M12 motorway (Great Britain)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2012) |
M12 | |
---|---|
Route information | |
Length | 57 mi (92 km) |
Status | Cancelled |
History | Proposed 1960s, construction never started; cancelled 1994. |
Major junctions | |
West end | North Circular–M11 motorway junction |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Road network | |
The M12 motorway was a planned
Routes
There were three main route proposals:
- South Woodford (51°35′35″N 0°01′34″E / 51.593°N 0.026°E) to Brentwood (51°37′12″N 0°18′18″E / 51.620°N 0.305°E)
- South Woodford to a proposed new London Airport at Maplin Sands
- South Woodford (or M25 motorway) to Chelmsford
The motorway would have started in South Woodford creating a junction with the
Land was set aside for the later construction of the M12 interchange when the southern end of the M11 was constructed in the 1970s[1] – the current carriageways of the M11 at the junction with the A406 would have been slip roads between these two routes. The start of the M12 would have been between the existing M11 lanes. Evidence for this can be seen on the ground:
- Both the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M11 have stubs of slip roads leading to nowhere in the centre of the road at the point where the carriageways have diverged from one another.
- The southbound carriageway has a flyover seemingly over nothing before it splits to join the North Circular Road.
- Land immediately to the east of this bridge has been reserved and kept free of housing.
South Woodford to Brentwood
From South Woodford the M12 would have headed east over what is still mostly open land north of
South Woodford to Maplin Sands
The alignment of this route was not finalised before the proposed airport at Maplin Sands was cancelled, but it would have matched the South Woodford-Brentwood alignment to Havering-atte-Bower. The M12 would most probably have then headed south-east and then south to pass east of Harold Hill parallel with the M25 as far as junction 29 where it would have turned east to run north of the A127 passing to the north of Basildon, south of Wickford and to the north of Rayleigh and Southend-on-Sea before heading out into the North Sea to the artificial island that was to be constructed on Maplin Sands for the proposed airport.
South Woodford to Chelmsford
The M12 to Chelmsford would have run on the alignment previously described to Havering-atte-Bower, then continued north-east to meet the M25 (where an additional junction would have been constructed) south of
References
- ^ Vickerman, W. J.; Bamber, R. D. (July 1977). "Concrete Carriageway Construction on a Rural Motorway". Highway Engineer. 24 (7).