The first section of the motorway opened between junction 5 (Watford) and junction 18 (Crick/Rugby) on 2 November 1959 together with the motorway's two spurs, the M10 (from junction 7 to south of St Albans originally connecting to the A1) and the M45 (from junction 17 to the A45 and Coventry). Parts of the Hertfordshire section were built using steam rollers Read more
The M1 is a north-south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the Preston Bypass, which later became part of the M6. Read more