A3044

This article is about the current A3044 from Staines to Sipson, just north of Heathrow Airport.
For the original A3044 in Tavistock, see A3044 (Tavistock).

The A3044 - think of it as a perimeter fence for Heathrow Airport. It begins on the A30 at Staines and ends on the A408 at the Heathrow Spur, but to be honest, because it's next door to the M25 and M4, nobody will use it for this.

Route

Between the reservoirs

Beginning at a hamburger roundabout on the A30 and the A308, the A3044 travels north between two reservoirs. After meeting the B378 between Stanwell and Stanwell Moor villages, we reach the corner of Heathrow Airport and a roundabout with the A3113 and the Southern Perimeter road. The Western Perimeter road is now close on our right, on the far side of the Duke of Northumberland's River. We now go under the M25 Terminal 5 Spur and cross a roundabout before meeting the A4. There's a multiplex east between sets of traffic lights and then the A3044 sneaks into zone 4. Unfortunately, we stop at the first attempt, with the A408, right next to the M4. By now you'll be sick of the planes.

History

The A3044 was previously the B379, which originally went straight through what is now Heathrow Airport, but was diverted when that opened in the 1940s. The upgrading to A road occurred in the 1970s.

Stanwell Moor Road was extended from the northern B379 end to the A4 Colnbrook Bypass in 1977. The 0.7 mile D2 dual carriageway was completed in May 1977 per the Policy for Roads: England 1978 Report. Outturn works cost £0.9 million. It was listed as an A4 scheme (from "Peggy Bedford"). It is unclear if the B379 was renumbered to A3044 straight away, or if there was a delay.