Special road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A special road is a road or highway (these terms have different meaning in different jurisdictions in the UK) in the United Kingdom reserved for use by special classes of traffic; such roads include but are not limited to motorways. For a road to be designated a special road, the status must in England and Wales be provided by a scheme under the Highways Act 1980; in Scotland special roads are provided for in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984; in Northern Ireland, legislation commenced with the Special Roads Act (Northern Ireland) 1963 (c. 12 (N.I.)).
The first special road
The passing of the Special Roads Act 1949 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 32) through Parliament allowed authorities in Great Britain to construct roads that were not automatically rights of way for certain types of user. Existing roads were mostly rights of way for all road users, including pedestrians, so it was not possible to build roads designated only for motorised traffic. The act therefore allowed the construction of motorways.
The Special Roads Act 1949 was in England and Wales partly repealed by the Highways Act 1959 (7 & 8 Eliz. 2. c. 25).
The Special Roads Act 1949 was first used in the late-1950s to designate the Preston By-pass in Preston, Lancashire, now largely part of the M6 motorway, as a special road.
