Alternative to the M25

[Chris71]

The other day we were talking about the prospect of all four lanes of the M25 being solid during the olympics. This is more a hypothetical challenge than an actual knee-jerk preparation, but do you think there is a worthwhile alternative route to get from, say, the A1 to the M3?

Initially, looking at the map it seems like there should be all sorts of A and B road you could link up through Herts and Bucks, but this being the South East I presume they'll actually be congested urban rat runs rather than twisting, swooping country lanes.

[chilistrucker]

if you were thinking of starting from the a1, at the 414, don't.

[iva cosworth]

Hypothetically it may be but the M25 is quite away from the Olympic Park in Stratford so don't see

why it would grid lock whilst games are on

As for the route...A414 as said above to Hemel ,then A41 south ,Watford ,then Rickmansworth,

Harefield ,Denham ,Uxbridge ,A312 past Heathrow ,to Feltham ....Hey presto A316/M3

<Better to stay indoors>

[Landshark]

The M25 lanes are quite often jammed solid!!!!!

[DrivingForward]

I remember many years ago when the M25 was just a plan, the powers that be had an idea of the M25 being an inner and outer Motorway, the inner being more or less the current route, and the outer starting from the M26, heading south west through the M23 then west and north west through the M3 junction 3, then north through the M4 junction 8/9 up to the M40 junction 4, then north east through the M1 junction 10 and then rejoing the M25 inner at the M11 junction!

I hope you got all that!!

[Dr Jekyll]

DrivingForward said:

I remember many years ago when the M25 was just a plan, the powers that be had an idea of the M25 being an inner and outer Motorway, the inner being more or less the current route, and the outer starting from the M26, heading south west through the M23 then west and north west through the M3 junction 3, then north through the M4 junction 8/9 up to the M40 junction 4, then north east through the M1 junction 10 and then rejoing the M25 inner at the M11 junction!

I hope you got all that!!

The stretch of M25 from J23 A1 at least to J25 A10 was originally built as the inner motorway, and was supposed to pass to the south of the current J23. That's why the carriageways are so far apart just east of the A1, they were meant as slip roads and the motorway was supposed to be between the 2.

http://www.cbrd.co.uk/histories/ringways/