The Ringway map

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The Ringway plan was of an unbelievable scale and seems to have been planned in great detail before it was finally cancelled. These maps exist to catalogue the full detail of the project as it is currently understood.

Where the information is available, the line of every road is there to within a few metres, and the layout of interchanges is perfectly accurate. In other places, rough information may be available, in which case a 'best guess' alignment or layout will be shown, based on the alignment of other similar roads. Individual interchanges are annotated to indicate the accuracy of the map. Revisions are periodically made as new information comes to light.

Google Earth overlay

Google map overlay sample

The full detail of the Ringway plan is available as an overlay onto Google's high-resolution satellite photography. It indicates each individual road and sliproad wherever the information is available; elsewhere a single line indicates an estimated alignment.

Download to view in Google EarthView online

Overview maps

An overview of the development of the Ringway plan over time is given with this collection of diagrams. Click one to see a detailed version.

Roads built by 1973

Roads built or under construction before the Ringway plan was cancelled in 1973. This map indicates the full extent of road mileage that was built as part of the Ringway plan; all else was either completely abandoned or resurrected at a later date.

Roads built after 1973

High capacity roads built on the line of Ringway proposals after the cancellation of the plans in 1973. The map also shows roads built or under construction before the Ringway plan was cancelled. The map highlights the large parts of the Ringway plan that made it to construction in one form or another, even after the plan was formally abandoned.

Roads built recently, not in the Ringway plan

Roads not in the Ringway plan, built to link Ringway fragments together. These roads can be considered 'bodges' that were created to make the best use of the sections of the Ringway plan that made it to construction. Most notable are the two sections of motorway that complete the M25.

Government authority for each section of road

Comparison map to show which roads were proposed by the Ministry of Transport and which were proposed by the Greater London Council, where evidence is available. In some cases both government bodies made a different proposal for the same road.