The Secret Life of the motorway

S01E03

The End of the Affair

When the first motorways opened they did so to national celebration. But after the first 1,000 miles had been built, their impact on both town and country was becoming apparent and people started to protest. Middle England rose up and disrupted public inquiries to voice their frustration at motorway building, but it continued and over time the frustration gave way to concerns about saving the planet. In the early 90s that meant young people willing to risk everything to stop the motorways being built. The programme shows how we began to question the promises made by the motorway and along the way found our voice of protest.