Editing M1 motorway (section)

===Rugby to Leeds, 1965 to 1968===
The continuation of the motorway from junction 18 towards Yorkshire was carried out as a series of extensions between 1965 and 1968. Diverging from the A5, the motorway takes a more northerly route through the [[East Midlands]], via [[Leicester]], [[Loughborough]], [[Nottingham]] to [[Sheffield]], where the [[M18 motorway (Great Britain)|M18]] splits from the M1 at junction 32 to head to [[Doncaster]].

Originally, the M1 was planned to end at Doncaster but it was decided to make what was going to be the "[[Leeds]] and Sheffield Spur" into the primary route, with the {{convert|11|mi|adj=on}} section to the [[A1(M) motorway|A1(M)]] south of Doncaster given the separate motorway number M18.

From junction 32, the motorway passes Sheffield, [[Rotherham]], [[Barnsley]] and [[Wakefield]], reaching the original end of the motorway at (the original) Junction 44 to the east of Leeds. There were plans to route the M1 from just south of junction 42, where it interchanges with the [[M62 motorway|M62]], round the west of Leeds to the A1 at [[Dishforth]]. The chosen route passes to the east of Leeds. With the M62 and [[M621 motorway|M621]], the M1 forms a ring of motorways around the south of Leeds.