both leading to Hinckley Road
Trowell - Waterloo Lane
Tibshelf - Sawpit Lane
Woodall - Rotherham Road
Woolley Edge - Bramley Lane
M2:
Medway - Meresborough Road
M3:
Fleet - Pale Lane
Winchester - unnamed
M4:
Heston - Phoenix Way
Membury - unnamed
Reading - Burghfield Road
Leigh Delamere - unnamed
M5:
Strensham - Hill View Road
Michaelwood - Mule Street
Sedgemoor North - Strowland Lane
Sedgemoor South - Mendip Road
Taunton Deane - unnamed
M6:
Corley - Highfield Lane
Hilton Park - Hilton Lane
Stafford North - Eccleshall Road
Keele - Three Mile Lane
Sandbach - unnamed
Knutsford - Northwich Road
Charnock Richard - Mill Lane
Lancaster - unnamed
Burton-in-Kendal - Tarn Lane
Killington Lake - Fairthorns Road
Tebay - unnamed
Southwaite - unnamed
M6 Toll:
Norton Canes - Betty's Lane
M8:
Heart of Scotland - Westcraigs Road
M25:
Clacket Lane - Clacket Lane
M27:
Rownhams - Rownhams Lane
M40:
Warwick - Fosse Way
M48:
Severm View - Sandy Lane
M42:
Tamworth - Green Lane
M61:
Bolton West - Anderton Lane
M62:
Burtonwood - Burtonwood Road (M62 J8)
Birch - Whittle Lane
Hartshead Moor - Highmoor Lane
Ferrybridge - Cattlelaith Lane
M74:
Bothwell - Fallside Road
Hamilton - Burgoyne Drive
Happendon - B7078
A1(M):
Washington - Birtley Lane
With thanks to 'davehammer' and SABRE's coasterjunkie for making corrections to this page.