Road to Nowhere: Explore the UK's Abandoned Roads

Vertu logo
VertuVertu Motors PLC
Vertu Motors logo in white on a black background
Vertu Motors logo in white on a black background

Bristol Street Motors has mapped out 12.9 miles of abandoned roads throughout the UK, including 12 in England, five in Scotland, two in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. At £12.1m per mile, the roads represent a total outlay of £156.12m if they were built today.

Once thriving highways, the roads now lay dormant and are slowly being reclaimed by nature. Below are the 10 longest and most expensive abandoned roads that we found. But you can also visit our interactive map to discover even more.

A83

A split image showing information about the abandoned A83 road in Glen Kinglass, Scotland, which was abandoned in 1979. The road cost £30.22 million and is 2.42 miles long. The left side includes a map showing the road's location and a yellow line marking the route. The right side shows a photograph of the rough, overgrown, and damaged surface of the abandoned road with telephone poles alongside and distant hills under a clear sky. Keywords are used cars and new cars for SEO purposes.

Located in county Argyll, a stretch of old road running adjacent to the current A83 is the longest and most expensive abandoned road on our list.

A830

Photo of the abandoned A830 road in Druimindarroch, Scotland, showing a narrow, worn asphalt road curving around bare trees under a clear sky. Accompanying infographic details: A830, Year abandoned 2009, Location Druimindarroch Scotland, Cost £23.61 million, Length 1.95 miles, with a satellite image of the road's path. Keywords related to used cars and new cars do not appear relevant to this image.

Abandoned in 2009, this 1.95 mile long and winding road moves through the Scottish Highlands, passing Loch Dubh.

A82

Information panel and aerial view of abandoned A82 road in Glen Coe, Scotland, abandoned in 1931/32, costing £15.64 million and spanning 1.29 miles. The image shows a winding road through mountainous terrain, with detailed text about the location and historical context. Optimised for keywords used cars, new cars.

Coming in at 15.64m, this abandoned road was replaced by the modern S2 route way back in the 1930's.

A3

A3 abandoned road in Hindhead, England, covered with grass and surrounded by dense trees, with an information panel stating it was abandoned in 2011. The panel lists the cost as £14.36 million and length as 1.19 miles, along with a small map showing the road's location. Keywords include used cars and new cars for SEO.

Now beginning to be reclaimed by nature, the road was abandoned in 2011 when the new Hindhead Tunnel was built to replace it.

A894

Informational graphic and photograph of the abandoned A894 road at Duartmore Bridge, Scotland. The graphic shows details including the road number A894, year abandoned 1979, the location at Duartmore Bridge in Scotland, cost of £15.64 million, and length of 1.18 miles with an overhead map view of the route. The accompanying photo shows a stone bridge arching over a water stream with natural grass and hills in the background. Keywords for used cars and new cars are not directly related to this image but appear as requested.

The old Duartmore Bridge was abandoned when the new bridge was built in 1979, which spans a much wider channel for cars to pass each other.

A33

Left side shows a muddy, abandoned rural road with tire tracks and trees in the background. Right side displays an infographic about the A33 road near Winchester, England, abandoned in 1994. The infographic includes a location pin, cost £10.53 million, length 0.87 miles, and a small aerial map highlighting the road's path. Keywords used cars, new cars not directly related but image context involves road infrastructure.

At the cost of £10.53m if it was built today, the old A33 was abandoned when the M3 was completed through Twyford Down.

A2

Informational graphic about the abandoned A2 road in Gravesend, England, showing it was abandoned in 2009, with a cost of £8.8 million and length of 0.73 miles. The graphic includes a satellite map image with the road route highlighted. Next to the graphic is a photo of a closed section of the road blocked by a gate and traffic cones, with a dirt mound and trees in the background under a partly cloudy sky. Keywords related to used cars and new cars are not depicted in the image.

This road running adjacent to the A2 was abandoned in 2009 when the A2 was rebuilt into a new alignment.

A26 (NI)

Image showing the abandoned A26 road in Northern Ireland near Belfast, with a photo of a closed, overgrown tarmac road under cloudy skies. The accompanying infographic details the A26 (NI) road abandoned in the 1990s, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, costing £6.09 million and stretching 0.5 miles, with an aerial map showing the road's layout. Keywords relevant to used cars and new cars in the context of road infrastructure.

Now boarded up to stop traffic accidently using it, the road running along Belfast International Airport was abandoned when the A26 moved to a new alignment.

A23

Image showing information about the A23 road near Muddleswood, England, abandoned in the 1980s. The sign details include the location in Muddleswood, England, a cost of £4.17 million, and a length of 0.34 miles, with a map highlighting the area. On the right side, a photo of the deserted A23 road surrounded by fields and distant trees under a clear blue sky. Keywords used cars, new cars.

This road used to be part of the A23 before it was realigned to allow traffic to pass villages to the north.

A10

Abandoned A10 road in Puckeridge, England, left unused since the late 1970s. The image shows a narrow, overgrown asphalt road with bushes and trees on both sides. An information card highlights its location, a cost of £3.95 million, and length of 0.33 miles, with an aerial map showing the route. The scene is relevant for topics related to used cars and new cars in the context of old road infrastructure.

Once the Puckeridge bypass was opened in the 1970s, this old road was abandoned. It's still occasionally used for storage of maintenance materials.

How We Worked This Out

To find out the cost of constructing a single road lane, we averaged out the cost per additional lane mile for 8 road projects in the UK since 2017 including:

  • M25 J5-6/7
  • M25 J23-27
  • M1 J39-42
  • M6 J10a-13
  • M1 J28-31
  • M1 J32-35a
  • M3 J2-4a
  • M1 J25-25
    •  

The cost of each project can be found here. The average cost per additional lane mile for those road projects was £6.05m. We then doubled that number to give us the cost of a functioning road with a lane going in each direction - £12.1m per mile. This figure was then used to calculate how much each abandoned road would cost if they were built today.

*Images of the UK's abandoned roads were sourced from SABRE: The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts.

Abandoned Roads From Around The World

It's not only the UK that has its fair share of abandoned roads. Bristol Street Motors has picked out three jaw dropping examples from around the world, coming to a combined cost of approximately £22.04m if they were built in the UK today.

Foreshore Freeway Bridge

Information card about the Foreshore Freeway Bridge in Cape Town, South Africa, abandoned in 1977, valued at £3.71 million if built in the UK, and measuring 0.31 miles, alongside a photo showing the unfinished concrete bridge structure over a road with trees and parked cars beneath green canopies, relevant to used cars and new cars in the area.

Cape Town's Unfinished Bridge is an incomplete section of motorway that looms over the city. Originally it was meant to be part of the Eastern Boulevard Highway, however due to budget constraints at the time, the unfished structure was abandoned in 1977.

Sideling Hill Tunnel

Entrance of the abandoned Sideling Hill Tunnel surrounded by trees with graffiti on the tunnel walls and a bicycle parked nearby. Next to the tunnel image is an information panel about Sideling Hill Tunnel, stating it was abandoned in 1968, located in Centralia, Pennsylvania, US, costing £15.56 million if built in the UK, and measuring 1.29 miles long, with a small aerial map showing the tunnel's location. The image does not feature used cars or new cars.

The Sideling Hill Tunnel was abandoned in 1968 due to a realignment of the surrounding motorways. Users complained that the tunnel caused bottlenecks and slowed down traffic.

Columbus Abandoned Overpass

Information card about an abandoned overpass in Columbus, Ohio, US, abandoned since the 1990s, valued at £2.77 million if built in the UK, spanning 0.29 miles, alongside an aerial photo of the overpass and a street-level photo showing the overpass with city buildings in the background under a partly cloudy sky. Keywords related to used cars and new cars are not visually represented but can be associated with the urban setting.

Sometimes referred to as the Ominous Bridge, this abandoned overpass is located in Columbus, Ohio. According to local reports, this overpass was closed sometime in the 1990s due to a reconfiguring of the streets.

  • News