With the main emphasis of the Department of Transport's road programme now turning to the widening of existing roads, the M40 extension between Oxford and Birmingham has been seen as the last link in the strategic network of motorways begun in 1959.
The challenge of such a long greenfield route was to prepare a design which respected the sensitive environment of the corridor and kept intrusion to nearby villages to a minimum. A thorough assessment of the scheme's impact, covering aspects such as landscape, nature conservation and noise led to the optimization of the design in environmental terms and to extensive proposals in mitigation.
Now that the motorway is open to traffic, the Paper looks in detail at how it fits into its environment and how the planting proposals and new habitats for conservation are taking shape. Illustrations are provided of how the landscape measures are taking effect and of how the motorway fits into its setting.
A particularly sensitive issue for local residents is traffic noise. Detailed calculations of noise levels were presented at public inquiries into the scheme and these are discussed in relation to people's perception of the noise problem and to the actual levels from traffic now using the motorway.
