A312 road

A312 road
David Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Country	England
Route	312
Length mi	12
Direction a	South
Terminus a	Hounslow
Direction b	North
Terminus b	Ealing

A312 road The A312 road is a primary A road in West London linking suburban districts between Hounslow and Ealing. It serves as a connector between radial routes such as the A4, A30 road, and M4 motorway and provides access to transport hubs including Heathrow Airport and Southall. The route traverses boroughs including the London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow, and the London Borough of Ealing, interfacing with urban centres, industrial estates, and residential areas.

Route

The road begins at an intersection near Hounslow High Street close to the Great West Road (A4), proceeding northward through Hounslow Heath and past the Hounslow West rapid transit corridor into the suburb of Cranford. It continues adjacent to the M4 motorway and skirts the perimeter of London Heathrow Airport before curving northeast toward Southall. The route crosses the Grand Union Canal and passes near the Southall railway station and Southall Broadway retail area. North of Southall it runs through Northfields and terminates at a junction with the A406 and arterial roads serving Ealing Broadway and the A40 road.

History

The alignment follows historic thoroughfares that developed during the expansion of London in the 19th and 20th centuries, intersecting former coaching routes and turnpike roads that connected Brentford and Uxbridge. Significant capacity upgrades occurred in the mid-20th century to accommodate traffic to Heathrow Airport, influenced by national transport planning linked to the Beeching cuts era rail rationalisations and postwar road schemes. Urban redevelopment in the 1960s and 1970s led to grade-separation works and junction realignments near industrial zones such as the Boston Manor Industrial Estate and civic renewal projects associated with the London Borough of Ealing local plans. More recent interventions reflect policies from Transport for London and borough masterplans that aim to balance traffic flow with regeneration projects around Southall and Heston.

Junctions and destinations

Key junctions along the route include connections with the A4 near Hounslow, interchange points serving the M4 motorway spur roads to Heathrow Airport, and link roads feeding the A30 road. The road interfaces with urban centres such as Feltham, Hounslow Heath, Cranford, Heston, Southall, Northfields, and Ealing Broadway. It provides access to transport nodes including Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3, Southall railway station, and the Piccadilly line at several stations. Nearby landmarks and institutions served by the route include Heston Aerodrome historical sites, the Osterley Park estate, and civic amenities in Ealing town centre.

Traffic and safety

Traffic volumes on the route reflect commuter flows to Central London, airport-related freight movements, and local trips to retail and industrial areas in West London. Congestion hotspots historically occur at junctions near Southall Broadway and the A4 interchange, with peak-period delays influenced by airport surface access and regional distribution activities linked to logistics operators. Safety concerns and collision clusters prompted interventions under casualty reduction programmes administered by Transport for London and borough highways teams, including signal optimisation, pedestrian crossing upgrades near rail stations, and speed-management schemes informed by collision data from the Metropolitan Police Service.

Public transport and future developments

The corridor is served by multiple London Buses routes providing links to Heathrow Airport, Ealing Broadway, and Hounslow High Street, integrating with the Elizabeth line at nearby stations and with the Piccadilly line on sections of the route. Proposed and planned developments affecting the road include local authority regeneration schemes in Southall and Heston that envisage modal shifts toward sustainable travel, active travel infrastructure promoted by Transport for London, and potential road-space reallocation to prioritise buses and cycling in line with policies from the Mayor of London’s transport strategy. Ongoing consultations by the London Borough of Ealing and London Borough of Hounslow consider measures to reduce through-traffic, improve air quality, and support development projects adjacent to the route.

Category:Roads in London