Road Links
Harlow is well-connected to the UK motorway system, with the M11 a few minutes from the town centre and the M25 15 minutes away.
Harlow is located between junctions 7 and 8 of the M11, which to the north provides direct access within 45 minutes to Cambridge, the UK's leading location for research and development and innovative hi-tech industry.
Travelling south, the M11 links directly with the M25 through which any part of the UK can be directly accessed by motorway.
The M11 links further south to the A406 inner orbital route around London and directly to Canary Wharf, East London and the outer Thames Gateway areas. The town also benefits from good east-west road connections. The A414 links Harlow to the Hertfordshire towns of Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, St Albans and Hertford, which are vibrant concentrations of high value industries, and to central Essex to the east.
The chart below shows the distances, in miles, to significant destinations accessible from Harlow by road.
| Location | Distance in Miles |
|---|---|
| Stansted | 12 |
| Stratford | 22 |
| Canary Wharf | 25 |
| City of London | 26 |
| West End | 27 |
| Watford | 37 |
| Cambridge | 38 |
| Heathrow | 55 |
| Gatwick | 62 |
| Milton Keynes | 64 |
| Reading | 69 |
| Peterborough | 72 |
| Felixstowe | 80 |
| Dover | 86 |
| Birmingham | 128 |
Source: Google Maps
Road improvements are underway in Harlow town centre. The main link between Harlow and the M11 is at the A414 and the A1169 and is used by approximately 50,000 motorists a day. The Council has gained government funding to provide a two lane dual carriageway between the M11 Junction 7 roundabout and the roundabout on the A1169. It is scheduled to be completed in early 2011 and will make a huge difference in speeding up access to and from the centre of the town.