A61 road

A61
A61
	A19
To	Thirsk
Location
Country	Primary; destinations
Road network
	Roads in the United Kingdom; Motorways; A and B road zones;
	← A62
	← A62

The A61 is a major trunk road in England connecting Derby and Thirsk in North Yorkshire by way of Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon. The road is closely paralleled by the M1 motorway between Derby and Leeds.

Route

Heading south, the road begins as single carriageway from Thirsk which bypasses Ripon and travels towards Harrogate, eventually passing through Harrogate town centre. Here, the road divides into two major one-way streets which enclose the town centre and run along

Quarry House. The A61 meets it shortly after, as it shares the city centre loop for a short distance. After crossing the river, the road splits again before taking traffic out to the motorways. The road then continues out of Leeds towards Wakefield and Barnsley. South of Barnsley it crosses the M1 at Junction 36 then heads towards Sheffield. Between the M1 at Junction 36 and the Westwood roundabout intersection with the A616, the road is designated as a trunk road under the responsibility of National Highways

.

The A61 travels into Sheffield through

Norton and onto Bowshaw roundabout. Between Sheffield and Chesterfield it is a dual carriageway, avoids Dronfield and Unstone as the eponymous by-pass. The road used to go through Chesterfield town centre, passing by the famous crooked spire, but was heavily congested. This was alleviated by the construction of the Chesterfield bypass in the 1980s on the alignment of the former Great Central Railway. The road reverts to single carriageway south of Chesterfield, passing through Clay Cross and Alfreton

.

South of Alfreton, the A61 merges with the dual carriageway

Sir Frank Whittle Road until it finally ends at the junction with the A52 near to the headquarters of Derbyshire County Cricket Club

.

Road safety

In June 2008 a 6.2-mile (10.0 km) stretch of the A61 between Barnsley and Wakefield was named as the most dangerous road in Britain, when motorcycle accidents were excluded.[1] In the latest EuroRAP findings from the Road Safety Foundation, this stretch of road was also found to be the most dangerous road in Yorkshire and Humber. With 22 fatal and serious injury accidents in the three years analysed (2004–2006), this single carriageway route was rated as Red – the second highest risk category.^[2]

References

^ "EuroRAP 2008: GB Tracking Survey Results" (PDF). EuroRAP. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
^ "GB A61 (Risk Rate)". EuroRAP. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2009.

External links

53°34′02″N 1°28′19″W / 53.56713°N 1.47182°W / 53.56713; -1.47182

[1] "EuroRAP 2008: GB Tracking Survey Results" (PDF). EuroRAP. 30 June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2009.

[2] "GB A61 (Risk Rate)". EuroRAP. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2009.

[2]

v t e A roads in Zone 6 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A6 A60 A61 A62 A63 A64 A65 A66 A67 A68 A69
	A602 A605 A606 A607 A610 A612 A614 A616 A617 A619 A624 A625 A626 A628 A629 A630 A631 A632 A635 A636 A638 A640 A642 A643 A647 A650 A657 A658 A660 A661 A666 A671 A678 A684 A685 A686 A688 A689 A690 A695 A696 A697
	A6003 A6023 A6030 A6055 A6079 A6102 A6105 A6108 A6121 A6135 A6136 A6177 A6178 A6182 A6187
List of A roads in Zone 6 List of B roads in Zone 6