Riley Green interchange, view south west, 17 July 1996

Riley Green interchange, view south west (see all photos of the same view)

The new interchange is now taking shape, with embankments in place except around the unfinished bridge. At the bottom left, the old course of the A674 has been partly removed already and is much narrower than when it carried traffic. It will eventually be removed entirely.

Date
Direction of view
South West
Structures visible

Structure 20/20a (Riley Green interchange bridges)

Roads visible

A674 Chorley Road

A675 Bolton Road

What's new

The monster seen from below

What might it have been like to stand in one spot and witness the arrival, and the uncertainty, of plans for an urban motorway in West London?

The road that made no sense

It was the UK's only single-carriageway motorway, and twenty years ago it ceased to exist. This is the story of the strange fascination it held, and of my place in history.

The forever bottleneck, part 2

The second part of the story, where we learn why exactly the M4 gets narrower on the final approach to Europe’s biggest city.

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