A1 road (Great Britain)

A1 road
Route information
Part of E15
Length: 410 mi (660 km)
Major junctions
South end: City of London[1]
 

M1 motorway
M25 motorway
M18 motorway
M62 motorway
A66(M) motorway
A194(M) motorway
A14 road
A15 road
A17 road
A19 road
A40 road
A41 road
A43 road
A46 road
A47 road
A406 road
A421 road
A428 road
A52 road
A57 road
A61 road
A63 road
A64 road
A66 road
A689 road
A690 road
A1231 road
A69 road
A167 road
A606 road

A720 road
North end: Edinburgh
Location
Primary
destinations
:
Hatfield, Hertford, Stevenage, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Stamford, Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Doncaster, Pontefract, Leeds, Wetherby, Harrogate, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Haddington, Edinburgh
Road network

Roads in the United Kingdom
Motorways • A and B road zones

The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It passes through and near Highgate and North London, Hatfield, Stevenage, Letchworth, Peterborough, Grantham, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick-upon-Tweed.[2]

It was designated by the Ministry of Transport in 1921, and for much of its route it followed various branches of the Great North Road, the main deviation being between Boroughbridge and Darlington. The course of the A1 has changed where towns or villages have been bypassed, or where new alignments take a slightly different route. Several sections of the route have been upgraded to motorway standard and designated A1(M). Between the M25 (near London) and A696 (near Newcastle upon Tyne) the road is part of the unsigned Euroroute E15.

Contents

History

The A1 is the latest in a series of routes north from London to York and beyond, and was formed in 1921 by the Ministry of Transport as part of the Great Britain road numbering scheme.[3] The earliest documented northern routes are the roads created by the Romans during the period 43 to 410 AD, which consisted of a variety of "Iters" on the Antonine Itinerary,[4] a combination of which were used by the Anglo-Saxons as the route from London to York, and which became known as Ermine Street.[5] Ermine Street later became known as the Old North Road,[6] and is used within London by the current A10.[7] By the 12th century, because of flooding and damage by traffic, an alternative route out of London was found through Muswell Hill, and became part of the Great North Road.[6][7] A turnpike road, New North Road and Canonbury Road (A1200 road), was constructed in 1812 linking the start of the Old North Road around Shoreditch with the Great North Road at Highbury Corner.[8] While the route of the A1 outside London mainly follows the Great North Road route used by mail coaches between London and Edinburgh, within London the coaching route is only followed through Islington.[9]

The A1 route was modified in 1927 when bypasses were built around Barnet and Hatfield. In the 1930s by-passes where added round Chester-le-Street and Durham, and the Ferryhill Cut was dug. In 1960 Stamford and Doncaster were bypassed, as were Retford in 1961 and St Neots in 1971. During the early 1970s plans to widen the A1 along the Archway Road section were abandoned after considerable opposition and four public inquiries during which road protesters disrupted proceedings.[10] The scheme was finally dropped in 1990.[11] The Hatfield tunnel was opened in 1986.[12]

A proposal to upgrade the whole of the A1 to motorway status was investigated by the government in 1989[13] but was dropped in 1995 along with many other schemes in response to road protests associated with other road schemes (including the Newbury Bypass and the M3 extension through Twyford Down).[14]

Inns

The inns on the road, many of which still survive, were staging posts on the coach routes, providing accommodation, stabling for the horses and replacement mounts.[15] Virtually none of the surviving coaching inns can be seen while driving on the A1, because the modern route now bypasses the towns with the inns.

Route

The A1 runs from the City of London at St. Paul's Cathedral to the centre of Edinburgh. The road skirts the remains of Sherwood Forest, and passes Catterick Garrison. It shares its London terminus with the A40, in the City area of Central London. It runs out of London through Islington (where Upper Street forms part of its route), up Holloway Road, through Highgate, Barnet, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn, Stevenage, Baldock, Biggleswade, Sandy and St Neots.

Continuing north, the A1 runs on modern bypasses around Stamford, Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Retford, Bawtry, Doncaster, Knottingley, Garforth, Wetherby, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Durham and Chester-le-Street, past the Angel of the North sculpture and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, through the western suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, into Scotland, past Haddington and Musselburgh before arriving in Edinburgh at the East End of Princes Street near Waverley Station, at the junction of the A7, A8 and A900 roads.

Scotch Corner, in North Yorkshire, marks the point where the traffic for Glasgow and the west of Scotland divides from that for Edinburgh. As well as a hotel there have been a variety of homes for the transport café, now subsumed as a motorway services.

Overview and post-First World War developments

Most of the English section of the A1 is a series of alternating sections of dual carriageway and motorway. From Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Edinburgh it is a trunk road with alternating sections of dual and single carriageway. The table below summaries the road as motorways and non-motorways sections,[16]

Road Name Junctions Length Ceremonial Counties/
Lieutenancies
Primary Destinations
miles km
A1 16.58 26.68 London
Hertfordshire
London
A1(M) 1–10 24.14 38.84 Hertfordshire Hertford
Stevenage
A1 26.25 42.24 Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Bedford
Cambridge
A1(M) 13–17 12.84 20.66 Cambridgeshire Peterborough
A1 72.99 117.44 Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Stamford, Grantham
Newark on Trent
A1(M) 34–38 15.13 24.34 South Yorkshire Doncaster, Rotherham
Barnsley
A1 7.51 12.08 South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
Pontefract
Wakefield
A1(M) 40–49 35.79 57.59 West Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
Selby. Leeds
York,Wetherby
A1 23.02 37.04 North Yorkshire Thirsk
Scotch Corner
A1(M) 56–65 34.46 55.45 North Yorkshire, County Durham
Northumberland
Darlington, Bishop Auckland
Teesside, Durham
Sunderland
A1 128.29 206.42 Northumberland, Berwickshire
East Lothian, Edinburgh
Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Morpeth, Alnwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed, Haddington
Edinburgh
Total 397.00 638.78

A 13-mile (21 km) section of the road in North Yorkshire, from Walshford to Dishforth, was upgraded to motorway standard in 1995.[17] Neolithic remains and a Roman fort were discovered.

A 13-mile (21 km) section of the road from Alconbury to Peterborough was upgraded to motorway standard at a cost of £128 million (£168 million as of 2012),[18]which opened in 1998[19] requiring the moving the memorial to Napoleonic prisoners buried at Norman Cross.[20]

A number of sections from the Scottish border to Edinburgh were dualed between 1999 and 2004, including a 1.9-mile (3 km) section from Spott Wood to Oswald Dean in 1999, 1.2-mile (2 km) sections from Bowerhouse to Spott Road and from Howburn to Houndwood in 2002–2003 and the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) "A1 Expressway", from Haddington and Dunbar in 2004. The total cost of these works was some £50 million.[21]

Plans to dual the single carriageway section of road north of Newcastle upon Tyne were shelved in 2006 as they were not considered a regional priority by central government. The intention was to dual the road between Morpeth and Felton and between Adderstone and Belford.[22]

In 1999 a section of A1(M) between Bramham and Hook Moor opened to traffic along with the extension of the M1 from Leeds. The southern terminus was at an arbitrary point near Micklefield as opposed to a junction.[23] Under a DBFO contract,[24] sections from Wetherby to Walshford and Darrington to Hook Moor were opened in 2005 and 2006, taking the section to a junction.

Recent developments

A1 Peterborough to Blyth grade separated junctions

Between August 2006 and September 2009 there were six roundabouts on the A1 and the A1(M) to Alconbury were replaced with grade-separated junctions. These provide a fully grade-separated route between the Buckden roundabout (just north of St Neots and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Black Cat roundabout) and just north of Morpeth.[25] This project cost £96 million.[26]

Blyth (A614) Fully operational May 2008
Apleyhead (A614/A57) Fully operational January 2008
Markham Moor (A57) Fully operational April 2009
Gonerby Moor (B1174) Fully operational March 2008
Colsterworth (A151) and the junction with the B6403 Fully operational September 2009
Carpenters Lodge (Stamford) (B1081) Fully operational December 2008

A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby motorway

Upgrading the 6.2 miles (10 km) of road to dual three-lane motorway standard between the Bramham/A64 junction to north of Wetherby to meet the section of motorway at a cost of £70 million began in 2006, including a road alongside for non-motorway traffic. The scheme's public inquiry began on 18 October 2006 and the project was designed by James Poyner. Work began in May 2007, the motorway section opened in July 2009 and remaining work on side roads was still ongoing in late August and was expected to be completed by the end of 2009.[27]

Current improvements

A1(M) Dishforth to Leeming motorway

Upgrading of the existing dual carriageway to dual three-lane motorway standard, with a local road alongside for non-motorway traffic, between Dishforth (A1(M)/A168 junction) and Leeming Bar, began in March 2009 and is expected to be completed by Summer 2012.[28] It had originally been proposed that the motorway would be upgraded as far as Barton (between Scotch Corner and Darlington), which is the start of current northernmost section of A1(M). However this second phase was cancelled as part of government spending cuts.[29] If this second stage had been implemented, it would have provided a continuous motorway-standard road between Darrington (south of M62 junction) and Washington, and would have provided the North East and North Yorkshire with full motorway access to London (via M62, M18 and M1).

Proposed developments

Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme

The planned A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme would require a new junction at Brampton, north of which the A1 will be widened to a three-lane dual carriageway from Brampton to the Brampton Hut interchange. The new two-lane dual carriageway section of the A14 would run parallel with the A1 on this section.[30]

Sandy-Beeston Bypass

Sandy-Beeston Bypass
Location Bedfordshire
Proposer Highways Agency
cost estimate £67 million
start date 2016

In 2003 a proposal for a bypass of Sandy and Beeston, Bedfordshire, was put forward as a green-lighted scheme as part of a government multi-modal study, with a cost of £67 million.[31] However, the Highways Agency was unwilling to confirm the information as the study was preliminary and intended for future publication.[32] In 2008 the proposal was submitted for consideration in the pre-2013/14 Regional Funding Advice 2 Programme of the East of England Development Agency.[33]

Other proposals

The Highways Agency has been investigating an upgrade of the A1 Newcastle/Gateshead Western By-Pass to dual three-lane motorway standard to alleviate heavy congestion which in recent years has become a recurrent problem.[34]

Improvements to junctions near the village of Elkesley, Nottinghamshire are planned: the village's only access to the rest of the road network is via the A1.[35]

Consideration is being given to widening the Brampton Hut interchange to Alconbury sections to a three-lane dual carriageway.[36]

A1(M)

Some sections of the A1 have been upgraded to motorway standard. These are known as the A1(M) and are part of European route E15. These include:

M25 to Stotfold

The M25 to Stotfold section is 23 miles (37 km), and was constructed between 1962 and 1986. The main destinations are Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, and Letchworth It opened in five stages: junctions 1 to 2 in 1979; 2 to 4 in 1986; 4 to 6 in 1973; 6 to 8 in 1962; and 8 to 10 in 1967.

Alconbury to Peterborough

The Alconbury to Peterborough section is 14 miles (23 km), and opened in 1998.

Doncaster bypass

The Doncaster bypass opened in 1961 and is one of the oldest sections of motorway in Britain.[37] It is 15 miles (24.1 km) long, and runs from Blyth to Carcroft.

Darrington to Dishforth

The Darrington to Dishforth section was constructed between 1995 and 2009. It is 34 miles (55 km), and opened in sections:

When this section opened it ended at a temporary terminus south of the M1. There was a final exit into Micklefield Village for non-motorway traffic onto what is now the access road. During the first week of June 2009, Junctions 44 and 45 were renumbered 43 and 44. At the same time the A1/A659 Grange Moor junction became A1(M) Junction 45.[38] As a result many atlases show incorrect junction numbering for this stretch of motorway.
The northern section of the upgrade, bypassing Fairburn village opened in April 2005 with a temporary connection with the A1 between Fairburn and Brotherton. The southern section, with a free-flow interchange with the M62 motorway opened on 13 January 2006.
Dishforth to Leeming

Work began in March 2009 to upgrade the Dishforth to Leeming section to dual three-lane motorway standard with existing connections being replaced by two new junctions. As of July 2010, work was in progress on the Dishforth to Leeming section (J49 to J51) with an estimated completion date in 2012.[41]

Scotch Corner to Gateshead

The Scotch Corner to Gateshead section is 30 miles (48 km), and opened in stages:

Cultural references

The A1 is celebrated in song. It is mentioned by Jethro Tull on the title track of the album Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! "Up on the A1 by Scotch Corner". "Scotch Corner," by the Welsh band Man, on the album Rhinos, Winos, and Lunatics is about an encounter there. Near the southern end, signs saying "Hatfield and the North" inspired the eponymous 1970s rock band Hatfield and the North. The A1 is mentioned in The Long Blondes' song, "Separated By Motorways", along with the A14. The A1(M) is mentioned in the song "Gabadon" by Sheffield band, Haze.

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Roadlists
  3. ^ Chris Marshall (2011 [last update]). "CBRD » In Depth » Road Numbers » How it happened". cbrd.co.uk. http://www.cbrd.co.uk/indepth/roadnumbers/history.shtml. Retrieved 7 August 2011. 
  4. ^ Thomas Codrington (1903). Roman Roads in Britain - Antonine Itinerary. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. http://www.roman-britain.org/antonine-itinerary.htm. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  5. ^ Thomas Codrington. "LacusCurtius • Codrington's Roman Roads in Britain — Chapter 4". penelope.uchicago.edu. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/_Texts/CODROM/4*.html#1. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  6. ^ a b Frank Goddard (2004). Great North Road. Frances Lincoln Ltd. p. 14. ISBN 9780711224469. http://books.google.com/books?id=Rp66hfjBogcC&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  7. ^ a b Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb (2009). The London Encyclopedia. Pan Macmillan. p. 343. ISBN 9781405049252. http://books.google.com/books?id=sAA9olZqPSMC&pg=PA343#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  8. ^ Christopher Hibbert, Ben Weinreb (1983). The London Encyclopedia. Macmillan. p. 541. ISBN 9780333325568. http://books.google.com/?id=4IJnAAAAMAAJ&q=new+north+road+A+highway+financed+in+1812&dq=new+north+road+A+highway+financed+in+1812. Retrieved 23 August 2011. 
  9. ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road
  10. ^ Adams, John (1981). Transport planning, vision and practice. ISBN 9780710008442. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Hyg-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA62. 
  11. ^ "Road Victories" (PDF). Road Block. http://www.roadblock.org.uk/resources/roadsvictories.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
  12. ^ "A1(M) Hatfield Tunnel Refurbishment". http://www.connectplusm25.co.uk/theworks_A1.html. 
  13. ^ "http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1989/jul/14/a1-motorway-status". Hansard. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1989/jul/14/a1-motorway-status. 
  14. ^ "Column: 1180". Hansard. 1995-12-20. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/cgi-bin/newhtml_hl?DB=semukparl&STEMMER=en&WORDS=a1%20baldock&ALL=a1%20baldock&ANY=&PHRASE=&CATEGORIES=&SIMPLE=&SPEAKER=&COLOUR=red&STYLE=s&ANCHOR=51220w05.html_spnew6&URL=/pa/cm199596/cmhansrd/vo951220/text/51220w05.htm#51220w05.html_spnew6. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  15. ^ Norman W. Webster (1974) The Great North Road
  16. ^ The table was drawn up by reading values from the AA Route Planner for the journey Bank of England, London to Waverley Station, Edinburgh via Wittering. Adjustments were made for sections of the route that were not part of the A1."Route planner". AA. http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp. Retrieved 2011-01-15. 
  17. ^ "A1(M). Walshford to Dishforth". http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/a1mwaldish.htm. Retrieved 20 February 2010. 
  18. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Lawrence H. Officer (2010) "What Were the UK Earnings and Prices Then?" MeasuringWorth.
  19. ^ "A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4442.aspx. 
  20. ^ "Norman Cross Eagle Appeal". Local Heritage Initiative. http://www.lhi.org.uk/projects_directory/projects_by_region/east_of_england/city_of_peterborough/norman_cross_eagle_appeal/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
  21. ^ "A1 expressway opened". http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/04/5377. 
  22. ^ "Northumberland Today – A1 dualling hopes dashed". Northumberland Today. 2006-07-13. http://www.northumberlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1117&ArticleID=1625204. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  23. ^ [1]
  24. ^ "Darrington to Dishforth". Highways Agency. pp. 1. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5541.aspx. Retrieved 20 February 2010. 
  25. ^ "A1 Peterborough to Blyth Grade Separated Junctions Scheme". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4455.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  26. ^ "Bigger and bigger pricetag". http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/climate_change/roads/pricetag. .
  27. ^ "A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby Improvement Scheme". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5526.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  28. ^ "A1 Dishforth to Barton Improvement Scheme". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5187.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  29. ^ "Details emerge of dumped road schemes". Construction Enquirer. http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2010/10/21/details-emerge-of-dumped-road-schemes/. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
  30. ^ "A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton Scheme". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4219.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-20. 
  31. ^ "List of schemes announced". The Daily Telegraph. 2003-07-09. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435635/List-of-schemes-announced.html. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
  32. ^ "Route of Proposed Sandy/Beeston Bypass" (PDF). Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/aboutus/documents/crs_482561.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
  33. ^ "Regional Funding Advice – Transport Update" (PDF). East of England Development Agency. 2008-12-11. http://www.eeda.org.uk/files/Item_8_Regional_Funding_Advice__RFA.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-02. 
  34. ^ Highways Agency – A1 Western By-pass
  35. ^ Highways Agency – A1 Elkesley Junctions Improvement
  36. ^ "A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton – Proposed scheme". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4219.aspx. 
  37. ^ "The Motorway Archive. Oldest, widest, longest, highest.". ciht.org.uk. 2008 [last update]. http://www.ciht.org.uk/motorway/stats.htm. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  38. ^ "A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby". Highways Authority. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5526.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-17. 
  39. ^ "A1(M) Wetherby to Walshford". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5523.aspx. Retrieved 2008-08-06. 
  40. ^ "A1(M) Bramham to Wetherby". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/5526.aspx. Retrieved 2008-08-06. 
  41. ^ "A1 Dishforth to Leeming Improvement Scheme (A1 Dishforth to Barton)". Highways Agency. http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/24058.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-17. 

External links