Oldest "future-proofing" that never got used

[Mapper89062]

It's been mentioned on here a while ago, but a good contender for this must be the futureproofing of Birkfield Drive and Lovetofts Drive in Ipswich for the never-built New Town:

Birkfield Drive is very overbuilt for a suburban distributor with obvious space for dualling
The northern end - it is bolted abruptly onto an existing residential road, as they wouldn't have wanted to waste money building the expensive part crossing the railway and river if the New Town didn't go ahead, but if you continue the alignment towards the town centre you end up running right into Portman Road, which was supposed to have a major junction.
This is the southern end, which is obviously unfinished business, with a treeline that would allow the road to continue to presumably eventually meet the A137 near Alton Water.

Lovetofts Drive - less obviously futureproofed but there is verges or scrubland all the way along it that could be used to widen it.
The roundabout at the southern end has a stub that might well just be intended as playing field access but could fit a southern continuation of the route.
A quick glance at the route will also show that it is perfectly built to continue northward to join the former A45 (now Old Norwich Road) just to the north of the urban area and could curve round through the playing field to run alongside the railway line, which seems to have been the intended route for the A45 through the New Town.

[Herned]

Here's a very long (2.7km to be precise) one in Nice with headroom of just 2.3m so definitely cars only: https://goo.gl/maps/AxyAUryrJ2C22Aoj8

The western side of the A86 near Versailles is even worse, 10.1km with a maximum vehicle height of 2.0m. Must be very strange, like driving through a multi-storey car park for 10 minutes

[Bryn666]

Here's a very long (2.7km to be precise) one in Nice with headroom of just 2.3m so definitely cars only: https://goo.gl/maps/AxyAUryrJ2C22Aoj8

The western side of the A86 near Versailles is even worse, 10.1km with a maximum vehicle height of 2.0m. Must be very strange, like driving through a multi-storey car park for 10 minutes

It's unusual in that it's a single bore tunnel with two carriageways - it's a double deck road in there. The associated HGV tunnel was planned but appears to have stalled. I've not had chance to drive it, I was last in Paris about 5 weeks before it opened.

[MrEd]

There are a couple of them in Laindon, Basildon.

This one on West Mayne is the most striking

[Big Nick]

In the '70s there were rumours that some of the roads in Harlow had green verges to allow for dualling.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.7663315 ... 384!8i8192

On the other hand, the architects of Harlow liked the idea of "green wedges" dividing up the town. I haven't been back much in the last 40 years to see how things have changed. (mixture of my job taking me away, family moving and the friends I did have in school mostly leaving town).

It wasn't a rumour. Several of the roads in Harlow were intended to be wider. I've read the official history of Harlow on this. The main green wedge in Harlow is the golf course that separates the industrial area from the houses and the town centre.

Unfortunately the roads that need to be widened now are not the ones with room to expand. If the M11 had been built to the west of Harlow the roads would make more sense.
Katherine's Way was intended to be a dual carriageway linking the Pinnacles industrial area to the North Orbital: https://goo.gl/maps/CbpfEfHJrixNyXLX6

[mikehindsonevans]

Not sure of the history of it but this one on the A27 at Crossbush is quite striking.

Ah yes... the western extension of the A27... which may just possibly finally be coming to fruition!

You beat me to the keyboard!

[Chris5156]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

[JohnnyMo]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

[Chris5156]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Was it this one in Worcester Park? It continues via Knollmead, Sheephouse Way (complete with giant roundabout), South Lane, Kingshill Avenue, Green Lane and Lower Morden Lane to the A24.

[Bryn666]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Was it this one in Worcester Park? It continues via Knollmead, Sheephouse Way (complete with giant roundabout), South Lane, Kingshill Avenue, Green Lane and Lower Morden Lane to the A24.

It's almost a prototype Ringway 3 line looking at that!

[JohnnyMo]

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Was it this one in Worcester Park? It continues via Knollmead, Sheephouse Way (complete with giant roundabout), South Lane, Kingshill Avenue, Green Lane and Lower Morden Lane to the A24.

It's almost a prototype Ringway 3 line looking at that!

It was more like this but I'm not sure this is it. IIRC unclassified dual carriageway with a diamond roundabout

[KeithW]

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Try looking here wich has a lot of data on London Arterial Roads.
https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/londo ... rial-roads

[Kevin Roads]

How about this fairly well-known example.

[JohnnyMo]

How about this https://maps.app.goo.gl/etxKWgo3UMiJ7ya67 fairly well-known example.

Would someone be kind enought to explain how to post hyperlinks, please? I've tried using the hyperlink button and pasting the Google maps link in it but can't see how to put the text in e.g to post the word 'this' as a map link.

Type [ u r l = <link>] text here [ /u r l ] without the spaces in url -- or do a reply to someone using a nice feature such as Red text and see what they did

[JohnnyMo]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Was it this one in Worcester Park? It continues via Knollmead, Sheephouse Way (complete with giant roundabout), South Lane, Kingshill Avenue, Green Lane and Lower Morden Lane to the A24.

Yes Lost Arterial A24 was D2 grassed bridge near Kingston Bypss

This was the diamond roundabout I was thinking about

[Herned]

I can remember a thread about a section of an arterial road in a housing estate in SW London, but I can't find the thread or the road on a map.

Wasn't there something in Penge or somewhere that way? I remember a discussion about it a while ago. No joy finding it on a map yet, helpfully

[Kevin Roads]

How about this https://maps.app.goo.gl/etxKWgo3UMiJ7ya67 fairly well-known example.

Would someone be kind enought to explain how to post hyperlinks, please? I've tried using the hyperlink button and pasting the Google maps link in it but can't see how to put the text in e.g to post the word 'this' as a map link.

Type [ u r l = <link>] text here [ /u r l ] without the spaces in url -- or do a reply to someone using a nice feature such as Red text and see what they did

It worked! Thanks, Johnny, I've edited my original post with a much neater hyperlink.

[Chris5156]

How about this fairly well-known example.

Brilliant example of futureproofing, but definitely not the oldest!

[exiled]

The two isolated sections of the Manchester Eastern Bypass here and here must be contenders - they date from the 1930s, so about 90 years of futureproofing that was never used.

I like that the road is called Eastern By-Pass, and it has a no through road sign.

[Owain]

How about this fairly well-known example.

If you like that, you'll surely like this too.