Planning Plans for an 'Eastern Avenue' in London had been proposed as early as 1915, and the Eastern Avenue Extension was causing local concern in Leyton and Hackney during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was opposed by a number of groups, including the Hackney Society and local residents as represented by their member of parliament in 1962. By 1966, the
Ministry of Transport was planning a longer road and for it to be partly motorway. The first version had a mid-south section, to follow a
River Lea route, starting at
Angel southwest of
Dalston, heading northeast then north, taking land by the river in
Walthamstow,
Chingford and
Waltham Cross, and meeting the built road alignment of today north of
Harlow. The road from South Woodford to
Islington would have been designated as the M12. The route was in planning stages with several options, with differences between the plans preferred by the Greater London Council and the Ministry of Transport – a different version called for this 'Eastern Avenue' to run more east–west alongside the
Regent's Canal and the north side of
Victoria Park,
Hackney Wick, where it would have connected to the
North Cross and
East Cross Routes at the northeast corner of an
inner ringway identified by the
London Ringways plan. There were three proposed routes from the inner to
outer ringway (North Circular) at the base of the current M11, and it is unclear which one was favoured.
Additions The
M11 Link Road, or more formally 'A12 Hackney to M11 link road' (in fact leading to the North Circular) was constructed during the 1990s from
Hackney Wick by
Victoria Park to the Redbridge Roundabout—the interchange with the North Circular—and was opened in 1999. The route of this road, which followed a similar route to one of the initial proposals resulted in the protracted
M11 link road protest between 1993 and 1995, one of a spate of major
UK road protests under the
Major ministry. A new junction 7a was opened on 10 June 2022. The stated aims for this development are: • Create a new east–west link, which will move traffic smoothly out of Harlow on to the M11 • Reduce congestion on the north–south links through Harlow and towards junction 7 • Create new public transport and sustainable travel opportunities • Provide new opportunities for housing and business developments.
Abortive/suspended proposals Junction 5 An official plan to add north-facing connections at junction 5 in
Debden,
Loughton was abandoned in 1998.
Junctions 6 to 8 The
Highways Agency tabled proposals to upgrade the M11, between junction 6 and 8, from three lanes plus hard shoulder to four each way with an estimated cost of £698 million given in 2007. A number of public consultations were made throughout 2007 and although efforts were made to limit environmental damage the scheme would cause disruption and loss of habitat to three designated ecological areas and a
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at Gernon Bushes.
Construction The motorway was opened in stages. The stretch between junctions 7 and 8 opened in 1975, and that between junctions 4 and 7 in 1977. The stretch from junctions 8 to 9 opened in 1979; that between junctions 9 and 14 in 1980; and the full length became fully operational in February 1980. Budgets were tight during the 1970s when the road was built, so the
road surface was of unsurfaced
concrete between junction 14 and a point approximately to the south of junction 7. South of this stretch, where the road runs on soft ground close to the
River Roding, concrete was considered unsuitable owing to the looseness of the
subsoil and the consequent risk of random cracking, so the surface here was of
tarmac from the start. ==Services==