M42 motorway

The M42 is a motorway in the Midlands of England. It runs from the M5 motorway at Bromsgrove, Worcestershire to Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, from which is continues as the all-purpose A42 to the M1, near East Midlands Airport.

Constructed between 1976 and 1989, the motorway is 40 miles long (with the combined length of it and the A42 being 55 miles) and, linking the M1 and M5 motorways, it forms part of the link between the North and East Midlands of England and the West Country. In Warwickshire, the M42 forms a box around the Birmingham built-up area, running to the east of the city, and includes a multiplex with the M6 Toll (which was opened in 2003). The M42 serves Birmingham Airport. The northern terminus of the M40, which links Birmingham to the London built-up area, is also on the M42.