Western Avenue, London facts for kids
Western Avenue is a big road in London, part of the A40. It stretches for about 10 miles (16 km) (16 kilometers) from East Acton and heads towards the northwest. It's a really important route for people travelling in and out of the city.
One famous building you can see along Western Avenue, near Perivale, is the Art Deco Hoover Building. This cool-looking building is now a Tesco supermarket and also has homes inside.
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How Western Avenue Was Built
The idea for Western Avenue first came up in 1912. It was planned as a way to avoid the busy Uxbridge Road, which was an old route from London to Oxford. Building the road started in 1921 and continued through the 1920s and 1930s. The road was finally finished all the way to Denham in 1943.
Early Days and Construction
When Western Avenue was first built, all the places where it met other roads were simple crossings with roundabouts. This meant that during busy times, like when people were going to or from work, there was a lot of traffic jam.
Making the Road Better
To help with the traffic, big improvements were made. In the early 1960s, the Hanger Lane junction was updated. An underpass was built so Western Avenue could go underneath the A406 road, making traffic flow smoother.
Then, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the road was made even wider. All the junctions west of Hanger Lane were improved too. For example, a flyover was built at the Greenford Roundabout. This allowed Western Avenue to go over the A4127 road. Other junctions were changed so Western Avenue went under the crossing roads.
The last big junction to be improved was Hillingdon Circus. Here, Western Avenue was moved a bit north of its original path. It now goes under both the A437 and the Metropolitan line train tracks that go to Uxbridge. The Hillingdon London Underground Station was also rebuilt as part of this work.
Exploring Western Avenue's Path
Western Avenue starts near a place called Savoy Circus. This spot used to be a roundabout, but it became known as Savoy Circus when a cinema opened there in 1931. East of this point, the road connects to the Westway, which is part of the A40 link into central London.
After Savoy Circus, the road, which has two lanes going in each direction (a dual carriageway), curves towards North Acton. It crosses over two railway lines: the North London line and the Great Western Main Line.
Key Junctions and Connections
As you travel along Western Avenue, you'll find several important junctions:
- Gypsy Corner (with the A4000, 0.8 miles (1.3 km)): This junction connects north to Park Royal and Harlesden, and south to Acton town centre.
- Hanger Lane Gyratory System (with the A406 and A4005, 2 miles (3.2 km)): This is a very busy and well-known junction.
- Perivale (with the B452, 4 miles (6.4 km)): This connects south to West Ealing and the River Thames at Kew Bridge.
- Greenford Roundabout (with the A4127, 5 miles (8.0 km)): Here, you can go north to Harrow or south to Southall.
- Target Roundabout (with the A312, 6.5 miles (10.5 km)): This junction is important for getting to Heathrow Airport.
- Polish War Memorial junction (with the A4180, 7.5 miles (12.1 km)): This connects to RAF Northolt, which is a Royal Air Force station.
In the last few miles of Western Avenue, there are smaller junctions. These include the A437 at Hillingdon Circus, which leads to Ruislip and Hillingdon. There's also the B467 at Swakeleys Roundabout, which goes to Uxbridge. The road finally ends where it meets the M40 at the Denham Roundabout, which is northwest of Uxbridge.
An Unusual Event: The Air Crash
Western Avenue runs right next to RAF Northolt in South Ruislip. On August 13, 1996, something very unusual happened there. A Lear Jet plane was trying to land at the airfield. However, it went too far past the runway and crashed onto the A40 road! It hit a van that was just driving by.
Luckily, the van driver was not badly hurt, even though they were stuck for 40 minutes. Later, investigators found that the crash might have happened because the Spanish pilot and co-pilot were arguing about who should land the plane. There was only one passenger on the Lear Jet, an actress named Lisa Hogan, who had only minor injuries.
