Chiswick flyover

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Coordinates: 51°29′31″N 0°16′58″W / 51.49200°N 0.28270°W / 51.49200; -0.28270
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Chiswick Roundabout with the flyover above

The Chiswick flyover is a short elevated section of the

Great West Road.[1] Although it was not originally built as a motorway, it was later incorporated into the M4 motorway.[2]

Description

The original Chiswick flyover carries the first half a mile of the

A4 which is directly beneath it, effectively forming a two-tier road system. It then turns approximately west north-west across Boston Manor Park before the M4 returns to ground level, and widens from two to three lanes in each direction as it heads west through the grounds of Osterley Park
.

History

Chiswick Flyover on Ordnance Survey Map, 1960, before incorporation into the M4 Flyover

The flyover, built at a cost of £6 million, was provided to relieve the congestion at Chiswick Roundabout, the junction of Chiswick High Road, North Circular Road, South Circular Road and the Great West Road, caused by 40,000 cars per day using the junction. The opening ceremony for the flyover, which was performed by Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield, took place on 30 September 1959.[3] The second section opened on 25 November 1964.[4]

In 1964 the flyover became part of the M4 motorway and by 1969 was said to be the most dangerous road in Britain. By 2009, 97,000 vehicles per day were using the M4 over flyover. In October 2009, actress Imogen Stubbs unveiled a plaque in a ceremony in Chiswick to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the flyover.[1]

Design detail

The flyover was not originally built to motorway standards. The structure was half a mile long (0.8 kilometres) and fifty-nine feet (18 metres) wide with hard-shoulders of no more than four feet (1.2 metres) wide.[2] 100 tonnes (110 tons) of concrete went into each of the columns supporting the road.[1]

Folklore

Rumours arose that the bodies of the victims of the Kray twins, notorious London gangsters, were entombed in the concrete pillars of the flyover.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Curtis, Nick (1 October 2009). "The 'sweet little Chiswick Flyover' hits 50". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b "The oldest motorway". The Motorway Archive Trust. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Time And Cost Of Flyover Could Have Been Halved". The Times. No. 54580. 1 October 1959. p. 6. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. ^ "New Chiswick Flyover Section Opened". The Times. No. 56179. 26 November 1964. p. 9. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

51°29′31″N 0°16′58″W / 51.49200°N 0.28270°W / 51.49200; -0.28270

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