The A1206, also known as the Isle of Dogs Distributor Road, is a crescent-shaped ring road around the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

, in the East End of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It is made up of Westferry Road, Manchester Road and Prestons Road and is the main road through the area, connecting parts of the London Docklands.

Route

From west to east, the road starts in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through ...

, then changes from Westferry Road to Manchester Road at

Island Gardens Island Gardens is a public park located at the southern end of the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames. The park was formally opened on 3 August 1895 by local politician Will Crooks. The ...

. At

Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...

it crosses the entrance to the

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Follow ...

via the Blue Bridge, a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

that allows ships to reach the docks. It then becomes Prestons Road, ending in Poplar. Several side roads and buildings along Westferry Road, such as Cuba Street and Spinnaker House, have names related to the historic connection the Isle of Dogs has with the shipping industry.

History

At the start of the 19th century, Westferry Road was called the Deptford and Greenwich Ferry Road. It began to be built up as the London Docklands developed. The first bridge over the West India Dock entrance opened concurrently with the docks in 1805. The current bridge is the sixth iteration and opened in 1969. St Paul's Presbyterian Church was on Westferry Road, opening in 1859. It escaped demolition in the 1980s and was converted into an arts centre. Millwall Fire Station was at No. 461 Westferry Road and opened in 1877. It was replaced by a later building in 1905. The road was originally classified as the A1206 only as far as the bridge over the entrance to

Millwall Docks Millwall Dock is a dock at Millwall, London, England, located south of Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs. History The scheme was developed speculatively by a partnership of John Kelk and John Aird & Co.'The Millwall Docks: The docks', in Sur ...

. The local area was transformed after the deterioration and closure of the London Docklands and the redevelopment of areas such as

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

in the 1980s. To the west, Westferry Circus opened in 1991 as the main traffic entrance for Canary Wharf. The Westferry Printing Works opened off Westferry Road to the north of Millwall Dock in 1984, and subsequently became one of the largest print works in Europe.

Traffic

1982 London Marathon - Blackwall entrance, West India Docks (geograph 2238635)

Because the A1206 is the main road through the Isle of Dogs, incidents on it can cause serious congestion in the surrounding area. The proposed

Silvertown Tunnel The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under construction beneath the River Thames between the Greenwich Peninsula and west Silvertown. It is being promoted by Transport for London and will be delivered through a design, build, finance and mai ...

should help alleviate this. The occasional closures of Blue Bridge to vehicular traffic (to allow ships to reach the docks) create queues in both directions.

References

Citations Sources * {{coord, 51, 29, 14, N, 00, 00, 48, W, region:GB, display=title Ring roads in London Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets