page_title: London Ringways
section_title: Ringway 3
hierarchical_section_title: London Ringways / Ringway 3
caption_attribution_description: The Parkway Road near Cranford
context_page_description: The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed motorway-standard roads within the capital linking a series of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city.
  The Ringways originated from earlier plans including the County of London Plan, and were developed in the 1960s in response to increasing concern about car ownership and traffic. The plans attracted increasing opposition towards the end of the decade over the demolition of properties and noise pollution the roads would cause. Following a series of protests, the scheme was cancelled in 1973, at which point only three sections had been built. Some traffic routes originally planned for the Ringways were re-used for other road schemes in the 1980s and 1990s.
context_section_description: Ringway 3 was a new road, the north section of which became part of the M25 from South Mimms to Swanley via the Dartford Crossing. It was intended for traffic bypassing London, and was a Government scheme outside of the remit of London County Council. The route was roughly based on the earlier "D" ring designed by Patrick Abercrombie. The southern section was never planned in detail, so a specific route does not exist. The section in West London was eventually built to a lower standard as the A312.
  Ringway 3 was planned to link the capital's outer suburbs linking areas such as Barnet, Epping, Dartford, Purley and Chessington. Construction began on the first section of the motorway between South Mimms and Potters Bar in 1973 and the motorway was initially designated as the M16 motorway before its opening.
  Whilst the construction of the first section was in progress, the plan for Ringways 3 and 4 were modified considerably. Broadly speaking, the northern and eastern section of Ringway 3 (from the current junction 23 of the M25 motorway with the A1 east and south to the current junction 3 with the M20) was to be built and connected to the southern and western section of Ringway 4 to create the M25. The remaining parts of the two rings became redundant.
  The South Mimms to Potters Bar section (junction 23 to junction 24) was opened in 1975, temporarily designated as an A-road (A1178). The remaining sections of the northern Ringway 3 were constructed over the next eleven years: the M25 motorway was completed in 1986 with the opening of the Ringway 4 to Ringway 3 linking section from Micklefield to South Mimms (junction 19 to junction 23).
  One part of Ringway 3 in west London was eventually built as The Parkway/Hayes Bypass (A312).
caption: The A312 Parkway in Cranford is on the planned route of Ringway 3
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