M13 Motorway - History

History

Original route through Newham and Barking

East of the River Lea, through Newham and Barking, the original route followed the A124 Barking Road and then the A123 Ripple Road. The present A13 still uses much of the eastern end of Ripple Road. The route was replaced by the East Ham & Barking Bypass first opened in 1928, which was given the number A118 before being redesignated. As with the route west of the River Lea, Barking Road is a relatively new route, being built c.1812. Prior to this date, the main route from London to Tilbury was via Stratford and Ilford, today's A11 Whitechapel Road, A118 Romford Road and A123 Ilford Lane.

Original route through Dagenham and Havering

Ripple Road leads to Dagenham. The eastern end of this as well as New Road heading towards Rainham, in Havering, and the Greater London border, were bypassed by the new-build Thames Gateway in 1999. The former route was redesignated A1306. The western end between Dagenham and Rainham is still dual, but a short section near Rainham was singled in recent years. Like Barking Road further west, the original section of New Road between Dagenham and Rainham dates from c.1810, and was dualled at roughly the same time as the East & Ham and Barking Bypass. New Road east of Rainham is much newer, and dates from the 1920s. It is and was single all the way towards the border at Wennington, consequently suffering congestion, especially after Lakeside shopping centre opened in 1990.

Original route in Thurrock and Basildon

The eastern half of New Road originates from 1924, and continues past Wennington as the A1306 Arterial Road, completed in 1925, bypassing Purfleet (the project including that town's now unclassified "bypass"). It subsequently intersects with the M25 and A282 at Junction 31, heads past Lakeside and then ends at the A1012 near Grays. The route continues as the unclassified Lodge Lane before the latter becomes part of the A1013. The A1013 continues as far as Stanford-le-Hope, where the old A13 route merges with new at the A1014 junction. The eastern end of the erstwhile single-carriageway bypass is now a farm access, but can be shadowed on foot, meeting the B1420 at a roundabout just south of the modern A13 (the actual original A13 (pre-1930s) followed London Road and Southend Road through Stanford and Corringham). East of there, the B1420 meets the A13 at the A176 junction at Thurrock/Essex border and then the B1464 London Road continues the route south of Basildon, before meeting the newer road and the A130 at Sadlers Farm. The section of the route between the M25 and Sadlers Farm was by-passed or dualled in several stages between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, with Wennington to M25 opening in 1998 (see above).

Original route in Southend

In Southend, the short dual carriageway Queensway bypasses the original route through the town centre, and while much of this is pedestrianised, it can be followed on foot. East of the town centre, Shoebury Road was bypassed by the single-carriageway Bournes Green Chase, just a few yards to the north, linking Southchurch with Shoeburyness. Finally, the terminus of the A13 has been truncated, the road formerly ending on Shoeburyness High Street at the railway station.

Proposed route near Southend

In the 1960s, a route along the lines of the A13 was planned to take traffic to a new airport located at Maplin Sands near Southend. Only preliminary planning was carried out for the road (which may be have been designated a motorway) before the proposals for the airport were dropped in favour of expanding Stansted Airport). The route would have followed a similar route to the current A13 through Barking and Dagenham to Rainham before heading north-east towards South Ockendon then east towards Basildon. It would have continued eastwards between Basildon and Stanford-le-Hope before passing north of Canvey Island and south of Hadleigh, Leigh-on-Sea. The last section of road would have been constructed in the Thames Estuary passing south of Southend-on-Sea and Shoeburyness to reach the proposed site of the airport.