A5 road (Great Britain): Difference between revisions
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061016105539/http://www.milestonesweb.com/features/telford.htm Milestonesweb entry] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061016105539/http://www.milestonesweb.com/features/telford.htm Milestonesweb entry] |
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*[http://www.eurorap.org/ EuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008] |
*[http://www.eurorap.org/ EuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008] |
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*[http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.com/ Road Safety Foundation] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080704035202/http://www.roadsafetyfoundation.com/ Road Safety Foundation] |
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*[http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/eppi_lc_subjects/2149 1815–1830 reports of Select Committees on roads to Holyhead] digitised by Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers On Ireland |
*[http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/eppi_lc_subjects/2149 1815–1830 reports of Select Committees on roads to Holyhead] digitised by Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers On Ireland |
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Revision as of 04:24, 10 December 2017
A5 | |
---|---|
Highways England and North & Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency | |
Length | 180.63 mi (290.70 km) |
Major junctions | |
Southeast end | City of Westminster 51°30′48″N 0°09′37″W / 51.5133°N 0.1603°W |
A40
A406 A41
M1 ![]() A505 ![]() A421 ![]() A509 ![]() A508 A43
A361 ![]() A428 ![]() A4303 ![]() M69 A47
A444 ![]() M42 A51
A452 A34
A460 ![]() M6 ![]() A449 A41
A442 ![]() M54 A49
A458 ![]() A488 ![]() A483 ![]() A494 ![]() A470 ![]() A487 A55 | |
Northwest end | Holyhead 53°18′23″N 4°37′47″W / 53.3063°N 4.6298°W |
Location | |
Country | |
Road network | |
The A5 London Holyhead Trunk Road is a major road in England and Wales. It runs for about 181 miles (291 km) (including sections concurrent with other designations) from London, England to Holyhead, Wales, following in part a section of the Roman Iter II route which later took the Anglo-Saxon name Watling Street.
History
Roman Road
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Watling_Street_route.jpg/220px-Watling_Street_route.jpg)
The section of the A5 between London and Shrewsbury is roughly contiguous with one of the principal Roman roads in Britain: that between Londinium and Deva, which diverges from the present-day A5 corridor at Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum) near Shrewsbury
Telford's Holyhead Road
The
Through England, the road largely took over existing
From Shrewsbury and through Wales, Telford's work was more extensive. In places he followed existing roads, but he also built new links, including the Menai Suspension Bridge to connect the mainland with Anglesey and the Stanley Embankment to Holy Island.
Telford's road was complete with the opening of the Menai Suspension Bridge in 1826.
Notable features of Telford's road
The road was designed to allow
The route through Wales retains many of the original features of Telford's road and has, since 1995, been recognised as a historic route worthy of preservation. An 18-month survey by
- many surviving and distinctive toll houses
- 'depots' along the route, being roadside alcoves to store grit and materials
- distinctive milestones at each mile - many originals having survived and been restored, others now replaced by replicas
- distinctive gates in a 'sunburst' design, a few of which have survived
- a
Route
-
Marble Arch, London
– start of the A5 -
The A5 as it traverses rural Shropshire near Wellington on a new alignment to that of the original Thomas Telford route
-
Sign of Thomas Telford's Historic Route
-
Admiralty Arch, Holyhead – end of the A5
London - Milton Keynes
Starting at
Milton Keynes - Hinckley
On entering the Milton Keynes urban area, the road becomes a fully grade-separated dual carriageway and passes through Milton Keynes. This stretch was opened in 1980, replacing the original route along Watling Street. From just north of Milton Keynes, the road resumes as a single carriageway that continues through Towcester where it crosses the A43 dual carriageway just north of the town. The road accompanies the Grand Union Canal and the M1 motorway through the Watford Gap. It then bridges the M45 motorway and continues to Kilsby. As it passes close to Rugby, the road is diverted slightly around the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal and then passes the remains of the Rugby Radio Station.
The next phase north-west-bound takes it under the M6 motorway and passing close to Lutterworth. Along this stretch, the road frequently alternates between being a single and a dual carriageway. After meeting the M69 motorway at a roundabout, with the motorway passing above, the A5 runs through Hinckley.
Hinckley - Shrewsbury
After Hinckley, the road runs through the northern fringes of
Shrewsbury - Bangor
After Shrewsbury the A5 continues as single-carriageway except for the
Bangor - Holyhead
From Bangor the road crosses the
Tŷ Nant cutting
In 1997, a section of bends on Telford's road between Tŷ Nant and
Alternative routes
Parts of the A5 have been replaced by sections of the M1 north of London, the M54 through Telford, the M6, and the M6 Toll. The A55 route in North Wales is now the usual way to get from Chirk to Holyhead, avoiding the mountainous A5 route through Snowdonia and instead going via the much gentler Cheshire Plain and along the coast.
Road safety
In June 2008, a 9.9-mile (16 km) stretch of the A5 between Daventry and Rugby was named as the most dangerous road in the East Midlands.[5] This single carriageway stretch had fifteen fatal and serious injury collisions between 2004 and 2006, and was rated as 'red'—the second highest risk band—in the EuroRAP report publish by the Road Safety Foundation.
See also
- A5 road (Isle of Man)
- A5 road (Northern Ireland)
- Trunk roads in Wales
References
- Quartermaine et al. (2003) Thomas Telford's Holyhead Road: The A5 in North Wales, Council for British Archaeology ISBN 1-902771-34-6
- ^ Holyhead Road Sabre-roads.org
- ^ Telford highway to Holyhead found intact under the A5 – The Independent, 5 August 2000
- ^ Closure Of A5 Trunk Road Between Ty Nant And Dinmael Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A5 at Ty Nant reopens ahead of schedule
- ^ Highest risk road sections in each UK Government Office Region (2004-2006) Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
External links
Media related to A5 road (Great Britain) at Wikimedia Commons
- Society for All British Road Enthusiasts entry for the A5
- Road to Nowhere: A5
- Nesscliffe bypass opened 21 March 2003.
- Milestonesweb entry
- EuroRAP GB Tracking Survey Results 2008
- Road Safety Foundation
- 1815–1830 reports of Select Committees on roads to Holyhead digitised by Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers On Ireland