The Motorway Age: How post-war governments responded to rapid traffic growth

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The M1 Motorway opened 60 years ago and in this timely history of the Motorway Age, David Starkie provides a fascinating history of how and why post war Britain was transformed by new roads, bridges and tunnels. From Prime Minister Clement Attlee to Margaret Thatcher the policy agenda is unfolded, showing that alongside atomic power and Concorde, the new technology of motorways captured the imagination of the nation before collapsing into controversy. But why were elaborate road schemes first considered necessary; why an early concentration on building roads between cities; how did cities cope in the meantime with a rising tide of traffic; how did they continue to cope once road plans were abandoned; how did policies translate into decisions to build particular roads and when to build them, and did political considerations dominate? This generously illustrated book focuses on these and similar issues, picking out the most important events and personalities involved and provides a valuable insight into ‘how’ and ‘why’ road policies changed during the forty years following the Second World War.