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Factfile - Images - Timeline - Exit List
The M180 runs south of the Humber, connecting the wider world (via the M18) to Scunthorpe, the Humber Bridge and beyond. It is most famous for being very lightly used - most of the route is three lanes wide, when the need for two is, in places, debatable. It would be nice if that third lane could be picked up and moved to somewhere more in need of it.
It was built to relieve the A18 and to service the expanding ports and industrial estates in this part of the world. Into the bargain it provides a good route to the large towns in the area from Doncaster to Grimsby. It is certainly a good thing to be able to pass all those HGVs on their way to the docks and factories. Even so, it doesn't do its job very well, as it gives up at Elsham. The road on from there is the A180 - and is virtually indistinguishable from its motorway counterpart. The end of the motorway in this arbitrary location is inexplicable, though unfortunately no more unusual than, say, the M27 giving up at Portsmouth or the M62 at North Cave.
The M180 is let down slightly by its number - all the other three-digit routes are short-distance spurs (see its little brother the M181). This is arguably an important strategic route and, despite its emptiness, is more important than a lot of motorways with more important sounding numbers (M10 and M50 are, among others, guilty here).
That this route was built while much more important roads remain unbuilt to this day can be put down to the fact that this is a very flat area. Land here costs next to nothing and plonking down 26 miles of new motorway - especially at 1970s prices - was instant value for very little money.
Factfile
| Start | Thorne (M18) |
| Finish | Elsham (A180) |
| Passes | Scunthorpe |
| Length | 26 miles |
| Terminates | A15 |
| Spurs | M181 |
| Meets | None |
Images
Views of the M180 from on and off the road. If you have a photo to contribute, contact me.
The M180 is very dull. This picture goes some small way towards demonstrating how tedious the section west of Scunthorpe is.
Photo by Steven Jukes
Here on the Scunthorpe Bypass section, the road is still extremely dull, but now has only two lanes.
Photo by Steven Jukes
After Scunthorpe, the road has three lanes again, and is exciting by comparison to the previous sections because there's some woodland around it.
Photo by Steven Jukes
Construction Timeline
When the various parts of the M180 were built, listed in chronological order.
| Open | Jct | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | J4-5 | Brigg Bypass |
| 1978 | J1-2 | Thorne - Sandtoft |
| 1978 | J2-3 | Sandtoft - Scunthorpe Bypass |
| 1978 | J3-4 | Scunthorpe Bypass |
Exit List
All the junctions and destinations along the route.
| Junction | Westbound | Eastbound | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (M18 J5) | Doncaster Sheffield M18  (M1 , A1(M) ) |
M18 |
WEST |
M18 |
N/A    |
|||||
| Goole Leeds Manchester M18 (M62 )   |
||||||||||
7 miles, 3 lanes  |
 1 mile, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 1 | A18 (A614) |
 |
A614 A18 |
Thorne Hatfield A18 (A614)  |
||||||
| 6 miles, 3 lanes |
||||||||||
| 2 | Goole Epworth Crowle A161   |
A161 |  |
A161 | Epworth Crowle A161 |
|||||
| 5 miles, 3 lanes |
5 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 3 | Scunthorpe (W) M181  |
 |
M181 |
Scunthorpe M181  |
||||||
| 7 miles, 2 lanes |
7 miles, 2 lanes |
|||||||||
| 4 | Lincoln A15 Scunthorpe (A18) |
A15 |   |
A15 (A18) |
Lincoln A15 Scunthorpe (E) Brigg (A18)  |
|||||
| 7 miles, 3 lanes |
7 miles, 3 lanes |
|||||||||
| 5 | N/A |
A15 (A18) |
 A180 EAST |
A15 |
Barton Humber Bridge Hull A15 |
|||||
Humberside  (A18) |
||||||||||
| Grimsby Cleethorpes Immingham A180  |
