It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting various suburbs and other trunk roads in the region.

It was upgraded after World War II, and was at one point planned to become a motorway as part of the controversial and ultimately cancelled London Ringways scheme.

[5] In areas where improvements made slowest progress and upgrades are unlikely, the original names such as Gunnersbury Avenue and Bowes Road are used.

The road is a six-lane dual carriageway that connects the industrial estates in the area, and passes beneath the West Coast Main Line near Stonebridge Park.

Beyond this, there is a junction with IKEA and the Neasden temple to the southeast, and the road runs alongside open land south of the Welsh Harp Reservoir.

[5] Northeast of Brent Cross, at Henlys Corner, the North Circular briefly shares carriageways with the A1, which joins it from the northwest and leaves it to the southeast to head into Central London.

[17] The current route of the North Circular Road turns south, passing Eastern Avenue (A12) on a flyover at the Redbridge roundabout.

Various manufacturing industries, including furniture production, had moved away from the East End in the early 20th century and started to be based in areas on the fringes of outer London development.

As well as a general bypass of Central London, it would connect the communities of Edmonton, Tottenham and Walthamstow, and allow former munitions factories to be reused for industrial purposes.

[20] Further west, industrial work increased around Wembley to cater for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, while former military factories at Willesden, Hendon and Acton would also benefit from being connected by the North Circular Road.

[23] After reviewing traffic conditions in 1961, the Ministry of Transport planned to increase the capacity of the North Circular Road, grade separating as many junctions as possible, particularly those connecting with important arterial routes.

[23] In 1979, the Ministry of Transport planned to improve the Great Cambridge Road Roundabout with a £17 million scheme that would have demolished over 100 houses and shops.

[3] Prior to its opening, the signposted North Circular route from the Waterworks Roundabout to the Woolwich Ferry was on local roads via Whipps Cross, Wanstead, Manor Park and Beckton.

The upgrade scheme improved on the current junction by adding extra lanes and allowing easier left and right turns, speeding up queue times.

[33] In July 2013, a task force set up by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson proposed that long sections of the North Circular (as well as the South Circular) should be put underground in road tunnels, freeing up space on the surface to provide public space, extensive cycle routes, and better links to existing communities currently severed by the road.

"[34] The North Circular Road has received regular criticism over its poor safety record and piecemeal improvement schemes due to a lack of funding since it opened to traffic.

[4] In 1989, Michael Portillo, then a Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate, complained that 367 houses were scheduled for demolition as part of improvements to the North Circular in his constituency.

[36] Since TfL took responsibility for the road, land for future schemes has been left dormant, resulting in urban decay with derelict properties.

[40] In 2013, the road was named in a BBC report as being the most polluted in London, including the highest surveyed levels of benzene and nitrogen dioxide.

[41] A report in the Sunday Times, referring to the North Circular, said "if you want to pull back the lid of your convertible and drink in the fresh air, look elsewhere".

In it, he describes the features along the road, including factories, prefabricated buildings, bungalows and petrol pumps "like intransigent gangs of idols".

[54][55] IWG founder Mark Dixon's first business on returning to Britain after an extended time abroad was a hot-dog stand on the North Circular Road, making his own buns.