A404(M) motorway
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:UK motorway routebox The A404(M) motorway in England is the Maidenhead West Bypass, linking the M4 with the A404 dual carriageway to High Wycombe, Marlow and the M40. It was once known as the A423(M).
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Route of the A404(M)
The A404(M) leaves the M4 at Junction 8/9, and heads north, passing Maidenhead and forming the town's western bypass before terminating at a junction with the A4 at Woolley Green, just outside Maidenhead. The road becomes the A404 which continues north towards Marlow and the M40.
List of Junctions
| A404(M) Motorway | ||
| Northbound exits | Junction | Southbound exits |
| Start of Motorway | Road meets A308(M) and M4 | |
| n/a | (M4) 8/9 | Maidenhead (Central) A308(M) London, Reading, The WEST M4 |
| Cox Green, White Waltham | 9A | Cox Green, White Waltham |
| Reading, Maidenhead A4 | 9B | Reading, Maidenhead A4 |
| Road continues as A404 to Marlow | Start of Motorway | |
History
The history of the road dates back to the early 1960s. The A4(M) Maidenhead Bypass ended at what is now junction 9b of the A404(M). It was renumbered M4 when the Slough bypass was built, junction 8 being with the A308 and junction 9 at the end, with the A4.
The proposed route of the M4 was then changed to go south of Reading, instead of north of it. A new junction was built near junction 8, and left as a spur. Another spur was added from the new junction to the A308. Old junction 8 was too close to this new junction, so it was closed. As the route had been moved, it was thought best that this junction should remain junction 8, and also so as not to confuse people junction 9 was moved to this junction as well and replaced with junction 9a. The old M4 was renumbered A423(M) as it was a direct continuation of the A423 to Oxford, and the new spur was numbered A308(M).
Over time the A423 was superseded and renumbered by the M40 and the A404 was made dual carriageway, with a new rerouting. Since it was going to lose its A423 status, the road became A404(M) and a new junction was added (called 9a with the old 9a now being 9b!) in the 1990s.