A15 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Route information | ||||
Length | 97.7 mi [1] (157.2 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | A1(M) near Yaxley | |||
A47 in Peterborough A52 near Threekingham Contents
| ||||
North end | A63 near Hessle | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Constituent country | England | |||
Primary destinations | Lincoln, Sleaford, Peterborough | |||
Road network | ||||
|
The A15 is a major road in England. It runs north from Peterborough via Market Deeping, Bourne, Sleaford and Lincoln along a variety of ancient, Roman, and Turnpike alignments before it is interrupted at its junction with the M180 near Scawby. The road restarts 10 miles (16 km) east, and then continues north past Barton-upon-Humber, crossing the Humber on the Humber Bridge before terminating at Hessle near Kingston upon Hull.
According to the AA, the route is 95 miles (153 km) long and should take 21⁄4 hours. Norman Cross to Bourne takes 33 minutes, Bourne to Lincoln takes 46 minutes, and Lincoln to the Humber Bridge takes 54 minutes.
A section of the A15 (between Scampton and the M180) provides the longest stretch of straight road in the UK. [2] [3]
The A15 is Peterborough's main connecting road from the south to the A1(M), joining [4] near Stilton, at Norman Cross. It begins as London Road at junction [5] 16 of the A1(M) with the B1043 (former A1) in Cambridgeshire and the district of North West Cambridgeshire. From here to Yaxley it passes the Norman Cross Hotel [6] and follows [7] the City of Peterborough and Cambridgeshire boundary, where there is 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. 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. A staggered junction with the A1129 crosses the East Coast Main Line. It passes [8] Peterborough United on the right in New Fletton. It meets the start of the A605 at a roundabout and crosses the River Nene.
The A15 takes two routes through Peterborough:
Both routes head through Werrington (passing either side) before joining again at Glinton with the roundabout with the B1443. There is another roundabout. [13] with the B1443 (for Helpston). It passes Etton. It meets a roundabout with the B1524 [14] (the former route through Market Deeping), B1162 (for Northborough to the right) and an exit for Maxey to the right.
Just south of the Welland Gate roundabout on the A1175 and B1166, it crosses the River Welland so entering South Kesteven in Lincolnshire. The roundabout marks the western end of the £7 million 4-mile (6.4 km) Market Deeping bypass, finished in July 1998. The A15 and A1175 roads are now merged in a 1-mile (1.6 km) dual-carriageway stretch. It meets the B1524 (former route) at a roundabout and heads to the left as Peterborough Road [15] Bourne Road and Deeping Road.
North of Baston is the Waterside Garden Centre [16] close to where it meets the north-south Roman Road King Street, which it follows until just north of Bourne. It goes over the River Glen at the point it is crossed by the Macmillan Way, at Kate's Bridge.
There is a left turn for Obthorpe and it goes through Thurlby, passing the Horseshoe [17] pub, then Northorpe, before coming to the small town of Bourne. It meets the recently diverted A151 at a new roundabout (the A151 leaves to the right 110 yards (100 m) further on), where the road becomes South Road. It passes Bourne Grammar School, then after some treacherous bends near Bourne Abbey becomes South Street, with the town's Heritage centre [18] and war memorial gardens on the left by the Bourne Eau. [19] At the crossroads in the centre of town it crosses the B1193 (original route of the A151) in the historic market place( 52°46.0920′N0°22.6320′W / 52.7682000°N 0.3772000°W ), where are located the Nags Head, Angel Hotel, Burghley Arms. [20] [21] As North Street, it passes the Burghley Centre [22] (shops), and Bourne Bus Station. At the two miniature roundabouts, the name changes to North Road, which it keeps until it reaches Morton.
Just outside Bourne, at 52°47′59″N0°24′55″W / 52.79975°N 0.41525°W , the route of (Roman) King Street heads off across the fields to Stainfield and Ancaster but the A15 continues north along the line of another Roman road, Mareham Lane. It passes close to Dyke, and goes through Morton as Bourne Road, passing the Lord Nelson [23] pub. It becomes Folkingham Road [24] there is a right turn for Haconby and a junction with the B1177 (for Billingborough). Close by are Rippingale and Kirkby Underwood. Between Rippingale and Aslackby a wooded lay-by known locally as 'Turnpike Bar' marks the deviation from the line of the Roman Road Mareham Lane 52°50′45″N0°23′22″W / 52.84591°N 0.3895°W . The A15 passes by Aslackby and the Robin Hood and Little John, [25] and then through the middle of Folkingham. [26]
There is the Threekingham Bar roundabout [27] with the east-west A52, and it goes through Osbournby, as London Road the primary school]. [28] It passes the Tally Ho Inn [29] [30] near Aswarby, then there are left turns for Aunsby and Swarby. Sleaford and Silk Willoughby [31] were on the A15, which slowed traffic down as the traffic went across a level crossing and through Sleaford's shopping area. The £5.7 million bypass was opened on 16 September 1993 by Douglas Hogg, where there is a roundabout with the A153 and B1517. The A15 crosses the railway [32] and River Slea, and then leaves the bypass at the Holdingham Roundabout with the A17 and B1518 (former route).
As Lincoln Road, it goes close to Leasingham meeting the B1209. There is a junction [33] Cranwell with the B1429. It meets the B1191 (for Scopwick), B1202 (for Boothby Graffoe to the west and Metheringham to the east) next to the former RAF Coleby Grange, and B1178 (for Harmston), where it passes Dunston Pillar. At Nocton Heath, it passes the Kitchen [34] cafe. [35] 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 [36] of the runway of RAF Waddington, which flies AWACS and Nimrod aircraft. A parking place and cafe are provided for plane spotters on the eastern side of the road.
Next [37] to the runway at Waddington is an old Vulcan, carrying the number of the plane that bombed Port Stanley.
South of Bracebridge Heath, the A15 heads east around the city using the A15 Lincoln Eastern Bypass, a 4.7 miles (7.5 km) single carriageway opened on 19 December 2020. [38] The route is designed to allow for easy widening to a dual carriageway if necessary in the future. The bypass has three roundabouts, two bridges, and one underpass before reaching the River Witham. The road crosses over the river on a viaduct before entering Lincoln for a short distance before entering Lindsey.
The bypass continues north, entering West Lindsey, before meeting the Greetwell Road roundabout and then terminating at the Wragby Road roundabout. [39] The A15 then runs unbroken northwestwards to the Riseholme roundabout, where it briefly re-enters the City of Lincoln, then follows [40] the Roman road Ermine Street past the Riseholme College of Agriculture on the right, now part of the University of Lincoln, and Lincolnshire Showground [41] to the left. [42] At the end of a 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) section is the Tillbridge Lane roundabout [43] with the A1500, for Gainsborough. From here, it used to be straight, but with RAF Scampton becoming a base for Avro Vulcan V bombers in the 1950s, the runway had to be extended, and the road now has a curved diversion to the east. The 2.5 miles Scampton diversion began on 20 June 1956, to be finished in early 1957; construction was started by Councillor W. H. Mackinder of Lindsey County Council; [44] the diversion was opened at noon on Monday 28 January 1957, [45] being built by Laing. [46] The formerly straight line still forms the border of many strip parishes in the area, such as between Scampton and Welton, whose borders were first put in place based on Ermine Street. It passes the Scampton primary school [47] and continues [48] past a right turn to Normanby by Spital, on its most straight section, also the parish boundary of many local villages. At the roundabout with the A631 at Caenby Corner, there is the Total Caenby Corner Garage 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. There are two right turns for Bishop Norton and Atterby. There is a right turn for Snitterby and a left turn for Blyborough. At the B1205 staggered crossroads [49] (for Waddingham to the east, and Grayingham to the west), it enters North Lincolnshire.
At the B1206 crossroads, the old route used to go through Hibaldstow and Brigg, with the former road to Redbourne now a cycle route. It passes close to Kirton in Lindsey, home of RAF Kirton in Lindsey much used in the Second World War as a fighter airfield in 12 Group, now home to the Trent Valley Gliding Club. Hibaldstow was a wartime fighter airfield [50] as well, and this is now used as a base for parachuting and parachuting competitions by Target Skysports. The 5-mile (8.0 km) £7 million Brigg and Redbourne bypass [51] was added in December 1989 which follows [52] 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 the deserted village of Gainsthorpe, passes [53] near to Scawby, and joining [54] the M180 at junction 4, near Scunthorpe. It abandons the Roman alignments at a short spur to the A18 at the Briggate Lodge Roundabout next to the Forest Pines [55] golf club and hotel at Broughton. Ermine Street continues north as the B1207, meeting the Humber near Winteringham.
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 simultaneously, but it had to wait twelve years. Traffic buildup 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 Top Interchange, which is crossed by the Viking Way and has an exit to Elsham. It continues north as a 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.
The A15 towards the Humber Bridge, goes directly across the runways of the former RAF Bomber Command airfield at RAF Elsham Wolds (where over 1,000 of its aircrew were killed), which is now the Elsham Wolds [56] Industrial Estate. The former route of the A15, pre-1978, is now called B1206, [57] and ends at New Holland, where the A15 formerly connected with the Humber Ferry. The £5.6 million 6-mile (9.7 km) Brigg Bypass to Barton-upon-Humber Bypass (up to where the B1218 crosses) [58] section opened in June 1978.
The £2 million 1-mile (1.6 km) 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 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 [59] [60] [61] [62] (the former A15), which is crossed [63] by the Viking Way, which follows the road for over a mile. The section [64] 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 [65] are north of the bridge. It crosses [66] the A63 and meets a roundabout with A164 (for Beverley) and A1105, then turns left along a short section [67] of dual-carriageway (former A63) to end at the A63.
County | Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cambridgeshire | Folksworth and Washingley– Yaxley boundary | 0.0 | 0.0 | A1(M) – The North, London, Huntingdon, Peterborough B1043 / Folksworth Road to B660 – Stilton, Folksworth, Morborne, Denton, Holme, Ramsey, Glatton | Southern terminus; continues as B1043 beyond A1(M); A1(M) junction 16 |
Peterborough | 3.2 | 5.1 | The Serpentine (A1260 north-west) to A1 / A47 / A605 – City centre | City centre signed northbound only; south-eastern terminus of A1260 | |
4.5 | 7.2 | High Street (A1129 east) / Celta Road – Fletton | Fletton signed northbound only; western terminus of A1129 | ||
5.1 | 8.2 | A605 east (Fletton Avenue) – Whittlesey, Farcet, Stanground, Fletton | Only Whittlesey signed northbound; southern terminus of A605 concurrency | ||
5.3 | 8.5 | Oundle Road (A605 west) / Hawskbill Way | Northern terminus of A605 concurrency | ||
6.0 | 9.7 | Thorpe Road (A1179 west) to A1 / A1(M) – London, The North | Information signed northbound only; eastern terminus of A1179 | ||
7.9 | 12.7 | A47 / Soke Parkway to A15 / A605 / A1 – Leicester, Wisbech, Sleaford, Northampton, The North, London | To A15 and Sleaford signed northbound only, To A605, A1, Northampton, The North, and London southbound only; A47 west junction 18; access to A47 west and from A47 east via Soke Parkway | ||
Glinton, Cambridgeshire | 10.7 | 17.2 | A15 south to Lincoln Road (B1443) / A47 – Wisbech, Glinton, Cambridgeshire, Peakirk, Peterborough | Peakirk signed northbound only, A15 and Peterborough southbound only | |
Lincolnshire | Market Deeping | 14.4 | 23.2 | A1175 south-west / B1525 (Stamford Road) to B1166 – Stamford, Market Deeping, West Deeping, Tallington, Deeping St James, Crowland | Southern terminus of A1175 concurrency |
15.4 | 24.8 | A1175 north-east / B1524 (Peterborough Road) to A16 – Spalding, Boston, Market Deeping | To A16 signed southbound only; northern terminus of A1175 concurrency | ||
Bourne | 20.6 | 33.2 | A151 west (Raymond Mays Way) to A1 / A6121 / B1176 – Grantham, Stamford | Southern terminus of A151 concurrency | |
21.0 | 33.8 | A151 east (Cherry Holt Road) – Spalding | Northern terminus of A151 concurrency | ||
| 32.6 | 52.5 | A52 to A16 – Grantham, Boston, Spalding | ||
Sleaford | 38.2 | 61.5 | A153 south-west / B1517 (Grantham Road) – Grantham, Sleaford, South Rauceby, North Rauceby, Wilsford, Ancaster, Quarrington | North-eastern terminus of A153 | |
39.9 | 64.2 | A17 / B1518 (Lincoln Road) to A1 – Newark, King's Lynn, Skegness, Sleaford, Boston | Boston signed northbound only | ||
Bracebridge Heath | 52.8 | 85.0 | A607 (Sleaford Road) – Lincoln, Grantham, Bracebridge Heath, RAF Waddington | ||
Greetwell– Nettleham boundary | 57.5 | 92.5 | A158 east (Wragby Road East) / A1434 south-west (Bunkers Hill) to A157 – Skegness, Lincoln, Wragby, North Greetwell | To A157 signed southbound only; western terminus of A158; north-eastern terminus of A1434 | |
Nettleham | 58.5 | 94.1 | A46 north-east / Lincoln Road – Grimsby, Lincoln, Nettleham, Market Rasen | Southern terminus of A46 concurrency | |
Lincoln boundary | 59.6 | 95.9 | A46 south-west / B1226 (Riseholm Road) to A57 / A156 / A1 – Lincoln, Newark, Worksop, Gainsborough, Grantham | Only A46 and Lincoln signed southbound; northern terminus of A46 concurrency | |
North Carlton– Scampton boundary | 62.1 | 99.9 | A1500 west / Horncastle Lane to A156 – Gainsborough, Scampton, Sturton, Marton, Dunholme | To A156 signed southbound only; eastern terminus of A1500 | |
Caenby Corner | 69.5 | 111.8 | A631 to A46 – Grimsby, Gainsborough, Market Rasen, Caistor, Cleethorpes, Hemswell Cliff, Glentworth, Hemswell, Corringham | Cleethorpes and Glentworth signed northbound only | |
Broughton– Scawby boundary | 80.0 | 128.7 | M180 west / A18 to M18 / M181 – Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Brigg | To M18, M181, and Brigg signed northbound only; southern terminus of M180 concurrency; M180 junction 4 | |
Elsham | 86.7 | 139.5 | A180 east / A18 to Barnetby Top / A160 – Grimsby, Immingham, Brigg, Elsham | Northern terminus of M180 concurrency; eastern terminus of M180; western terminus of A180; M180 junction 5 | |
88.1– 88.4 | 141.8– 142.3 | Elsham Wold industrial area | Grade-separated junction | ||
Thornton Curtis– Bonby boundary | 90.5 | 145.6 | B1206 – Barrow, New Holland | Grade-separated junction | |
Barton-upon-Humber | 93.3– 94.3 | 150.2– 151.8 | A1077 – Barton, Winterton | ||
Lincolnshire–East Yorkshire county boundary | Barton-upon-Humber Hessle boundary | 94.6– 96.2 | 152.2– 154.8 | Humber Bridge (toll) over Humber | |
East Yorkshire | Hessle | 96.9 | 155.9 | A164 north / A1105 east to A1079 – Beverley, York, Hessle | Southern terminus of A164; western terminus of A1105 |
North Ferriby | 97.2– 97.7 | 156.4– 157.2 | A63 / Ferriby Road to M62 – Hull, Goole, Leeds, Hessle | Northern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
This section needs to be updated.(June 2022) |
Holdingham Roundabout (A15 – A17) will be signalised in Spring 2021. [68]
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (Londinium) to Lincoln and York (Eboracum). The Old English name was Earninga Strǣt (1012), named after a tribe called the Earningas, who inhabited a district later known as Armingford Hundred, around Arrington, Cambridgeshire, and Royston, Hertfordshire. "Armingford", and "Arrington" share the same Old English origin. The original Celtic and Roman names for the route remain unknown. It is also known as the Old North Road from London to where it joins the A1 Great North Road near Godmanchester.
The M180 is a 25.5-mile-long (41 km) motorway in eastern England, starting at junction 5 on the M18 motorway in Hatfield, within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and terminating at Barnetby, Lincolnshire, some 10 miles (16 km) from the port of Immingham and 14 miles (23 km) from the port of Grimsby. The A180 road continues to the east for Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham. Scunthorpe, Lincoln, Hull, Brigg, Bawtry and the Isle of Axholme can be accessed using the motorway. Humberside Airport, the now-closed Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and the Killingholme, Humber and Lindsey oil refineries are close to the motorway. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute E22 and is the main route along the south bank of the Humber Estuary.
The A47 is a major trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk, maintained and operated by National Highways. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114. From Peterborough eastwards, it is a trunk road.
The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development. Between Leicester and Lincoln the road follows the course of the Roman Fosse Way, but between Bath and Leicester, two cities also linked by the Fosse Way, it follows a more westerly course.
The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England between Leeds and Kingston upon Hull. A section between North Cave and Hull forms the eastward continuation of the M62 motorway and is part of the unsigned Euroroute E20.
The M181 is a motorway that links the town of Scunthorpe, England, to the M180 motorway. A spur of the M180, the road is virtually straight through its entire 2-mile (3.2 km) length. It was opened in December 1978, at the same time as the section of M180 from junction 3 (A15) to the east side of the River Trent.
Lincolnshire is a large county in England with a sparse population distribution, which leads to problems funding all sorts of transport. The transport history is long and varied, with much of the road network still based on the Roman model, and the once extensive rail network a shadow of its former self.
The A17 road is a mostly single carriageway road linking Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England, to King's Lynn in Norfolk. It stretches for a distance of 62 miles travelling across the flat fen landscapes of southern Lincolnshire and western Norfolk and links the East Midlands with East Anglia. The road is notable for its numerous roundabouts and notoriously dangerous staggered junctions and also for its most famous landmark, the Cross Keys Bridge at Sutton Bridge close to the Lincolnshire/Cambridgeshire/Norfolk borders which carries the road over the River Nene.
The A18 is a road in England that links Doncaster in South Yorkshire with Ludborough in Lincolnshire, via Scunthorpe and Grimsby. Much of its route has been superseded by the M180 motorway.
The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running 147 miles (237 km) between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland.
The A180 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from the M180 motorway to Cleethorpes. The road is a continuation of the M180, but built to lower specifications: it is mainly dual two-lane without hard shoulders. The road is dual carriageway for 16.87 miles (27.15 km) from the M180 to Grimsby, and is a single carriageway road for 2 miles (3.2 km) between Grimsby and Cleethorpes beach.
The A505 is a road in the East of England. It follows part of the route of the Icknield Way and the corresponding Icknield Way Path and runs from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire to the A11 Abington Interchange North in Cambridgeshire.
The A606 is an A road in England that starts in West Bridgford, on the outskirts of Nottingham, and heads southeastwards through Leicestershire and the towns of Melton Mowbray and Oakham, terminating at Stamford, Lincolnshire on the former Great North Road.
The A158 road is a major route that heads from Lincoln in the west to Skegness on the east coast. The road is located entirely in the county of Lincolnshire and is single carriageway for almost its entirety. The road is approximately 40 miles (64 km) long. The road gets quite congested with holiday traffic during the summer.
The A607 is an A road in England that starts in Belgrave, Leicester and heads northeastwards through Leicestershire and the town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, terminating at Bracebridge Heath, a village on the outskirts of Lincoln. It is a primary route from Thurmaston to the A1 junction at Grantham.
The City of Peterborough in East Anglia has an extensive and well integrated road network, owing partly to its status as a new town. Since the 1960s, the city has seen considerable expansion and its various suburbs are linked by a system of parkways.
The A1175 road is a road in south-west Lincolnshire, England. It runs between Stamford and Spalding, along the old A16 route.
High Dyke is a minor road following a length of the Roman Road Ermine Street in the English county of Lincolnshire, between Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth and Ancaster, and onwards nearly to Bracebridge Heath. It is also the name of a small settlement on that road, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east from Great Ponton, near to the mouth of Stoke Tunnel on the East Coast Main Line. High Dyke is also a name for the general area between Easton and Great Ponton. On the Ordnance Survey 1:25000 sheets it is spelled High Dike.
Threekingham Bar is the name given to interception of the A52 and A15 roads, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of the village of Threekingham, in Lincolnshire, England
The A1500 is an A road entirely within the English county of Lincolnshire. It links the A156 at Marton with the A15 south of RAF Scampton via Sturton by Stow.