MT 138/44

Eastern Road Construction Unit projects: trunk road 102; London North Orbital Road; firm programme report on projects for definite completion, orders and plans for M25 Hunton Bridge to Maple Cross

Date range	1970-1976
Location	National Archives (see all files stored here)
Catalogue	See entry
File base	Series MT, subseries MT 138

Context

The second half of the files covering the Maple Cross to Hunton Bridge scheme, now part of the M25 between junctions 17 and 19. The first part is at MT 138/43.

This file contains all the plans accompanying the first half; as well as plan sheets of the whole scheme as-built, there are also the legal deposit plans ("thick black line" etc) for the trunk road and side road orders, stopping up orders, and the rest; and some more traffic flow predictions.

Contents of note

• Plan sheet of the Hunton Bridge end of the scheme clearly shows that the roundabout (built as part of this scheme) was constructed with two small stubs intended for the A41(M) approaching from the north. These existed as recently as 2005, but the kerb line has since been modified.
• Diagram of orbital road proposals that were current at the time indicates that, when this scheme was built, it was still expected that Ringway 3 would be constructed from the M4 along with the Denham Spur, and so there would be two new orbital motorways in the north west quadrant of London. There was, at that time, no expectation that this scheme would link back to Ringway 3, and this would therefore form the northernmost reach of the M25, with the motorway terminating at Hunton Bridge roundabout.
• Plan of Hunton Bridge roundabout showing "line of proposed A41(M)", and indicating the final intended layout of this junction. It was to be a flat roundabout with five arms - rather uninspiring, given that three of those arms would be purpose-built, grade-separated dual carriageways, and of those two would be motorways.
• One document explicitly mentions a northern relief road, bypassing Hunton Bridge and connecting the M25 to the M1, to be built at a later date when traffic here became too heavy. This appears to be the earliest suggestion of what is now the M25 passing north of Watford.

Links to other files

MT 138/43 Eastern Road Construction Unit projects: trunk road 102; London North Orbital Road; firm programme report on projects for definite completion, orders and plans for M25 Hunton Bridge to Maple Cross (1970-1976)

People with camera copies

Chris Marshall has a partial copy.