Ringway 1

Formerly known as the B ring, and then the "Motorway Box", this was to be the inner ring of the London motorway network. It would have been 30 miles long, and eight lanes wide. Most of the length (60%) would have been elevated. Only a few miles were actually built -- these consisted of the East Cross Route, which included the existing Blackwall Tunnels, and some of the West Cross Route from North Kensington to Shepherd's Bush.

Click on the above thumbnail to access a map (JPEG, 75KB) of the route of Ringway 1. This was taken from Travers Morgan's report on the North Cross Route, hence the box around the area they were looking at. Notice the lack of Ringway 2 on the map; this was because the report dated from 1966, when the plan had not been formulated; however it was generally accepted that the "Ringway 1 + radials" was the minimum solution to the problem.

North Cross Route

The most controversial of the lot. It was to connect the West Cross Route at Harlesden (near Willesden Junction station) with the East Cross Route at Hackney Wick. This would have taken a slice through Harlesden, Kilburn, West Hampstead, Hampstead, Camden Town, Barnsbury and Islington. Sounds horrific today, but remember that Islington was still a deprived area in the 60s, and had not attained its current desirable status. It was never going to be easy, however, to drive a motorway through Belsize Park (to the south of Hampstead) -- this would have ruined the leafy, wealthy character of the area by building a cut-and-cover tunnel. This would also have involved the demolition of Sigmund Freud's house on Fitzjohn's Avenue (now the Freud Museum).

Using the Travers Morgan report in 1966, which set forth the recommended route, I have produced a map (167 KB, JPEG) showing the alignment of the route. Click the thumbnail to access.

In Harlesden, a large Y intersection would be built to link the West Cross Route (which would have been continued up to Harlesden) with the North Cross Route, and a feeder road from the M4 and A40. Access would have also been provided to and from Harrow Road.

The motorway would then run alongside the North London Line (to the northern side of it) in cutting, passing under all the existing roads. After crossing Kilburn High Road (A5) and the railway viaduct carrying (what are now) the Chiltern, Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines, there would be a junction with the M1 (aerial view (JPEG, 21KB) from North Cross Route Report). Since this little patch of (residential) land was almost hemmed in by railways and roads anyway, it was considered that this was the best place for the junction! (The M1 would have been extended down the east side of the Midland main line railway, crossing it just north of the proposed alignment of Ringway 1.)

From the M1 junction until Finchley Road, there would have been C/D roads (collector/distributor roads -- an extra carriageway on each side of the road to carry junction traffic) to cater for the large turning movement: for traffic going right the way into central London from the M1, the A41 Finchley Road is the best route to use. The motorway would continue alongside the North London Line until West End Lane (West Hampstead), when it would pass under both the railway and the road.

At Finchley Road, there would be a roundabout beneath the motorway, with extra slip roads to the W and S to serve the large turning movement at this junction. The location of the junction would be about where the "O₂ Centre" now is, near to Finchley Road station. Very soon after the junction, the motorway would enter a cut-and-cover tunnel through Belsize Park (the ground rises here). It would emerge at Eton Avenue, and cross Adelaide Road. Bus bays would be provided at the (now closed) Primrose Hill station, and the motorway would be elevated over what was then the Camden Goods Yard, owned by British Rail (it's now Chalk Farm Safeway). BR were not very happy about having a motorway (even on stilts) running over their goods yard and so an alternative route, slightly further to the north, was proposed in case this was rejected.

There would be a junction with the new Camden Town Bypass (this was never built) on Chalk Farm Road. This would be a very expensive interchange to construct, due to the tight space involved: the site would be heavily constrained by the various railways, the goods yard, and the Regent's Canal. It was felt that, to minimise land take, a fully free-flowing intersection was the only solution.

East of Camden, the motorway would cross its old friend the North London Line near Highbury Corner (A1), and follow it until the East Cross Route (once A102(M), now A12) at Hackney Wick. The extended M11 (following the route of the new A12) and a radial motorway to link with Pentonville Road would also meet at this junction.

East Cross Route

South Cross Route

West Cross Route

This part of Ringway 1 follows the route of the West London Line very closely, and it would have been elevated for its entire length. As with all of the Ringway, it was originally planned as a dual carriageway motorway with four lanes on each carriageway (with three through interchanges). However, it was recognised that this would cost a lot of money to build, and such was the perceived urgency of this road that it was proposed to build one carriageway first (temporarily split into two two-lane carriageways) and then the other later.

Using the report by Husband & Co's report on the location of motorway interchanges (and the proposed extent of Stage I construction) in 1966, I have produced a map (167 KB, JPEG) showing the alignment of the route. Click the thumbnail to access.

It would have started at Battersea, at the junction with the South Cross Route. From there it would have proceeded on the NE side of the railway, to cross the Thames on a new bridge. On the North bank, there would have been an interchange with the "Chelsea Embankment Connection", planned to link into the centre via a riverside expressway (rather like the riverside roads in Paris, I expect).

The motorway would then have continued north-west (still soaring above on a viaduct), above the railway line and even Earl's Court Exhibition Centre! At West Kensington an interchange with the A4 was planned. When constructed, this would serve the western A4, as shown (with no access to or from the centre), although there was provision allowed for a future radial motorway here (the extension of the M4 from Chiswick). As part of the plan, the A4 would be provided with an underpass under the West Kensington and Warwick Road junctions.

North of the A4, the road would have continued over the West London Line, and the carriageways split just before Olympia station, with the railway running down the centre. This situation would last until Holland Park Roundabout, which would have had a flyover.

The section from here to the Westway was the only bit that got built -- a short stretch half a mile long, running parallel to the West London Line still. This is the classic example of why you should build the whole of a motorway project, or nothing at all: the M41 (as was) dumped all its traffic onto the urban roads of Shepherd's Bush and Kensington and made the local situation considerably worse. The extension as far as the A4 would have made a difference, but the plug was pulled.

North of the Westway, the West Cross Route would have swept across yet more of North Kensington, rejoining the West London Line up to Harlesden, to meet the North Cross Route.