A61 road

A61 road shield

A61 road
Major junctions
From: Derby
  A52 A52 road
A608 A608 road
A38 A38 road
A6175 A6175 road
A617 A617 road
A619 A619 road
A6107 A6107 road
A621 A621 road
A57 A57 road
A6101 A6101 road
A6102 A6102 road
A629 A629 road
A616 A616 road
[[Image:Motorway Left.svg|[ |x30px|link=]] M1 motorway
A6195 A6195 road
A6133 A6133 road
A635 A635 road
A628 A628 road
A633 A633 road
A6186 A6186 road
A638 A638 road
A642 A642 road
A650 A650 road
A654 A654 road
A639 A639 road
[[Image:Motorway Left.svg|[ |x30px|link=]] M1 motorway
[[Image:Motorway Left.svg|[ |x30px|link=]] M621 motorway
A653 A653 road
A64 A64 road
A58 A58 road
A6120 A6120 road
A659 A659 road
A658 A658 road
A6040 A6040 road
A59 A59 road
A6108 A6108 road
A1 A1 road
A167 A167 road
A170 A170 road
A19 A19 road
To: Thirsk
Location
Primary
destinations
:
Alfreton
Chesterfield
Dronfield
Sheffield
Hillsborough
Barnsley
Staincross
Wakefield
Leeds
Harrogate
Ripon
Road network

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

The A61 at the Sheepscar Interchange (its interchange with the A58 and the Leeds Inner Ring Road), in Sheepscar, Leeds.

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 The Stray, (a 200-acre (0.81 km2) stretch of grassland in Harrogate). As Leeds Road, it then passes through the southern suburbs of Harrogate before meeting the A658 near the village of Pannal. The A61 continues through Harewood before approaching the north's metropolis, where a sudden urban fringe approaches. As the road enters Leeds and crosses the A6120 outer ring road, the road becomes Scott Hall Road, a main dual carriageway (or Trunk Road) and artery for north Leeds. For a distance it stays the same before the arrival of the superbusway near Potternewton. Here, the A61 rises slightly, and a panoramic view of Leeds skyline is revealed. The descent into Leeds is quick and the road soon turns into a multi-lane road, as it approaches Sheepscar Interchange. Fast-flowing traffic is directed onto the A61, although some traffic is directed off the A61 to avoid Leeds City Centre as it routes around the back of 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 the Highways Agency.

Northwards past Sheffield Wednesday Hillsborough Stadium

The A61 travels into Sheffield through Grenoside and Hillsborough, passing next to the Sheffield Wednesday football stadium. At this point it forms a major artery into the City Centre from the north, before becoming the Sheffield Inner Ring Road (which as of 2007 is labelled as A61 all the way around). It meets the A57 twice; at Park Square and Brookhill roundabout. The A61 takes a southerly course past Sheffield United football stadium through Heeley as Chesterfield Road and climbs up to Norton and Greenhill roundabout. Between Sheffield and Chesterfield is a dual carriageway, avoids Dronfield 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.

Southwards past Chesterfield

South of Alfreton, the A61 merges with the dual carriageway A38, but the old A61 continues as the B6179 through Swanwick and Denby, meeting the A38 again just north of the City. The A61 road continues towards the city centre along Sir Frank Whittle Road until it finally ends at the junction with the A52 near to the headquarters of Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

Map of Route

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 (20042006), this single carriageway route was rated as Red the second highest risk category.[2]

References

  1. "EuroRAP 2008: GB Tracking Survey Results" (PDF). EuroRAP. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  2. "GB A61 (Risk Rate)". EuroRAP. Retrieved 2009-03-09.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to A61 road (England).

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

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