A15 road
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| A15 road | |
| Direction | North-South |
| Start | Hessle |
| Primary destinations1 |
Lincoln Sleaford Peterborough |
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| End | Norman Cross |
| Roads joined |  A63 road A164 road A1077 road A180 road M180 motorway A18 road A631 road A1055 road A46 road A158 road A57 road A607 road A17 road A153 road A52 road A151 road A16 road A47 road A1260 road A1129 road A605 road.PNG/50px-UK_motorway_A1(M).PNG){kind=small} A1(M) motorway |
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The A15 is a major road in England. It runs north from Peterborough via Market Deeping, Bourne, Sleaford and Lincoln before it is interrupted at its junction with the M180 near Scawby. The road restarts ten miles east, and then continues north past Barton-upon-Humber and over the Humber Bridge before terminating at Hessle near Kingston upon Hull.
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[edit] Driving conditions
According to the AA, the route is 95 miles long, and should take 2 1/4 hours. Norman Cross - Bourne takes 33 minutes, Bourne to Lincoln takes 46 minutes and Lincoln to the Humber Bridge takes 54 minutes.
A section of the A15 provides the longest stretch of straight road in the UK
[edit] Route
[edit] Peterborough
The A15 is Peterborough's main connecting road from the south to the A1(M), joining near Stilton, at Norman Cross, though this short stretch is only single carriageway and has many sets of traffic lights and speed cameras. It begins as London Road at junction 16 of the A1(M) with the B1043 (former A1) in Cambridgeshire and the district of North West Cambridgeshire. From here to Yaxley it follows the City of Peterborough and Cambridgeshire boundary, where there is the BP Little Hampton Filling Station on the left and a junction with the B1091 (for Farcet). It enters the City of Peterborough near Hampton Vale on the left, and meets the A1260 The Serpentine, which leads to two much faster routes around Peterborough, at a roundabout near a large Tesco and Serpentine Green Shopping Centre on the left. Next is a roundabout for the Cygnet Park business park on the left, home of the new headquarters of News International. It enters Old Fletton near the headquarters of Hotpoint to the left. There is a staggered junction with the A1129 and it crosses the East Coast Main Line. It passes Peterborough United on the right in New Fletton. It meets the start of the A605 at a roundabout and crosses the River Nene. The old A15 route heading out of Peterborough is known as Lincoln Road - a main shopping area.
The A15 takes two routes through Peterborough:
- The route on the west side begins as Bourges Boulevard at Peterborough Crown Court, meets the A1179 (former A47), passes the Peterborough railway station and the Esso Westside Service Station on the left, meets three roundabouts near Millfield and New England. It follows the East Coast Main Line and becomes Lincoln Road and Werrington Parkway after the A47 GSJ. It passes a Morrisons just after the A47 at Walton, then passes four roundabouts, crossing the Peterborough to Lincoln Line.
- The route on the east side starts at the Eye roundabout with the A1139 at Newark next to the BP service station and KFC, then follows the dual-carriageway Paston Parkway, which is the old route of the A47, and meets the A47. It becomes a single carriageway at the next roundabout at Gunthorpe and follows the Car Dyke then meets another roundabout and crosses the Spalding railway.
Both routes head through Werrington (passing either side) before joining again at Glinton with the roundabout with the B1443. There is another roundabout with the B1443 (for Helpston) near the Total Glinton Service Station and a McDonalds. It passes Etton and meets a roundabout with the B1524 (former route through Market Deeping), B1162 (for Northborough) and an exit for Maxey.
[edit] Kesteven
Just south of the Welland Gate roundabout on the A16 and B1166, it crosses the River Welland so entering South Kesteven in Lincolnshire. The roundabout marks the western end of the £7m four mile Market Deeping bypass, finished in July 1998. The A15 and A16 roads are now merged in a one mile dual-carriageway stretch. It meets the B1524 (former route) at a roundabout and heads to the left as Peterborough Road becoming Bourne Road and Deeping Road. In Langtoft, where it passes the St Michael and All Angels church and Waggon & Horses, and Baston there are 40mph speed cameras. North of Baston is the Waterside Garden Centre close to where it meets the north-south Roman King Street, which it follows until Rippingale. It goes over the River Glen at the point it is crossed by the Macmillan Way, at Kate's Bridge. Just north of here is the BP Kate's Bridge Service Station.
There is a left turn for Obthorpe and it goes through Thurlby, passing the Horseshoe pub, then Northorpe, before coming to the small town of Bourne. It meets the A151 at a new roundabout, then it leaves to the right, where the road becomes South Road. It passes Bourne Grammar School, then the Masons Arms and Red Lion pubs, and Bourne Abbey as South Street. In North Street, it passes the Burghley Centre (shops), and Royal Oak and Burghley Arms. There is the Esso Bourne Service Station on the left, which has a Tesco Express. The section north of Bourne to the junction with the A153 near Sleaford is often quiet. It becomes North Road, passing close to Dyke, and goes through Morton as Bourne Road, passing the Kings Head and Lord Nelson pubs. It becomes Folkingham Road and there is a right turn for Haconby and a junction with the B1177 (for Billingborough). Close by are Rippingale and Kirkby Underwood. It passes by Aslackby and the Robin Hood and Little John, then it goes past a water tower and through the middle of Folkingham as Bourne Road at the northern end of which it becomes Sleaford Road and enters North Kesteven.
There is the Threekingham Bar roundabout with the east-west A52, and it goes through Osbournby, as London Road where it passes the Whichcote Arms pub and the primary school. It passes the Tally Ho Inn, near Aswarby, then there are left turns for Aunsby and Swarby. Sleaford and Silk Willoughby were until 1993 on the A15, which slowed traffic down chronically as the traffic went across a level crossing and through Sleaford's shopping area. The £5.7m bypass opened on 16 September 1993, by Douglas Hogg, where there is a roundabout with the A153 and B1517, where the traffic increases. The A15 crosses the railway and River Slea then leaves the bypass at the Holdingham roundabout with the A17 and B1518 (former route). Situated on this large roundabout are a Little Chef with a Travelodge, a McDonalds and the Total Holdingham Service Station. As Lincoln Road, it goes close to Leasingham meeting the B1209, which used to be on the A15. There is a junction for Cranwell with the B1429. It meets the B1191 (for Scopwick), B1202 and B1178. On the route to Lincoln, it goes near to two RAF bases - RAF Digby, which is used for communications rather than as a flying station, and across the end of the runway of RAF Waddington, which flies AWACS and Nimrod aircraft.
[edit] Lincoln
At Bracebridge Heath, it passes the Total Sleaford Road Service Station, just before it meets the end of the A607 at traffic lights. Towards Lincoln, it meets the B1131 as London Road. It is crossed by the Viking Way at the moment Lincoln Cathedral comes into full view. Here the road is on the brink of the descent of Cross O'Cliff Hill and the entry into the City of Lincoln. It meets the A1434 Newark Road from North Hykeham at traffic lights near the Priory LSST, where it becomes St Catherine's Road. At a roundabout at the south end of (what becomes) Lincoln's High Street, it exits to the right along South Park and meets the B1188 at traffic lights, where it heads left as Canwick Road. It crosses the railway near Tesco on the right, and the River Witham near the junction with the start of the A57 and Siemens factory, before heading up the hill on the north side of the Lincoln Gap, and heading in the direction of the A158 as Lindum Road (for Skegness) then Wragby Road, past Lincoln Christ's Hospital School and a Tesco near a left turn for the B1182 then meets the B1308 near the large Carlton Centre Retail Park with a McDonalds. A new eastern bypass to the A158/A15 junction has been announced, though funding is proving difficult.
[edit] Lindsey
North of Lincoln, the A15 enters West Lindsey, and meets the start of the A158 at a roundabout, then runs concurrently with the A46, and follows the Roman road Ermine Street past the Riseholme College of Agriculture, now part of the University of Lincoln, and Lincolnshire Showground to the left. There is a roundabout with the A1500, for Gainsborough. From here, it used to be straight, but with RAF Scampton becoming a base for V bombers in the 1950s, the runway had to be extended and the road now has a curved diversion. It passes the primarty school and continues past a right turn to Normanby by Spital to a roundabout with the A631 at Caenby Corner, and the Total Caenby Corner Garage and a Little Chef just south of Spital-in-the-Street. Overtaking is difficult as the road, although straight, is undulating with unmarked dips and slow moving farm traffic. At the B1205 staggered crossroads (for Waddingham), it enters North Lincolnshire. At the B1206 crossroads, the old route used to go through Hibaldstow and Brigg. It passes close to Kirton in Lindsey, home of RAF Kirton In Lindsey much used in World War II, now home to the Trent Valley Gliding Club. Hibaldstow was a wartime fighter airfield as well, this is now used as a base for parachuting and parachuting competitions by Target Skysports. The five-mile £7m Brigg and Redbourne bypass was added in December 1989 which follows the old Ermine Street in North Lincolnshire further than previously, with a much flatter, wider and safer road. This section was the upgraded route of an unclassified road. It crosses the Sheffield to Cleethorpes railway line near Gainsthorpe and joining the M180 at junction 4, near Scunthorpe.
The route of the A15 now becomes part of the three-laned M180, which was opened on 2 September 1977. The A15 section along Ermine Street was planned to be opened at the same time, but it had to wait twelve years. This five mile section of motorway never ever sees hold ups. The build up of traffic to Grimsby prompted calls for the Brigg bypass for many years, but the Flixborough explosion of 1974 made it more of an emergency. This section goes under the A18, over the River Ancholme, over the old route of the A15 (B1206) and over the South Trans-Pennine railway. At junction 5, the A15 reforms at the dual-grade Barnetby Interchange, which is crossed by the Viking Way and has the JET Barnetby Service Station with an exit to Elsham. It continues north as an excellent dual carriageway which carries about as little traffic as the M180. The M180 drops to two lanes under this roundabout and continues to Grimsby and Immingham as the A180, which has a logbook of many drivers falling asleep over its hypnotic concrete surface.
The A15 towards the Humber Bridge, goes directly across the runways of the former RAF Bomber Command airfield at RAF Elsham Wolds (where over 1000 of its aircrew were killed), which is now the Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate. The former route of the A15, pre-1978, is now called B1206, and ends at New Holland, North Lincolnshire, New Holland, where the A15 formerly connected with the Humber Ferry. The £5.6m six-mile Brigg Bypass to Barton-upon-Humber Bypass (up to where the B1218 crosses) section opened in June 1978. The £2m one-mile Barton-upon-Humber Bypass to Humber Bridge (A1077 interchange) section opened in September 1978, although some maps show this being open before the southern section to the M180. When this whole section opened to the GSJ with the A1077 (for South Ferriby) in 1978, there was no longer any access to the B1218. In the early 1990s, a new interchange was added with the B1206 (the former A15), which is crossed by the Viking Way. The section across the Humber was opened on 17 July 1981, by the Queen, and was the world's longest single-span bridge until 1997. The tolls are north of the bridge. It crosses the A63 and ends at a roundabout with A164 (for Beverley) and A1105.
[edit] External links
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