View source for A404 road

{{Short description|Road in London and Berkshire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}

{{Infobox road
|country=GBR
|type=A
|route=404
|header_type=minor
|length_mi=44.6
|photo=A404, Harrow Road - geograph.org.uk - 1579420.jpg
|image_notes=A404 Harrow Road, at junction with Chippenham Road on the left
|direction_a= 
|terminus_a = {{jct|country=GBR|A|40|name1=[[Westway (London)|Westway]]}} in [[Marylebone]], [[London]]
|junction = 
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|219}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|406}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|312}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|410}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|412}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|413}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|416}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|355}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|40}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|308}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|A|4}}
*{{jct|country=GBR|M|25|dab1=Great Britain}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=M25 J18 Chorleywood Interchange|url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m25/210 |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref>
*{{jct|country=GBR|M|40|dab1=Great Britain}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=M40 J4 Handy Cross |url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m40/160 |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref>
*{{jct|country=GBR|M|4|dab1=Great Britain}}
|direction_b= 
|terminus_b = {{jct|country=GBR|AM|404}} at [[Maidenhead]]
|destinations= [[Wembley]], [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], [[Northwood, London|Northwood]], [[Rickmansworth]], [[Amersham]], [[High Wycombe]], [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]]
|previous_type = A
|next_type = A
|previous_route = 403
|next_route = 405
}}

The '''A404''' is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at [[Paddington]] in [[Central London|London]] and terminates near [[Maidenhead]] in [[Berkshire]]. It is {{convert|44.6|mi|km}} long.

==Route==
The road initially follows a course through north-west London via [[Harlesden]], [[Wembley]], [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], [[Northwood, London|Northwood]] and [[Rickmansworth]]. During this stage, it is known as ''Harrow Road.'' It crosses the [[M25 motorway|M25]] at Junction 18 at [[Chorleywood]], crossing into [[Buckinghamshire]] and then continues towards [[Little Chalfont]] and [[Amersham]].

Between Harrow and Amersham, the road closely follows the route of the London{{snd}}Harrow-on-the-Hill{{snd}}Aylesbury railway lines, [[Chiltern Main Line|The Chiltern Line]] from [[Marylebone]], and runs near several stations along that line.

At Amersham Common, the road turns south-west and continues in that direction joining the Amersham by-pass ([[A413 road|A413]]) for a short distance, and then proceeds towards [[High Wycombe]]. After passing through the town centre, and crossing the [[A40 road|A40]], it changes to a dual carriageway up the hill to the [[M40 motorway|M40]] Junction 4, and continues as a dual carriageway past [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]] and [[Bisham]].

The road eventually becomes the [[A404(M) motorway|A404(M)]] at [[Maidenhead]] Thicket. It then runs a short distance towards the [[M4 motorway|M4]] where the A404(M) finally terminates at Junction 8/9.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=Harrow%20Road%2C%20London&query_place_id=ChIJ0zneEzQSdkgRvZWwyajK6u0|title=Harrow Road, London|website=Google Maps|access-date=2022-09-27}}</ref>

==Harrow Road==
{{Main|Harrow Road}}
[[File:The Flora pub and hotel, Harrow Road, London.jpg|thumb|[[The Flora]], 525 Harrow Road]]
The '''Harrow Road''' is an ancient route<ref>"A History of the County of Middlesex" 1989 – the road was not new in the 16th century</ref> in [[London|North West London]] which runs from [[Paddington]] in a northwesterly direction towards [[Harrow, London|Harrow]]. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of [[Queen's Park, London|Queens Park]] and [[Kensal Green]], straddling the NW10, W10, W2 and W9 postcodes. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered.

Harrow Road is also a ward of the City of Westminster. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 12,034.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13689142&c=Harrow+Road&d=14&e=62&g=6340191&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476624697016&enc=1|title=City of Westminster Ward population 2011|access-date=16 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
[[File:Kensal Green Cemetery Main Gates-2710268983.jpg|thumb|The main entrance of Kensal Green Cemetery, on Harrow Road]]

===History===
By the 19th century, Harrow Road had become the main street in [[Paddington]].<ref name=londonenc>{{cite encyclopedia|last2=Hibbert|first2=Christopher|last=Weinreb|first=Ben|first3=John|last3=Keay|first4=Julia|last4=Keay|author2-link=Christopher Hibbert|author1-link=Ben Weinreb|author3-link=John Keay|title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]]|edition=3rd |year= 2008|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-1-405-04924-5|page=387}}</ref>

In the 20th century, many properties along Harrow Road were developed into high-rise social housing, though some 19th-century houses and commercial buildings north of the [[Paddington Basin]] were retained. These included [[Elgin Towers]], constructed between 1966 and 1969, and demolished in 1994.<ref name=londonenc/>

===Cultural references===

The 1950 film ''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' is set around Harrow Road and features it prominently.<ref name=londonenc/>

In one version of the ''[[Bus Driver's Prayer]]'', the line from ''[[The Lord's Prayer]]'', "Hallowed be thy name" is replaced with "Harrow Road be thy name."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2712,00.html|title=Notes and Queries|work=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref>

==A404(M)==

{{infobox road
| country = GBR
| type = AM
| route = 404
| length_mi = 2.4
| map = {{maplink-road|from=A404(M) motorway.map}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = A404(M) highlighted in blue
| image = The A404(M), Maidenhead - geograph.org.uk - 814975.jpg
| image_notes = The northern end of the A404(M)
| maint = [[National Highways]]
| direction_a = Northeast
| terminus_a = [[Maidenhead]] (west)
| destinations = [[Maidenhead]], ([[High Wycombe]]), ([[Henley-on-Thames|Henley]]), ([[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]])
| terminus_b = [[M4 motorway|M4]] Junction 8/9
| direction_b = Southwest
| established = 1961
| junction = [[File:Junction 8-9.svg|1000x20px]] [[File:UK-Motorway-M4.svg|1000x20px]]<br>[[M4 motorway]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=M4 J8/9 Holyport Interchange|url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m4/120 |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref><br>[[File:UK-Motorway-A308 (M).svg|1000x20px]]<br>[[A308(M) motorway]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=A308(M) |url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/a308m |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref>
| previous_type = AM
| previous_route = 329
| next_type = AM
| next_route = 627}}

The '''A404(M)''' is a [[motorway]] in [[Berkshire]], England and can be referred to as the '''Maidenhead and Marlow Bypass''' or M4/M40 link road. It joins the M4 with the A404 dual carriageway to High Wycombe, [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]] and the M40. It was originally known as the A423(M) until the [[A423]] between Maidenhead and [[Oxford]] was reclassified as the [[A4130]].

===History===
The road was originally opened in 1961,<ref name="ma">[http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4loswstat.htm The Motorway Archive – M4 Dates Page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104080545/http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4loswstat.htm |date=4 January 2007 }}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref> as part of the A4(M) Maidenhead Bypass,{{cn|date=September 2024}} which ran from the existing Junction 7, through a junction with the [[A308 road|A308]] and ending at a junction with the [[A4 road (Great Britain)|A4]]. In 1963, the [[Slough]] bypass was opened to Junction 7,<ref name="ma" /> and the A4(M) was renumbered M4, Junction 8 being with the A308 and Junction 9 with the A4.

The proposed route of the M4 was then changed to go south of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], instead of north of it.{{cn|date=September 2024}} When the M4 was extended in 1971,<ref name="ma" /> a new junction was provided to connect with what would become a spur. As this new interchange was built too close to the existing Junction 8, this had to be closed. A new spur, the [[A308(M) motorway|A308(M)]], was built to maintain access to the A308 and connected with the A404(M) and the M4 at the same [[grade separated]] [[roundabout]]. This new junction was numbered 8/9 so as not to confuse motorists and the interchange with the A4 became Junction 9A.{{cn|date=September 2024}} The old M4 was renumbered A423(M){{cn|date=September 2024}} as it was a direct continuation of the A423 to [[Oxford]].

===Junctions===

{{RJL|date=December 2021}}

{| border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; border-collapse: collapse; "
|- style="background:#0080d0; text-align:center; color:white; "
| colspan="3" | A404(M) motorway
|- style="background:#000; text-align:center; color:white;"
| Northbound exits
| Junction
| Southbound exits
|- style="text-align:center;"
| ''Road continues as A404 to [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]] and [[High Wycombe|Wycombe]] <br> [[Oxford]] ([[M40 motorway|M40]]) and [[Henley-on-Thames|Henley]] ([[A4130 road|A4130]])''
| rowspan="2"|A404 <br>''Terminus'' <br>J9B<ref>{{Cite web |title=A404(M) J9B Maidenhead Thicket Interchange |url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/a404m/10 |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref>
| [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], Maidenhead A4 <br> Reading, [[Slough]], [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] ([[M4 motorway|M4]]) A404(M)
|- style="text-align:center;"
| Reading, Maidenhead [[A4 road (England)|A4]]
| ''Start of motorway''
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[Cox Green, Berkshire|Cox Green]], [[White Waltham]]
| J9A<ref>{{Cite web |title=A404(M) J9A Cox Green Interchange |url=https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/a404m/20 |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=roads.org.uk |language=en}}{{sps|certain=yes|date=September 2022}}</ref>
| Cox Green, White Waltham
|- style="text-align:center;"
| ''Start of motorway'' <br> <br> [[High Wycombe]], [[Henley-on-Thames|Henley]], [[Maidenhead|Maidenhead (West)]] A404(M)
| A308(M) <br> M4 J8/9
| Maidenhead [[A308(M) motorway|A308(M)]]<br>[[South Wales]], Reading [[M4 motorway|M4(W)]] <br>[[London]], [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], [[Slough]] [[M4 motorway|M4(E)]]
|}

''Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs April 2011''

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|Roads}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|from=A404(M) motorway}}
*[http://local.google.co.uk/local?f=q&hl=en&q=maidenhead&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=51.500141,-0.722609&spn=0.012396,0.043259&t=k&om=1 Google Local satellite photo showing original route of the A4(M)/(M4)].

{{UK motorways}}
{{Motorways and Trunk Roads in England|state=collapsed}}
{{GB A road zone 4}}
{{Transport in Buckinghamshire}}

<!--for Berkshire-->

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0404A}}
[[Category:Motorways in England]]
[[Category:Roads in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Roads in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Roads in London]]