M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is the second motorway in the British transport network to connect London to Birmingham. The first part of the motorway was built in the 1960s and connected London to Oxford. It was not until 1990 that the second section, linking Oxford to Birmingham, was constructed.
Route of the M40
The M40 begins near Uxbridge just inside the M25 and finishes at the M42 near Birmingham.
Junctions are as follows
An anecdote
The fact that the M40 led from London to Oxford and the M11 from London to Cambridge led to a famous sketch in one episode of the BBC's sitcom Yes, Minister. Jim Hacker, a Government minister and a lead character in the show, pondered why Britain had fast motorways to these ancient university towns but not to important seaports such as Dover and Felixstowe. Sir Humphrey Appleby, his Permanent Private Secretary, explained that the motorway network had been designed by civil servants, all of whom had been educated at one university or the other.
See also
