 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 22.4 mi (36.0 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Banbury | |||
 A361  A422  A425  A426  A445 A45 | ||||
| North end | Near Coventry | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Road network | ||||
| ||||
The A423 road is a primary A road in England in two sections. The main section leads from central Banbury to the A45 near Coventry.
It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estate, then just north of Banbury it crosses over the M40, from there it passes close to several Warwickshire villages until it becomes part of the Southam by-pass, it then goes through Long Itchington and Marton before merging with the A45 near Ryton.
The other section of the A423 is part of the Oxford Ring Road between the A34 Hinksey Hill interchange and the A4142/A4074 Heyford Hill roundabout, a distance of 1.4 miles (2.3 km). The section, carrying 50,000 vehicles per day, includes a bridge over the Cherwell Valley railway line and Hinksey Stream. The bridge is in need of replacement which is expected to cost £90 million with work starting in 2023 and completion in 2026. [1] The replacement will include work for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme, a bus lane and improvements in pedestrian and cyclist facilities. [2]
Its original route when first classified in 1922 was from Tamworth in Staffordshire to Oxford, [3] terminating at Two Gates on the old A5. The road north continued as the A51. In the 1930s the route was extended from Oxford to Maidenhead in Berkshire, over parts of the former routes of the A42 and A415. A curious feature of the route was a 3-mile (4.8 km) gap between Benson, Oxfordshire and a point 1.2 miles (1.9 km) north west of Nuffield, which resulted from the construction of RAF Benson across the line of the road. The detour though Crowmarsh Gifford was designated the B479 and A4130 rather than A423.
The last section of the Oxford Ring Road was completed in 1965, and the A423 was rerouted away from the centre of Oxford to form part of the ring road. From 1971 to 1990 the A423 joined the then A423(M) motorway at Maidenhead. [4]
On the completion of the M42 motorway in the early 1980s, the phase of the A423 between Tamworth and Coventry became the A51 (to the A47 junction), B4098 between the A47 and Keresley and A4170 into Coventry. Subsequently, the A51 was curtailed at Kingsbury with the B4098 extending along the A4170 into Coventry City Centre.
The final downgrading came in 1990 when the M40 motorway between Oxford and Birmingham was completed. The remainder of the route south of Banbury was renumbered to become parts of the A4260, A4074 and A4130, except for the part of the Oxford Ring Road between the A34 Hinksey Hill interchange and the A4142/A4074 Heyford Hill roundabout. On this stretch of road, heading eastbound, drivers will notice the distance sign showing the name A423 and its original final destination of Maidenhead. Traffic for Maidenhead is now directed onto the A40/ M40 via High Wycombe. This can be seen on the following Google StreetView image – here
Southam is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is situated on the River Stowe, which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshire's River Itchen at Stoneythorpe, just outside the town.
The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.
The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).
The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A33 and M3 at Winchester in Hampshire, to the A6 and A6042 in Salford, close to Manchester City Centre. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester. For most of its length, it forms part of the former Winchester–Preston Trunk Road. Improvements to the section of road forming the Newbury Bypass around Newbury were the scene of significant direct action environmental protests in the 1990s. It is 151 miles (243 km) long.
Warwickshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon and Victorian novelist George Eliot,, at Nuneaton. Other significant towns include Rugby, Leamington Spa, Bedworth, Kenilworth and Atherstone. The county offers a mix of historic towns and large rural areas. It is a popular destination for international and domestic tourists to explore both medieval and more recent history.
The A361 is an A class road in England and at 195 miles (314 km) is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK. Despite its length, most of the road is non-primary and relatively unimportant.
The A426 road is a road in England which runs from the city of Leicester to the market town of Southam in Warwickshire via the towns of Lutterworth and Rugby.
The Warwickshire ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit around the West Midlands area of England. The ring is formed from the Coventry Canal, the Oxford Canal, the Grand Union Canal, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is a popular route with tourists due to its circular route and mixture of urban and rural landscapes.
The A51 is a road in England which runs for 85 miles (137 km) from Chester, Cheshire to Kingsbury, North Warwickshire.
The Cherwell Valley line is the railway line between Didcot and Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands. The line follows the River Cherwell for much of its route between Banbury and Oxford.
The A420 is a road between Bristol and Oxford in England. Between Swindon and Oxford it is a primary route.
Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the Woodstock Road, which it meets at the junction with St Giles'. To the north, Banbury Road meets the Oxford Ring Road at a roundabout. The road is designated the A4165. Prior to the building of the M40 motorway extension in 1990, the road formed part of the A423 from Maidenhead to Coventry.
The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffic in Oxford city centre mean that it is the only practical way for long-distance traffic to get past Oxford, especially as there are few road bridges over the rivers Isis and Cherwell. Five Park and Rides are close to the ring road.
The A404 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at Paddington in London and terminates near Maidenhead in Berkshire. It is 44.6 miles (71.8 km) long.
The A4074 is a British A road from the Reading suburb of Caversham to the Heyford Hill roundabout on the Oxford Ring Road.
The A4130 is a British A road which runs from a junction with the A404 at Burchetts Green (Maidenhead), Berkshire to the A417 at Rowstock in Oxfordshire. It passes through Henley-on-Thames, and Nettlebed, and bypasses Wallingford and Didcot.
The Wycombe Railway was a British railway between Maidenhead and Oxford that connected with the Great Western Railway at both ends; there was one branch, to Aylesbury.
Isis Bridge is a modern road bridge across the River Thames just south of Oxford, England. It carries the Oxford Ring Road, part of the A423 road, across the Thames on the reach between Sandford Lock and Iffley Lock.
Abingdon Road Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve South Hinksey, a village near Oxford.
The A42 is a major trunk road in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It links junction 23A of the M1 motorway to junction 11 of the M42 motorway. The A42 is in effect a continuation of the M42, and its junctions are numbered accordingly.
