M42 is ranked England’s worst motorway thanks to ‘potholes and delays’

Drivers have rated the M42 as England’s worst motorway thanks to it having reduced speed limits “for no apparent reason” and the combination of “roadworks, potholes and delays”. The 40-mile-long motorway, which connects Birmingham with locations including Nottingham, Solihull, Tamworth and Redditch, was ranked last in a survey of more than 9,166 road users conducted by watchdog Transport Focus. The poll was carried out in the year to the end of March, coinciding with major roadworks on the M42 around Birmingham Airport.

One respondent criticised the M42’s “roadworks, potholes and delays”, describing the motorway as a “terrible road to drive on”. Another said variable speed limits “do not always reflect the traffic conditions”, complaining that they were “directed to reduce speed for no apparent reason”. Road users awarded the M42 an overall satisfaction score of 56%.

At the other end of the scale, England’s most popular motorway was identified as the M40, which runs between London and Birmingham, earning a score of 79%. One person surveyed said it is “one of the few motorways that has few delays when I travel on it”. The A19, which connects Seaton Burn, near Newcastle, with Doncaster, was rated the best A road in the country (85%), while the A12, which runs between London and Lowestoft, Suffolk was ranked last (55%).

Government-owned company National Highways is responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads. Transport Focus chief executive Alex Robertson said: “Drivers tell us that the maintenance of motorways and major roads – how most of us get around the country – is more important to them than building new roads. “With road user perceptions of road surface quality deteriorating since 2022 – and declining satisfaction with journey times – National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.

“We’re committed to working with the Government and National Highways to help them to deliver on road users’ top priorities: improved journey times and satisfaction with surface quality.” The overall satisfaction score for respondents’ last journeys on motorways or major A roads declined from 73% in 2022/23 to 71% in 2023/24. Satisfaction with journey times has fallen from 71% to 68%.

Department for Transport figures published last week showed delays on National Highways’ roads have reached record levels. Average hold-ups were 11.0 seconds per vehicle per mile (spvpm) in the year to the end of June, which was the longest time in records dating back to March 2016, when the figure was 8.6spvpm. Transport Focus noted that traffic levels on motorways and major A roads rose by 2.3% from 2022 to 2023, but remained 1.0% below pre-coronavirus levels.

It also said roadworks relating to the ongoing programme of retrofitting 150 additional emergency stopping areas on smart motorways is “a further challenge”. The watchdog’s research suggested satisfaction with road surface quality has dropped from 73% to 68%. Just 49% of respondents said they were satisfied with the management of roadworks, which is similar to last year.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “Maintaining and investing in our roads is a priority and our most recent assessment shows that over 96% of them are in good condition. “We have a robust programme of improvements which will provide long term benefits for motorists, including shorter and more reliable journeys.” – Here are the top five ranked motorways (overall satisfaction score in brackets):1.

M40 (79%)2. M4 (78%)3. M5 (77%)4.

M56 (73%)5. M3 (73%) – Here are the bottom five ranked motorways (overall satisfaction score in brackets):1.

M42 (56%)2. M62 (60%)3. M25 (67%)4.

M11 (68%)5.

M1 (69%)