The first section, from the M4 to junction 1, opened concurrently with that motorway in September 1966. The second section, through to junction 2, was a co-operative design between the Gloucestershire County Surveyor and the design consultants Freeman Fox & Partners. Construction was awarded to Sir Robert McAlpine, who began work in June 1968. The northern section was designed as a full-speed () motorway as far as Eastville, after which the motorway ran on an elevated section with a lower design standard. This section was opened by the Secretary of State for Transport, John Peyton in July 1970. The total cost was £3 million (now £ million). In 1972, a polystyrene storage depot on Muller Road near junction 2 caught fire, leading to the closure of the southbound M32 for six days.