A1079 road

The A1079 is a major road in northern England. It links the cities of York and Kingston upon Hull, both in Yorkshire.

Route

The road begins in central York, heading east initially as Lawrence Street and then Hull Road. After 2 miles (3.2 km) it meets the A64 at a grade separated roundabout and gains primary status. Continuing as Hull Road it passes the villages of Dunnington and Kexby, before heading into the East Riding of Yorkshire and passing Wilberfoss, Barmby Moor and the small town of Pocklington. After going through the village of Hayton the road becomes a dual carriageway for 2.5 km, at the end of which is Shiptonthorpe, where the road becomes York Road. It meets the A614 (to Goole and Bridlington) at a roundabout, before bypassing the town of Market Weighton. It goes through the village of Bishop Burton and around the southern side of Beverley, again with a short dual carriageway section. It passes under the A164 (which heads towards the Humber Bridge), and then meets the A1033 at Dunswell roundabout. Here the A1079 loses its primary status as it heads into the centre of Kingston upon Hull as Beverley Road and later, Ferensway. The road terminates at the junction with the A63 (Hessle Road).

About the road

Much of the road is built to single carriageway standard, although a 1.1 miles (1.8 km) stretch of the Beverley bypass and a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) stretch near Shiptonthorpe are of dual carriageway standard. The majority of the road is national speed limit (60 mph / 97 km/h on single carriageway sections (including Market Weighton hill), 70 mph (110 km/h) / 113 km/h on dual carriageway sections). 13 Truvelo Speed Cameras enforce the speed limit along the stretch of the road between Kingston upon Hull and Market Weighton.

Following its de-trunking in 2003, the road is maintained by two authorities:

• East Riding of Yorkshire Council
• City of York Council

Reputation for danger

The road has a reputation for being dangerous, primarily because the majority of it is single carriageway. Cars therefore have to turn across oncoming traffic to access adjoining roads. Between 1999 and 2005, there was an average of 90 accidents per year [1]. A local campaign group 'Action - Access - A1079' propose that in the long-term, more of the road be made dual carriageway to help combat these problems.

In the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) survey, which gives all major roads in Europe a safety rating, the A1079 is categorised as 'Medium-high risk' between Market Weighton and Hull, and 'Low-medium risk' between York and Market Weighton [2]. The Market Weighton-Hull section was also identified in a EuroRAP report in June 2007 as being one of the 10 most dangerous roads in the UK, with 69 fatal or serious collisions between 2003 and 2005 [3].

External links

• Action - Access - A1079 partnership