A46 road

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the road in England. For other uses, see A46.

A46 shield
A46
A180 in Cleethorpes (53°33′40″N 0°02′06″W / 53.561°N 0.035°W / 53.561; -0.035
)
Location
Country
Lincoln
Road network
←
A47

The A46 is a major

Roman Fosse Way
, but between Bath and Leicester, two cities also linked by the Fosse Way, it follows a more westerly course.

History

The original (1923) route of the A46 was from Bath to

Lincoln. Unusually for such a long road, no changes were made to its route until the 1970s. In recent years the central sections of the road have been rerouted and renumbered substantially, and there are now two sections where there are gaps of over 10 miles (16 km) where the road does not exist at all. The A46 has also been extended from Laceby to Grimsby and Cleethorpes – the road between Laceby and Grimsby was originally part of the A18
.

The major realignments have been

Bypasses were also built around Market Rasen, Lincoln and Newark.

Route

Cleethorpes – A1 (Newark)

The A46 starts at Isaac's Hill roundabout with the A1098 and the

T junction. The road bypasses Dunholme to the south then it passes close to the former RAF Dunholme Lodge.[10] It passes the headquarters for Lincolnshire Police on the left.[11] It meets the A158 (for Skegness
) and the B1182 (former route into Lincoln) at a roundabout.

The A46 Lincoln Relief Road is concurrent with the

A17
joins from the left at a roundabout.

A1 (Newark) – M1 (Leicester)

A section of the A46 in Glenfield, Leicestershire just before it joins the M1 motorway

The road crosses the

Leicester Western Bypass. There are grade separated junctions with the A6, A5630 and A50.[15] This section of the road ends at a junction with the B5380, with the forward route flowing on to the M1. It originally continued towards Coventry until the opening of the M69 motorway
in the 1970s, which replaced the A46 as the main route between Leicester and Coventry, with the former A46 being downgraded.

M6 (Coventry) – M5 (Tewkesbury)

The A46 junction for Stoneleigh and the University of Warwick

The A46 reappears at Coventry at junction 2 of the

A4177 and Warwick Parkway railway station. The M40
is passed over west of Longbridge roundabout, as a new bypass now brings the mainline carriageway away from Junction 15, the A46 meets a small roundabout, connecting with the B4463 and a link to Junction 15 for northbound A46 traffic to access the M40 and A429 respectively.

The 3-mile (4.8 km) dual carriageway section south of the improved Longbridge island is the only part of the A46 on its original routing between Leicester and Cheltenham. Stratford is bypassed to the north as a single carriageway road, crossing the

Bidford on Avon. Almost immediately after the roundabout, the road enters Worcestershire and Wychavon district, then goes back into Warwickshire, before going back into Worcestershire Near Harvington. At the northern end of the Evesham bypass, the A44 joins at a roundabout and becomes concurrent with the A46. The next roundabout on the bypass is the B4035, followed by the A44 (for Oxford), The final roundabout on the bypass is with the A4184 and the A46 continues to head south. The villages of Sedgeberrow (bypassed) and Beckford are on the route. At the Teddington Hands roundabout, the A435 heads south to Cheltenham, while the A46 heads west. It passes Ashchurch close to Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station. This section of the A46 ends on the M5
roundabout at junction 9.

Cheltenham – Bath

A fingerpost sign along the A46 in South Gloucestershire. Near the junction with the M4

After a gap filled in by the A435, the A46 reappears on its original route in the centre of

A4 to the east of the city. From here a continuous route to the south coast at Poole and Southampton is possible via the A36 and A350
roads.

The 3-mile (4.8 km) £45 million dual-carriageway Batheaston/Swainswick Bypass, opened in summer 1996, contains 1-mile (1.6 km) of the A46.[16][17] In February 1994, a camp was set up on Solsbury Hill, to protest the Batheaston bypass, however this was ultimately unsuccessful and construction was completed by November 1995.[18][19]

A small section of the A46 between Painswick and Stroud subsided during the floods on Friday 29 July 2007 and was shut for over 6 months, causing quite an impact on the local area. The road re-opened on 15 February 2008.[citation needed]

Former routes

Bypasses and realignments

  • Irby upon Humber (Bypassed, now Old Main Road)
  • Swallow (Bypassed, now Caistor-Grimsby Road)
  • Lincoln (Bypassed, now A1434)
  • Newark (Bypassed, now B6166)
  • Syston (Bypassed, now unclassified)
  • Leicester (Bypassed, now A607 and A5460)
  • Coventry (Bypassed; northern section A4600; southern section now A429 [pre-1974 route],
    or A444 and A4114 [1974 — 1989 route])
  • Kenilworth and Warwick (Bypassed, now A429)
  • Stratford (Bypassed, now A439 and B439)

Downgrading

  • Leicester – Coventry (Downgraded to B4114 upon opening of the M69)
  • Stratford – Cheltenham (Downgraded to B4632 upon diversion of route via Alcester and Evesham)

Improvements

  • The M40 Longbridge Island bypass, a dual carriageway road which bypassed the M40 Junction 15 interchange, opened in December 2009, providing much needed relief for the junction.[20]
  • The Newark to Widmerpool Improvement is now complete and provides a new high quality grade-separated dual-carriageway which closes the gap in the corridor. Spring 2012 saw peripheral works progress and the entire project was completed by Summer 2012.[21]
  • The A45/A46 Tollbar End improvement is now complete and provides a grade separated junction, as well as improvements to the Stonebridge Highway.[22] The project was open to traffic in December 2016.
  • The A46/A428 Binley Junction Upgrade will provided a grade separated junction.
  • The junction with Lincoln Road near Welton was replaced with a three-armed roundabout, primarily to reduce its high accident rate. Work was completed in June 2021.[23]

Proposed

  • The Sub-national Transport Body Midlands Connect prioritised the upgrading of the A46 in the Midlands Connect Strategy, published in March 2017, including a strategic study for a potential expressway route between the M5 and M40. In July 2018, Midlands Connect released "Our Routes to Growth" in which it described the first stage of its A46 corridor study, referring to the road as a "national and international economic driver that connects the East and West Midlands to the South West and the North. Investing in infrastructure improvements along this route will create a resilient alternative to the existing motorway network for businesses and freight traffic."[24] It reiterated the development a business case for upgrades to the A46 from the M40 to Syston and a strategic study for making the A46 an expressway between the M5 and M40. The first stage of this A46 study will be released before the end of 2018, with the second stage examining specific sections for more detailed development of possible improvements.

Upcoming

  • Newark Bypass – will upgrade road to dual carriageway. Scheme expected to be completed by 2030.[25]

References

  1. ^ "B4109". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ "B4632". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ "B439". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. ^ "A439". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. ^ "A429". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. ^ "A4600". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Derek, 93, gets award of merit". Kenilworth Weekly News. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Isaacs Hill Roundabout". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  9. ^ "A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement" (PDF). Highways Agency. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  10. ^ "RAF Dunholme Lodge Memorial". Visit Lincoln. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Map and Directions" (PDF). Lincolnshire Police. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Lincoln Eastern Bypass" (PDF). Lincoln Eastern Bypass. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  13. ^ "A1133". SABRE. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  14. ^ http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4403.aspx Archived 8 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement
  15. ^ "Major roads investment in the Midlands". Department for Transport. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  16. ^ "A4/A46 Batheaston/Swainswick Bypass". TRID. 31 July 1997. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  17. doi:10.1680/icien.1997.29788
    .
  18. ^ George Monbiot, Paul Kingsnorth (11 February 2009). "High ideals, high impact". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Solsbury Hill: Chronicle of a road protest". The Guardian. 9 February 2009.
  20. ^ "Longbridge Island's bypass opens". BBC News. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  21. ^ Highways Agency: A46 between the A606 Melton Road and Farndon Roundabout, Newark Archived 5 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement". Highways Agency. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  23. ^ "A46 Dunholme/Welton roundabout". Lincolnshire County Council. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  24. ^ Connect, Midlands. "Our Routes to Growth" (PDF). www.midlandsconnect.uk. Midlands Connect. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  25. ^ "A46 Newark Bypass". National Highways. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

External links

Media related to A46 road (England) at Wikimedia Commons

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