Sandy Lane overbridge, view north, 21 October 1996

Sandy Lane overbridge, view north (see all photos of the same view)

The bridge at Sandy Lane was later to start than most on the contract, but is now taking shape, with all its steelwork in place. The deck has yet to be formed. Traffic continues to use the diversion around the east, and until it can run over the bridge, the cutting for the motorway cannot be completed.

Date
Direction of view
North
Structures visible

Structure 16 (Sandy Lane overbridge)

Roads visible

B5256 Sandy Lane

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.

Share this page

Have you seen...

Liverpool Inner Motorway

There's almost no evidence of Liverpool's 1960's plans for an inner ring road on the ground - but the motorway that never materialised would have been astonishing. The full details on the route, and the missing part the M62, are here.