A112
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| A112 | |||
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| From: | Waltham Abbey (TQ385995) | ||
| To: | North Woolwich (TQ433799) | ||
| Length: | 14 miles (22.5 km) | ||
| Meets: | A121, A110, A1037, A1009, A406, A503, A104, A1006, A11, A1011, A114, A124, A13, A1020, A1011 | ||
| Highways Authorities | |||
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Essex • Newham • Redbridge • Waltham Forest | |||
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Route
Section 1:Waltham Abbey - Leyton
Starts at Sewardstone Roundabout just south of Waltham Abbey, just outside Greater London. The A121 (Woodford to Waltham Cross) heads east-west at this point, while the A112 heads south as Sewardstone Roundabout. The route is pretty much rural, though dotted with a myriad of garden centres and nurseries, many of which lie in Lea Valley Park, to the west of the road. Also to the west are the large reservoirs, actually lying in the London Borough of Enfield. The A112 gradually approaches the high embankments to King George's Reservoir before hitting the Greater London border, still heading south. Yardley Lane estate in Waltham Forest is the first built-up area encountered. South of there is the traffic lights with the A110 heading roughly east/west, and then Sewardstone Road diverges into the A1037 Waltham Way, partly dual, heading south-westish, while, the A112 head somewhat southeastward as the rather steep Mansfield Hill towards Chingford. At a roundabout at the "summit", the B169 Ridgeway head eastward towards Chingford proper, while the A112 resumes southwards as Old Church Road through the suburbs of southern Chingford. This crosses another east/west route, the A1009, which heads west to meet the A1037 and then turns south to hit the A406 North Circular Road. To the east the A1009 heads towards Chingford Hatch. South of the traffic lights, the A112 becomes Chingford Mount Road, continuing ever southward.
It passes the famous Walthamstow Greyhound track just north of the Crooked Billet Roundabout, the jucnction with the North Circular, which passes under since it was upgraded nearly ten years ago. Also joining the roundabout from the west is the B179 Billet Road, and heading to the east is an unclassified feeder road that once was the eastbound A406 before its upgrade. South of the Crooked Billet, as Chingford Road, the A112 heads towards Walthamstow, not as salubrious as Chingford, but forming the centre to Waltham Forest borough. It crosses the A503 Forest Road north of the town centre. This is a zonal interloper, but it was once a primary route signposted to the "West End" from its junction with the A104 just south of the North Circular. The A503 section from the A406 to A10 is now non-primary, allegedly. The A112 continues south of Forest Road as Hoe Street, passing the old unclassified High Street to the west, and the Walthamstow Central Rail/Underground/Bus station. This is a busy, commercial built-up area. Hoe Street continues south-eastwardish towards the next main centre, Leyton, though the only real dividing line is perhaps the next east/west route encountered, the A104 Lea Bridge Road, since south of there, the A112 turns back towards the south as Leyton High Road.
Section 2:Leyton - North Waltham
It passes under the former Midland Railway near Leyton Midland road station, and then there's a triangular one-way system with Church Road which comes in from the north-west. This used to be the A1006 before Orient Way was built on brown-field land some distance to the west, ending on the A106. The name Orient Way tips a hat to Leyton Orient FC, whose Brisbane Road ground is very close to the A112 here. The other side of the ground, High Road Leyton meets the A106, the latter being split into one-way roads both west and east (Ruckholt Road/Grove Green Road). South of there, the A112 crosses the new A12 alignment between Hackney Wick and Wanstead, opened in 1999, though there is no junction (A106 west has to substitute), and also the Central line underground (Leyton Station just to the south of the A12). High Road Leyton continues south of there until it meets the lights with Temple Mills Lane, which heads west and north under the A12 towards the A106. South of there is an unusual split, Major Road diverges into two. Eastward, almost like a spur, Chobham Road ends up after a relatively short distance on the A11 between Stratford and Leytonstone, while Leyton Road continues southward (as you'd expect) towards Stratford proper,crossing over the GER mainline just east of the station, which handles Eurostar trains, the new station being to the north of the present one, and then almost immediately reaches the Stratford one-way system (Great Eastern Road). This was once the A11, but since the building of the A12 extension, the A118 takes over the Stratford to Bow route, while the A11 is confined in limbo almost to the Stratford-Leytonstone bit.
After plenty of lights, going eastbound, then south round the one-way system, the A112 resumes to the south of Stratford town centre as the delightfully named, but short, Tramway Avenue, though southbound buses have their own route connecting the one-way system from the west to this road. West Ham Lane then takes you southeastwards away from Stratford, passing traffic lights with the B165, and the A1011 Manor Road (south to West Ham - not the Football ground!), and as Plaistow Road crosses over the combined District line/London-tilbury line at Plaistow station. Soon after it becomes Plaistow High Street and meets the A114 from Forest Gate to the north at a T-junction (lights), and after another short distance, an uncontrolled junction with the southward B166 Balaam Street. The A112 continues in a southeasterly fashion as Greengate Street to the Greengate junction (lights) with the A124 Barking Road, after which is becomes more southerly Prince Regent Lane. It passes over the Greenway (a footpath running along the route of the Northern Outfall Sewer towards Beckton), runs past accesses to the Newham General Hospital, just to the east, and then just south of the Terence Macmillan Stadium, it meets the A13, which since November 2003 has had a D3 underpass. Hitherto, there was a flat junction (lights), not only between A13 east/west and A112 north/south, but also with the unclassified Tollgate Road, heading from the westbound A13 carriageway eastwards to Beckton. Grade separation has simplified things a lot. Tollgate Road can be accessed from the A112 overbridge via the A13 westbound off-slip, which is two-way.
South of the A13, Prince Regent Lane contunues south towards the redeveloped Docklands area, meeting Victoria Dock Road just north of Prince Regent station on the driverless Docklands Light Railway. The was the A1020 at one time, but since the building of the various Docklands Highways, it's been unclassified, except for the section east of the A112 junction, which has been given to the A112. In fact the A112 itself has been altered, with a D2 bridge, Connaught Bridge, part of the new A1020, replacing a much older single-carriageway. The A112 Victoria Dock Road meets the bridge at a roundabout north of the dock, and then multiplexes with the A1020 over the bridge. It leaves the A1020 at the next roundbaout, heading east as Hartman Road, but resumes its original alignment, Connaught Road, at another roundabout just to the east, right next door to London City Airport, whose runway (as you might guess) was built on a former dock. Connaught Road runs eastward alongside the North London railway, and a single-platform station, Silvertown and London City Airport, is the only rail link to the Airport until the new DLR extension is finished in 2006. The A112 now heads east, as Albert Road (which was formerly part of the A1011 until the changes to the A1020, the former A112 terminus being at the train station) following the single track railway through Silvertown, though traces of another disused track hint at busier days on this line, the service now being only half-hourly. The railway ends a short distance away at North Woolwich, just north of the Woolwich Ferry terminal, and this is also the destination of the A112, as Albert Road meets the A117, the North Circular Road, which turns south at the junction towards the Ferry terminuus.
Original Author(s): Sunil Prasannan
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