Eastern Section
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Running from the M11 to Eltham, this road is something of an oxymoron, as it contains one of the most controversial sections of road anywhere in the Ringway plan and yet is also contains plans that have survived to the present day. It includes what must be the very last surviving part of Ringway 2: Ken Livingstone, as Mayor of London, has resurrected proposals for the East London River Crossing. Originally planned to be tunnelled for Ringway 2, it is now planned as bridge for multiple transport types.
Continues to R2 North Circular Road
M11 and M12 (Woodford Interchange)
A12
Ilford
Barking
A13
East London River Crossing
Woolwich & Thamesmead
Oxleas
A2/M2 (Falconwood Interchange)
Continues to R2 Southern Section
The route
At the time the Ringway proposals were formulated, the North Circular Road effectively terminated at Gants Hill on the A12, and therefore the section of what is now North Circular Road between the M11 and the Thames was at the time considered a new road project. From the M11/M12 interchange at Woodford, Ringway 2 was to head southwards, and it is known that it was allocated the number M15 in this area. Whether this number was to be extended west of Woodford along the A406 is not known.
Ministry of Transport document showing M15 number
The M11 already existed when the M15 was canned, and at that time it terminated on the A12 at Redbridge roundabout. The southernmost part of the M11's original route was actually intended to be M15 - today it's part of the A406 - and it's thought that, while the number never appeared on signs, it was built using legal orders for the M15. Therefore part of this motorway did once exist, albeit briefly and in secret.
Contemporary plans for this section of the route have not been found, but when the scheme was resurrected in the 1980s as the Barking Relief Road, it is reasonable to assume the plans were not modified extensively, except to reduce the specification of the road to an all-purpose dual carriageway instead of a dual three- or four-lane motorway. Interchanges were provided at the A12, Ilford and Barking. After crossing the A13, the motorway was to cross the Thames at Gallions Reach. The preference in the 1960s was for a twin-bore tunnel in order to reduce the amount of property demolition required. However, a bridge was a serious proposal for at least a short time and it is known that the crossing was to be part of the M15. Whether the number would be used south of the river is unknown.
Emerging on the south bank, an interchange was to be provided on the A2016 for Woolwich and the then-new Thamesmead development. From there it would turn to head south, at first through open land near to the prison, then south-west through the residential area close to the line of Church Manor Way, and over Plumstead Common to arrive at the A207 in Shooter's Hill. Another junction was to be provided here and two southbound carriageways continued due to the proximity of the next interchange. The main source of controversy was here, as the line was to cross the ancient forest of Oxleas Wood to reach the A2/M2 at Falconwood Interchange (shown in the diagram to the left, taken from planning documents published by Greenwich Borough Council). A free-flowing junction provided links in three directions, excluding turns between the south and west. Beyond here, to the south, was Ringway 2's Southern Section.
History
At around the time the A406 Barking Relief Road was built in the 1980s - right on the line of the M15 between the M11 and A13 - the East London River Crossing was resurrected for the first time. It was to be a bridge on a new line, away from Gallions Reach, but with access roads on the old Ringway 2 alignment traversing Oxleas Wood. For the second time it was protests over the irreperable damage that would be done to this ancient woodland that halted the road scheme and it vanished once more.
The road was scrapped, but its northern approaches are ready and waiting. The A13 interchange is laid out for the A406 to continue south on a flyover, and the A1020 nearby has a grade-separated junction at Beckton with a set of sliproads and a flyover pointing towards the crossing. Their only use since being built in the 1980s has been for a dramatic TV stunt in which a car was driven off the end of the elevated stub.
The latest reincarnation of the ELRC is for a multi-modal landmark bridge, carrying a conventional dual carriageway, bus lanes, space for trams or the Docklands Light Railway, cycles, and so on. It is being promoted as a local link with no new approach roads connecting it to the A2, which sidesteps the Oxleas Wood issue. The road would instead terminate at Thamesmead. It appears to have returned to the 1960s line suggested for the tunnel at Gallions Reach.
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Image of document revealing the M15 number appears courtesy of Pathetic Motorways.
