What is now Charing Cross road was originally two narrow streets in the West End, Crown Street and Castle Street. Following the development of Regent Street in the mid-18th century, there was an increase in traffic between Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross towards Tottenham Court Road and Bloomsbury, and the need for an improved road became obvious. Charing Cross Road was developed, in conjunction with Shaftesbury Avenue, by the Metropolitan Board of Works under an 1877 Act of Parliament.The total cost of building at a cost of £778,238. The two streets and others such as the Thames Embankment, Northumberland Avenue, Kingsway and Aldwych were built to improve traffic flow through central London. The road required some of the worst slums in London to be demolished, which delayed progress in construction while they were rehoused.