Road to Nowhere: London's Unfinished Motorway

Explore London's half-built Western motorway, remanent of a long gone era and a mile and a half of a former motorway. Learn about the history of this unbuilt motorway project and its impact on the city's transportation system.
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[@IndigoJo]

The reason the short bits of motorway in London were downgraded was because they discovered that the legislation that set up TFL didn't give it authority over motorways. That's why they were reclassified as A-roads. I'm also pretty sure that the London Box scheme was dead in the water before the Reclaim the Streets protests of the 80s. The roads around there were used as through routes, with local roads such as the A219 signposted as accesses to the A4 for example. If you look at an 80s small scale road map of London you'll see a lot of primary routes that are nowadays local roads. The M25 took a lot of through traffic off the streets of inner London such that people will nowadays make for the M25 rather than use inner-city cut-through roads and not enter London unless they really need to.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Thanks for the insight 😃

[@Rog5446]

When I was a boy, I lived in West London. It is almost inconceivable that in those days, the A40 into London terminated at Wood Lane, where incoming traffic either turned left toward Willesden, or right to Shepherd's Bush. Can you imagine what the traffic chaos would be if that was still the case?

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I can only imagine a nightmare, and disruption

[@joshanplayzna2052]

even now, woodlane still has hella traffic, especially when there is construction. Like last year or like in 2022, i remember being stuck in wood lane for like 30mins-1 hour cause there was terrible construction going on then.

[@QuantumPulsar]

Very informative video, I like the new animations 😀 will there be more videos about the Ringways coming soon?

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Just started on the next one 😁

[@user-or9xs4qf8t]

Excellent info. Thank you.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

You're welcome

[@Anonymoususer_2023]

I understand that West London would have had a major motorway that might of gone from A40 Westway to South London and to connect with the M23 motorway near Croydon. With plans for another motorway in South London. But now London has its own A406 North Circular Road and A205 South Circular Road and the M25 London Orbital Motorway. And the new Silverlink Tunnel which is due to open from 2025/26 and could be numbered as A122.

[@QuantumPulsar]

Isn't the A122 going to be used for the Lower Thames Crossing if it gets built?

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I think the silvertown tunnel would get the name A1020 and the LTC will or may receive the A122 number

[@haweater1555]

Toronto had planned multiple expressways to cut through the heart of the city, they were cancelled by the late 60s as a major show of popular urbanist support. (As well as preserving the tram network from scrap.)

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Awesome

[@haweater1555]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancelled_expressways_in_Toronto

[@skylarius3757]

Had any of it been built, by now it would be in need of repair and most likely would be closed like the slip road on the A40, which connects to the west cross route today. Because it is closed people have to use the wood lane juntion and go over the traffic lights to get the same roundabout. I missed the turning one day due to traffic and had to go all the way to baker street to turn around.

[@lefthandedspanner]

it's not strictly true to say construction of the motorway network was driven (ha!) by car ownership - this was more the case in the USA, but over here it was mainly due to industry shifting from rail to road transport, and increased trading with Europe if you look at any British town or city with a high-quality road network, they all have one thing in common: they are or were heavily industrial for most people, permanent car ownership was not affordable

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

That would also explain Glasgow's urban motorway plans inspired by the roads in the US

[@highpath4776]

@@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport What happened was someone looked at the link between miles of motorway , such as between Reading and London , and the amount of economic growth/ incomes of population and concluded that more motorway miles = more income/growth and apllied this to the mid belt of scotland, bits of Newcastle and most of Leeds.

[@highpath4776]

The West Cross route in part impacted on what was to have been the design of the Estate Grenfell Tower was on, with more space, additional building ,and perhaps not even Grenfell Tower being built. Losing part of the area planned for new housing to the road meant the estate became cramped up and over deveioped for its footprint at the time, though the council running out of money meant changes to the east never occured with the retention of classical terraces to the North of Notting Hill / Portobello happening.

[@AndrewG1989]

Would have been ideal for an Inner London Motorway to be built and to follow how the A406 North Circular Road. And the A205 South Circular Road that forms a inner circle route around Greater London. And the M25 London Orbital Motorway that would have formed an Outer London Motorway.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

If I had my way I would have just built Ringways 2 & 3 to it's full route so that in practice the two routes would act as relief roads for each other if traffic was bad on a certain section

[@jasinere35]

jay forman's unfinished london covers this & a lot more too

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I love watching those and often rewatch as they're so entertaining

[@alanmurray4201]

Never heard Balham pronounced like Ballham before. The "bal" should be like ballet

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

almost made the same mistake with Willesden until I watched a Jago hazard video and corrected it, thanks for correcting me as this is the second one of these in a row I've fudged the pronunciations and yet I can pronounce the names of places in Wales

[@QuantumPulsar]

@@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport don't worry, British place names are sometimes hard to pronounce, just ask the Map Men 😂

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

That was a good episode 🤣

[@toainsully]

The series, "Unfinished London" explains it in more detail

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Well in a way yes as it covered the whole scheme in one video, the information is from roads.org.uk you can check it out if you want, everything is in much greater detail than I could ever go into, I do love watching those videos and rewatch it from time to time

[@highpath4776]

The West Cross route used to be useful, until Westfield Shepherds Bush took roadway and increased demand to travel to the area, it is now a pain to get through , even on Sundays.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Chris Marshall the writer and owner of roads.org.uk thinks that even if it was built up to West Kensington (A4) would of hugely helped with traffic

[@VictorKibalchich]

That Reclaim the Streets party still ranks as one of the best days out ever!

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

So you took part, if you did what was your experience?

[@organickevinlondon]

the planting of 2 trees in the road was one of the highlights LOL

[@ElliotP-Motorways-Plotagon]

I got a tummyache today uk roads & transport it will go away in a few days

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

hope you get better soon buddy

[@ccityplanner1217]

You mispronounce Balham.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I realise now, I almost said Willesden wrong until I saw a recent Jago hazard video and yet I know how to say relatively hard Welsh place names (I'm Welsh so no surprises there)

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5jKfYChaat-bposi=Mq4gdV8J0qbS82AQ

[@keithpanda]

It’s not Ball ham it’s Bal ham. Good video though.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Someone told me when this video was first released

[@NR23derek]

Ball-ham = Bal-ham!

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Been reminded so many times, I know

[@SeQuBu]

For a global metorpoly, London has incredubly awefull traffic, where it might take you 40min to drive 6 miles. Not having completed or forced the completion of the ring system is probably one of London biggest failures which satisfied a view but also made the city as a whole much less accessible by many others, thus making it actually much more segregated.

[@skylarius3757]

London has always had traffic, even in days of horse and cart. And of course it didn't help when the councils decided to put up temporary cycle lanes only to remove them later and also reducing lanes to make pavements wider. The bus lane in regent street was removed which now causes congestion ever time a bus stops for passengers. Park lane going northbound was reduced down from 4 lanes to 1 while keeping a bus lane, just to make way for a cycle lane when it could have been built running along side the park.

[@DrMJT]

Like EVERY Infrastructure or otherwise project in UK... the NIMBYs are always out in force - even when it is Not even their back yards! And as soon as the abc, xyz Opens... all the Nay'sayers totally Disappear! Where are all the xRail / LizPurp line naysayers? Gone. We should look at What is required and needed and click sign off and start work on the projects because the NaySayers do nothing but ADD Additional Costs to the projects. NIMBY go home and find another tree to hug... trees are replaceable by planting a seed or sapling! lol

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

I agree with you, they got in the way of the much needed M4 relief road which would have opened up Wales