73-426: [REDACTED] I-435 [REDACTED] I-470 [REDACTED] US 50 The 3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway is the official name for an interchange in south Kansas City , Missouri that was once considered one of Missouri's most congested locations. Although it is known as the Grandview Triangle , it is not located in Grandview , a suburb of Kansas City. It is actually north of Grandview, still within
146-403: A bridleway bridge. The road was closed completely for two other occasions that year, with a final two closures scheduled for 2025. The M25 is one of Europe's busiest motorways. In 2003, a maximum of 196,000 vehicles a day were recorded just south of Heathrow, between junctions 13 and 14. The stretch between the nearby junctions 14 and 15 consistently records the highest daily traffic counts on
219-540: A concentric series of anti-tank defences and pillboxes designed to slow down a potential German invasion of the capital during World War II . This was marked as the D Ring on Abercombie's plans. Following the war, 11 separate county councils told the Ministry of Transport that an orbital route was "first priority" for London. Plans stalled because the route was planned to pass through several urban areas, which attracted criticism. The original D Ring through northwest London
292-583: A dedicated control centre. There is an extensive network of closed-circuit television (CCTV) on the motorway so incidents can be easily identified and located. A number of 4×4 vehicles patrol the motorway, attempting to keep traffic moving where possible, and assisting the local police. They can act as a rolling roadblock when there are obstacles on the road. When completed, the M25 only had street lighting for 65 miles (105 km) of its 117-mile (188 km) length. Originally, low pressure sodium (SOX) lighting
365-447: A distributed network of traffic and weather sensors, speed cameras and variable-speed signs , that control traffic speeds with little human supervision. It has improved traffic flow slightly, reducing the amount of start-stop driving. After Labour won the 1997 election , the road budget was cut from £6 billion to £1.4 billion. However, the DfT announced new proposals to widen
438-574: A formal objection to the widening scheme, and it was cancelled shortly afterwards. In 1994, the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Appraisal published a report saying that "the M25 experience most probably does ... serve as an example of a case where roads generate traffic" and that further improvements to the motorway were counter-productive. In April 1995, the Transport Minister Brian Mawhinney announced that
511-462: A loop by the non-motorway A282 Dartford Crossing of the River Thames between Thurrock and Dartford . The crossing consists of twin two-lane tunnels and the four-lane QE2 (Queen Elizabeth II) bridge , with a main span of 450 metres (1,480 ft). Passage across the bridge or through the tunnels is subject to a charge between 6 am and 10 pm, its level depending on the kind of vehicle. The road
584-627: A new Lower Thames Crossing to add capacity to the Dartford Crossing, or create a new road and crossing linking to the M2 and M20 motorways. Plans for that stalled, and were cancelled in 2013 by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson , being replaced by a proposed Gallions Reach Crossing . Initially seen as a straight ferry replacement for the Woolwich Ferry , it was later mooted as a bridge or tunnel. By 2019,
657-488: A public inquiry was launched in 1974. The Department of Transport sent out 15,000 questionnaires about the preferred route, with 5,000 replies. A route was fixed in 1978, with objections delaying the start of construction in 1982. The southern section of what became the M25 through Surrey and Kent was first conceived to be an east–west road south of London to relieve the A25 , and running parallel to it, with its eastern end following
730-503: Is a beltway around the Kansas City metropolitan area . I-470 is a major traffic corridor that connects southern Kansas City to the suburbs of eastern Jackson County, mainly Lee's Summit . US 50 travels concurrently with I-435 entering the Triangle, and then travels concurrently with I-470 at Exit 71A. State Highway W, also known as Bannister Road, which forms the northern leg of
803-655: Is a four-level stack ; one of only a few examples in Britain. Past this, the M25 runs close to the Surrey Hills National Landscape . To the west, the M25 passes close to the edge of Heathrow Airport, and within sight of Windsor Castle . North of this, it goes under the Chalfont Viaduct railway bridge, completed in 1906, which carries the Chiltern Main Line . Red kites can often be seen overhead to
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#1733086113783876-599: Is a major interchange of five major highways in the Kansas City area: I-49 , I-435 , I-470 , US 50 , US 71 , and Missouri State Highway W. I-49/US 71 brings in traffic from the southeastern suburbs of the Kansas City area in Jackson and Cass counties. I-49 currently ends at the triangle, but the road continues northwest into Kansas City as US 71. The I-49 designation went into effect in December 2012. I-435
949-482: Is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. I-435, a loop route of I-35 , is 83.02 miles (133.61 km) long and intersects with nearly every other Interstate Highway in the Kansas City area (except for I-635 and I-670 ). An additional 2.8 miles (4.5 km) near Kansas City International Airport
1022-597: Is designated as the Lamar Hunt Memorial Highway in honor of Lamar Hunt , the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs . This section of the highway passes near Arrowhead Stadium , the Chiefs' home stadium. I-435 in Kansas City was built piece by piece starting in the mid-1960s and not finished until 1987. In 1965, the first segment of I-435 was built and opened between I-35 and US 69 (which, at that time,
1095-467: Is not under motorway regulations so that other traffic can cross the Thames east of the Woolwich Ferry ; the only crossing further to the east is a passenger ferry between Gravesend , Kent , and Tilbury , Essex . At junction 5, the clockwise carriageway of the M25 is routed off the main north–south dual carriageway onto the main east–west dual carriageway with the main north–south carriageway becoming
1168-619: Is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the longest ring road in Europe upon opening. The Dartford Crossing completes the orbital route but is not classed as motorway; it is classed as a trunk road and designated as the A282 . In some cases, including notable legal contexts such as the Communications Act 2003 ,
1241-840: Is signed along with I-29 and U.S. Route 71 (US 71), making I-435 the second-longest complete beltway numbered as a single Interstate Highway in the US and seventh longest in the world after I-275 in Cincinnati, Ohio , at 83.71 miles (134.72 km); Beltway 8 in Houston, Texas , at 88 miles (142 km); Bundesautobahn 10 in Berlin at 122 miles (196 km); and M25 motorway in London at 117 miles (188 km); as well as 7th and 8th ring roads in Beijing . The majority—52.8 miles (85.0 km)—of I-435
1314-521: Is the only fixed vehicle crossing of the Thames east of Greater London. It is also the busiest crossing in the United Kingdom, and consequently puts pressure on M25 traffic. Users of the crossing do not pay a toll, but rather a congestion charge. The signs at the crossing are the same as those deployed over the London congestion charge zone. In 2009, the Department for Transport published options for
1387-571: Is within the state of Missouri, and most of that roadway lies within the city limits of Kansas City. The first/last exit is at I-435's parent route, I-35, in Lenexa, Kansas . Going clockwise around Kansas City, the next interchange is exit 1A for Lackman Road. The milepost numbers do not start over when I-435 crosses the state line, but where it shares the same roadway as I-29, the latter's milepost (and therefore exit) numbering takes precedence. The section of I-435 from mile marker 63.4 to mile marker 54.2
1460-588: The A21 . In the opposite direction, to the east of the point where the M25 diverges from the main east–west carriageway, that carriageway becomes the M26 motorway . From here to junction 8, the M25 follows the edge of the North Downs close to several historic buildings such as Chevening , Titsey Place , Hever Castle and Chartwell . The interchange with the M23 motorway near Reigate
1533-533: The Conservatives won in every constituency that the motorway passed through, in particular gaining Thurrock from Labour . Coach tours were organised for a trip around the new road. However, it quickly became apparent that the M25 suffered from chronic congestion. A report in The Economist said it "had taken 70 years to plan [the motorway], 12 to build it and just one to find it was inadequate". Thatcher rebuked
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#17330861137831606-534: The London County Council announced the London Ringways plan, to consist of four concentric motorway rings around London. The following year, the transport minister Barbara Castle announced that the D Ring would be essential to build. The component parts of what became the M25 came from Ringway 3 / M16 motorway in the north and Ringway 4 in the south. The Ringways plan was controversial owing to
1679-519: The M40 motorway to the 1970s North Orbital Road construction (junctions 16 to 17) opened in January 1985. The route under the Chalfont Viaduct meant the motorway was restricted to a width of three lanes in each direction. The Prime Minister , Margaret Thatcher , officially opened the M25 on 29 October 1986, with a ceremony in the section between junctions 22 to 23 ( London Colney and South Mimms ). To avoid
1752-589: The Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve before reaching the northern end of the Dartford Crossing. In 2004, following an opinion poll, the London Assembly proposed aligning the Greater London boundary with the M25. "Inside the M25" and "outside/beyond the M25" are colloquial, looser alternatives to "Greater London" sometimes used in haulage. The Communications Act 2003 explicitly uses the M25 as
1825-819: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . The E15 , which runs from Inverness to Algeciras , follows the M25 and A282 clockwise from the A1(M) at junction 23 to the M20 at junction 3; while the E30 Cork to Omsk route runs from the M4 at junction 15, clockwise to the A12 at junction 28. The United Kingdom is formally part of the E-roads network but, unlike in other countries, these routes are not marked on any road signs. The M25
1898-459: The city limits of Kansas City. After several years of reconstruction, the interchange itself is largely congestion free during non-peak hours despite the high traffic on the highways approaching the interchange. During rush-hour moderate to major delays and numerous accidents are reported. The name "Three Trails Crossing" refers to the Santa Fe , Oregon , and California Trails that cross there. It
1971-558: The BBC. In 1996, Kenneth Noye murdered Stephen Cameron in a road rage incident while stopped at traffic lights on an M25 junction in Kent. He was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released in June 2019. In November 2014, during overnight roadworks, a 16-foot (4.9 m) piece of road surface near junction 9 at Leatherhead failed to set correctly due to rain. This created
2044-576: The British strategic road network, with the average flow in 2018 being 219,492 vehicles (lower than the record peak measured in 2014 of 262,842). Traffic on the M25 is monitored by Connect Plus Services on behalf of National Highways. The company operates a series of transportable CCTV cameras that can be easily moved into congestion hotspots, allowing operators to have a clear view of the motorway and so assess what might be done to tackle particular areas of congestion. Prior to its liquidation in 2018, Carillion
2117-475: The Heathrow link roads would be scrapped. In 1995, a contract was awarded to widen the section between junctions 8 and 10 from six to eight lanes at a cost of £93.4 million, and a Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling (MIDAS) system was introduced from junction 10 to junction 15 in 1995, at a cost of £13.5M. That was extended to junction 16 in 2002, at a cost of £11.7M. The system consists of
2190-496: The M25 and A3 around junction 10 in November 2022. The project is intended to limit congestion at the junction and allow traffic to proceed more safely. However, these plans caused concerns about the amount of woodland that would be required. In March 2024, National Highways announced the first all-day closure of the M25 in its operational history. The motorway was closed between junctions 10 and 11 from 15–18 March in order to remove
2263-547: The M25 are Clacket Lane between junctions 5 and 6 (in the south-east) and Cobham between junctions 9 and 10 (in the south-west). Those directly accessible from it are South Mimms off junction 23 (to the north of London) and Thurrock off junction 31 (to the east of London). As is common with other motorways, the M25 is equipped with emergency ("SOS") telephones. These connect to two National Highways operated control centres at Godstone (for junctions 1 to 15 inclusive) and South Mimms (for 16–31). The Dartford Crossing has
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2336-480: The M25 from six to eight lanes, between junctions 5 and 6, and 16 to 30, as part of a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) project. A shortlist of contractors was announced in October 2006 for the project, which was expected to cost £4.5 billion. Contractors were asked to resubmit their bids in January 2008, and in June 2009 the new transport minister indicated that the cost had risen to £5.5 billion and
2409-624: The M25 had the potential to attract office and retail development along its route, negating the proposed traffic improvements and making Central London a less desirable place to work. None of the motorway was prevented from being built by objections at the public inquiries. However, as a consequence of the backlash against the Ringways, and criticism at the public inquiries, the motorway was built with environmental concerns in mind. New features included additional earth mounds, cuttings and fences that reduced noise, and over two million trees and shrubs to hide
2482-792: The M25 has been progressively widened, particularly near Heathrow Airport . The M25 almost completely encircles Greater London and passes briefly through it, in the east and west. Junctions 1A–5 are in Kent , 6–13 are in Surrey , 14 and a small part of 15 are in Hillingdon , Greater London, 15–16 are in Buckinghamshire , 17–24 are in Hertfordshire , 25 is in Enfield , Greater London and 26–31 are in Essex . Policing of
2555-403: The M25 is used as a de facto alternative boundary for Greater London. In the 1944 Greater London Plan , Patrick Abercrombie proposed an orbital motorway around London. This evolved into the London Ringways project in the early 1960s, and by 1966, planning had started on two projects, Ringway 3 to the north and Ringway 4 to the south. By the time the first sections opened in 1975, it
2628-492: The North Downs Action Group (DANDAG) argued that the link was unnecessary, it would damage an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it would be primarily used by local traffic as a bypass for the old A21 road between Farnborough and Sevenoaks. After a length inquiry process, chaired by George Dobry QC , the transport minister Kenneth Clarke announced the motorway would be built as proposed. The section from
2701-537: The UK, without holding a public inquiry . Friends of the Earth claimed the real reason for the widening was to support Terminal 5. The decision was again deferred. A ten-lane scheme was announced in 1998, and the £148 million 'M25 Jct 12 to 15 Widening' contract was awarded to Balfour Beatty in 2003. The scheme was completed in 2005, with dual-five lanes between junctions 12 and 14 and dual-six lanes from junctions 14 to 15. In 2007, junction 25 (A10/Waltham Cross)
2774-525: The agreed Highways Agency 2013–14 business plan. In June 1992, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a proposal to widen the section close to Heathrow Airport to fourteen lanes by way of three additional link roads. That attracted fierce opposition from anti-motorway protesters who were critical of the Newbury Bypass and other schemes, but also from local authorities. Surrey County Council led
2847-416: The benefit to cost ratio had dropped considerably. In January 2009 the government announced that plans to widen the sections from junctions 5 to 7 and 23 to 27 had been 'scrapped' and that hard shoulder running would be introduced instead. However, widening to four lanes was reinstated in the 2013–14 Highways Agency Business Plan. In 2009, a £6.2 billion M25 DBFO private finance initiative contract
2920-615: The boundary in requiring a proportion of television programmes to be made outside the London area; it states a requirement of "a suitable proportion of the programmes made in the United Kingdom" to be made "in the United Kingdom outside the M25 area", defined in Section 362 as "the area the outer boundary of which is represented by the London Orbital Motorway (M25)". Sections of the M25 form part of two long-distance E-roads , designated by
2993-592: The capital had been suggested in 1913, and was re-examined as a motorway route in Sir Charles Bressey's and Sir Edwin Lutyens' The Highway Development Survey, 1937 . Sir Patrick Abercrombie's County of London Plan, 1943 and Greater London Plan, 1944 proposed a series of five roads encircling the capital. The northern sections of the M25 follow a similar route to the Outer London Defence Ring ,
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3066-623: The destruction required for the inner two ring roads, ( Ringway 1 and Ringway 2 ). Parts of Ringway 1 were constructed (including the West Cross Route ), despite stiff opposition, before the overall plan was postponed in February 1972. In April 1973, the Greater London Council elections resulted in a Labour Party victory; the party then formally announced the cancellation of the Ringways running inside Greater London. This did not affect
3139-586: The junctions 27 (M11) to 30 (A13) section to dual four lanes also started in July 2009. The junction 27 to 28 (A12) section was completed in July 2010, and the junction 28 to 29 (A127) in June 2011, and finally the junction 29 to 30 (A13) section opened in May 2012. Work to introduce smart motorway technology and permanent hard shoulder running on two sections of the M25 began in 2013. The first section between junctions 5 (A21/M26) and 7 (M23) started construction in May 2013 with
3212-511: The motorway, designed for a maximum of 88,000 vehicles per day, was carrying 200,000. At that time, the M25 carried 15% of UK motorway traffic and there were plans to add six lanes to the section from junctions 12 to 15, as well as widening the rest of the motorway to four lanes. In parts, particularly the western third, that plan went ahead. Again, however, plans to widen further sections to eight lanes (four each way) were scaled back in 2009 in response to rising costs. The plans were reinstated in
3285-462: The negative response, calling it "carping and criticism". Traffic levels quickly exceeded the maximum design capacity. Two months before it opened, the government admitted that the three-lane section between junctions 11 and 13 was inadequate and that it would have to be widened to four. In 1990, the Secretary of State for Transport announced plans to widen the whole of the M25 to four lanes. By 1993
3358-489: The north of this, up to junction 21. The northern section of the M25 passes close to All Saints Pastoral Centre near London Colney , Waltham Abbey and Copped Hall . This section also features two cut-and-cover tunnels , including the Bell Common Tunnel . The north-eastern section of the motorway passes close to North Ockendon , the only settlement of Greater London situated outside the M25. It then runs close to
3431-735: The plans had changed, with the Docklands Light Railway to be extended to Thamesmead instead. On 11 December 1984, nine people died and ten were injured in a multiple-vehicle collision between junctions 5 and 6. Twenty-six vehicles were involved when dense fog descended suddenly. On 16 December 1988, several vehicles were stolen and used as getaway for acts of murder and robbery, using the M25 to quickly move between targets. The M25 Three , including Raphael Rowe , were tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990. Their convictions were overturned in 2000 and Rowe, who studied journalism while in prison, became an investigative journalist for
3504-518: The road is carried out by an integrated group made up of the Metropolitan , Thames Valley , Essex , Kent , Hertfordshire and Surrey forces. Primary destinations signed ahead on the motorway include the Dartford Crossing , Sevenoaks , Gatwick Airport , Heathrow Airport , Watford , Stansted Airport and Brentwood . To the east of London the two ends of the M25 are joined to complete
3577-468: The road, draped with large banners reading "Not Epping Likely". As a consequence of this, the Bell Common Tunnel that runs in this area is twice as long as originally proposed. The most controversial section of the M25 was that between Swanley and Sevenoaks (junctions 3 to 5) in Kent across the Darenth Valley , Badgers Mount and the North Downs . An 1,800-member group named Defend Darenth Valley and
3650-422: The route of what is now the M26 . It was originally proposed as an all-purpose route, but was upgraded to motorway standard in 1966. It was the first section of the route announced as M25 from the beginning. The first section from Godstone to Reigate (junctions 6 to 8) was first planned in 1966 and opened in February 1976. A section of Ringway 3 south of the river between Dartford and Swanley (junctions 1 to 3)
3723-521: The routes that would become the M25, because they were planned as central government projects from the outset. There was no individual public inquiry into the M25 as a whole. Each section was presented to planning authorities in its own right and was individually justified, with 39 separate public inquiries relating to sections of the route. The need for the ministry to negotiate with local councils meant that more junctions with local traffic were built than originally proposed. A report in 1981 showed that
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#17330861137833796-618: The scheme being completed and opened in April 2014. The second section, between junctions 23 (A1/A1(M)) and 27 (M11), began construction in February 2013 and was completed and opened in November 2014. In December 2016, Highways England completed the capacity project at junction 30 (Thurrock) as part of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan. The £100 million scheme included widening the M25 to four lanes, adding additional link roads, and improvements to drainage. Work began to widen
3869-465: The section between junction 12 (M3) and junction 15 (M4) to 12 lanes. At the Heathrow Terminal 5 public inquiry, a Highways Agency official said that the widening was needed to accommodate traffic to the proposed new terminal, but the transport minister said that no such evidence had been given. Environmental groups objected to the decision to go ahead with a scheme to create the widest motorways in
3942-494: The slip roads at busy periods, particularly traffic from the clockwise M25 joining the northbound A12. In 2018, a new scheme was proposed, because the junction had reached capacity, accommodating over 7,500 vehicles per hour. The scheme involved building a two-lane link road between the M25 and the A12. The work was expected to be completed around 2021/22. In 2006, the Highways Agency proposed widening 63 miles (101 km) of
4015-699: The south-east and Hunton Bridge to Potters Bar in the north-west. The section of Ringway 3 west of South Mimms anti-clockwise around London to Swanley in Kent was cancelled. The section from Potters Bar to the Dartford Tunnel was constructed in stages from June 1979 onwards, with the final section between Waltham Cross (junction 25) to Theydon Garnon (junction 27) opening in January 1984. This section, running through Epping Forest , attracted opposition and protests. In 1973, local residents had parked combine harvesters in Parliament Square in protest against
4088-432: The threat of road protesters, the ceremony was held a quarter of a mile from the nearest bridge. The total estimated cost of the motorway was around £1 billion. It required 2 million tonnes (2.2 million short tons) of concrete, 2.5 million tonnes (2.8 million short tons) of asphalt and involved the removal of 49 million cubic metres (1,700 million cubic feet) of spoil. Upon completion, it
4161-557: The triangle, is a major east-west arterial thoroughfare through southern Kansas City, and also serves as a detour for traffic seeking an alternate route when I-435 is congested. The 3-Trails Crossing currently handles approximately 250,000 vehicles per day. Now that the reconstruction is completed, the interchange should be able to accommodate more than 400,000 vehicles per day. 38°56′07″N 94°31′56″W / 38.93524°N 94.53220°W / 38.93524; -94.53220 Interstate 435 Interstate 435 ( I-435 )
4234-417: The view of the road. Construction of parts of the two outer ring roads, Ringways 3 and 4, began in 1973. The first section, between South Mimms and Potters Bar in Hertfordshire (junctions 23 to 24) opened in September 1975. It was provisionally known as the M16 and was given the temporary general-purpose road designation A1178 . A section of the North Orbital Road between Rickmansworth and Hunton Bridge
4307-442: The westside of KCI. It crossed several small highways before crossing the Missouri River into Wyandotte County, Kansas . It continued generally south or southwest, crossed several state highways and I-70, then the Kaw River , before connecting with the former southwest end at K-10. M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London . The 117-mile-long (188 km) motorway
4380-435: Was awarded to Connect Plus to widen the sections between junctions 16 to 23 and 27 to 30, and maintain the M25 and the Dartford Crossing for a 30-year period. Work to widen the section between junctions 16 (M40) and 23 (A1(M)) to dual four lanes started in July 2009 at an estimated cost of £580 million. The junction 16 to 21 (M1) section was completed by July 2011 and the junction 21 to 23 by June 2012. Works to widen
4453-461: Was connected with the rest of the freeway. A segment was built heading almost due north from I-35 in Claycomo to Route 291/Cookingham Drive at North Reinking Road, curving due west from there to US 169. In this year, the southwest end was also extended to K-10 . In 1987, the freeway was opened all the way around the city. The northwest end was signed on I-29 for eight miles (13 km) northwest, then exited near Platte City and bore south on
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#17330861137834526-522: Was constructed between May 1974 and April 1977. In 1975, following extensive opposition to some parts of Ringway 3 through Middlesex and South London, the transport minister John Gilbert announced that the north section of Ringway 3 already planned would be combined with the southern section of Ringway 4, forming a single orbital motorway to be known as the M25, and the M16 designation was dropped. This scheme required two additional sections to join what were two different schemes, from Swanley to Sevenoaks in
4599-403: Was decided the ringways would be combined into a single orbital motorway. The M25 was one of the first motorway projects to consider environmental concerns and almost 40 public inquiries took place. The road was built as planned despite some protests that included the section over the North Downs and around Epping Forest which required an extension of the Bell Common Tunnel . Although the M25
4672-435: Was extended from 22nd Street/Route 78 to US 24 two years later. In 1973, I-435 was extended north from the former terminus of US 24 across the Missouri River to I-35 in Claycomo . It now extended halfway around the city. In 1983, a small segment was opened on the outskirts of Kansas City north between US 169 and Route 291 near Kansas City International Airport (KCI). Later, this small segment
4745-451: Was intended to be a simple upgrade of streets. In 1951, Middlesex County Council planned a route for the orbital road through the county, passing through Eastcote and west of Bushey , connecting with the proposed M1 motorway , but it was rejected by the Ministry two years later. An alternative route via Harrow and Ealing was proposed, but this was abandoned after the council revealed the extent of property demolition required. In 1964,
4818-449: Was originally built mostly as a dual three-lane motorway. Much of this has since been widened to dual four lanes for almost half, to a dual five-lanes section between junctions 12 and 14 and a dual six-lane section between junctions 14 and 15. Further widening is in progress of minor sections with plans for smart motorways in many others. Two motorway service areas are on the M25, and two others are directly accessible from it. Those on
4891-425: Was popular during construction, it quickly became apparent that there was insufficient traffic capacity. Because of the public inquiries, several junctions merely served local roads where office and retail developments were built, attracting even more traffic onto the M25 than it was designed for. The congestion has led to traffic management schemes that include variable speed limit and smart motorway . Since opening,
4964-453: Was proposed in 1966, with detailed planning in 1971. The North Orbital Extension was given the go-ahead in January 1973, from Maple Cross. It was 6.2 miles, and was to cost £6.5m. The road was constructed to motorway standards and opened on Thursday 26 February 1976, as a section of the A405 . It eventually became part of the M25's route. The section to the south, from Heathrow Airport to Rickmansworth had five separate routes proposed when
5037-400: Was remodelled to increase capacity. The nearby Holmesdale Tunnel was widened to three lanes in an easterly direction, and an additional left-turn lane added from the A10 onto the motorway. The total cost was £75 million. Work to widen the exit slip-roads in both directions at junction 28 ( A12 / A1023) was completed in 2008. That was designed to reduce the amount of traffic queuing on
5110-438: Was signed with Metcalf Avenue) near Overland Park, Kansas . A second segment was opened the same year between I-70 and US 50 in eastern Kansas City, Missouri, but the two were not connected. The eastern segment of I-435 was extended south to Gregory Boulevard and north past 22nd Street/ Route 78 by 1968. By 1969, I-435 was fully built between these two segments, through southern and eastern Kansas City. The freeway
5183-428: Was subcontracted to manage traffic on the M25, delivering live alerts from body-worn cameras via 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. Since 1995, sections of the M25 have been equipped with variable speed limits, which slow traffic in the event of congestion or an obstruction, and help manage the traffic flow. The scheme was originally trialled between junctions 10 and 16, and was made a permanent fixture in 1997. The Dartford Crossing
5256-487: Was the longest orbital motorway in the world at 117 miles (188 km). At the opening ceremony, Thatcher announced that 98 miles (158 km) had been constructed while the Conservative Party were in office, calling it "a splendid achievement for Britain". A 58-page brochure was published, commemorating the completion of the motorway. The M25 was initially popular with the public. In the 1987 general election ,
5329-438: Was the most prominent technology used, but this has been gradually replaced with high-pressure sodium (SON) lighting. As of 2015 the motorway has more than 10,000 streetlights. The M25 has a number of pollution control valves along its length, which can shut off drainage in the event of a chemical or fuel spill. The idea of a general bypass around London was first proposed early in the 20th century. An outer orbital route around
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