A5117 road

Last updated

UK road A5117.svg
A5117
Route information
Maintained by Cheshire West and Chester Council
Major junctions
West end Mollington
Major intersections UK road A494.svg
A494 road
UK-Motorway-M56.svg
M56 motorway
UK road A41.svg
A41 road
UK road A5032.svg
A5032 road
B5132 road
UK-Motorway-M53.svg
M53 motorway
B5132 road
UK-Motorway-M56.svg
M56 motorway
A56 road
East end Hapsford
Location
Country United Kingdom
Counties Cheshire
Primary
destinations
Ellesmere Port
Road network

The A5117 is a road in Cheshire, England. It runs between Shotwick ( 53°14′15″N2°59′15″W / 53.2374°N 2.9875°W / 53.2374; -2.9875 (A5117 road (western end)) ) and Helsby ( 53°15′41″N2°46′53″W / 53.2613°N 2.7814°W / 53.2613; -2.7814 (A5117 road (eastern end)) ) and connects the A550 at Woodbank to the M56. As such it forms a northerly bypass to Chester and a shorter route between the North West and North Wales than the A55.

Contents

History

The road, which was originally known as the "Shotwick – Helsby Bypass", was completed in the mid-1930s. The construction was contemporaneous to other transport major projects in the region such as the East Lanc Road and the opening of the first Mersey tunnel. The road was envisaged to become part of a link that connected the A56 from Manchester to North Wales via the Jubilee Bridge at Queensferry, Flintshire. Several sections of the road were constructed in concrete. Vehicles experience an up and down vertical motion due to the need for "summit and valley" drainage as the road crosses the flood plain of the River Gowy. Poplar trees were planted along the road (most are now only adjacent to the short section passed Stanlow Refinery).

The new road was planned to be eventually incorporated into a dualled trunk road that would connect the North West of England with the industries of North Wales. However, with the outbreak of the Second World War, all major civil engineering projects were cancelled for the duration of conflict. In 1946 the Ministry of War Transport issued the Showing Future Pattern of Principal National Routes which called for a new type of highway that would be restricted to specified classes of vehicle; which led to the Special Roads Act 1949. [1] [2] In 1947 the first proposal for a motorway across north Cheshire was mooted in a report commissioned by Cheshire County Council, [3] with a line for the route of the motorway being agreed in 1958 between the council and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. [4] The first section, announced in November 1963 by the transport minister Ernest Marples, was a southwards extension of the Princess Parkway from Wythenshawe in Manchester to the A56 and A556 at Bowdon which entered the Trunk Road Programme for 1967/1968. [4] Construction began in 1968, [5] and the motorway opened in stages between 1971 and 1981: [6]

By the late seventies, the M56 had approached the Helsby end of the A5117 road. Since the 1960s, the road had been marked out as a three-lane single carriageway, where the middle lane was known popularly as the "suicide" lane because overtaking vehicles drove towards each other at speed from both directions. Despite the original intention of the road's 1930 planners for it to be incorporated into a major highway (along its entire length, it was built with a wide width and setback bridge parapets for additional lanes, and extra drainage channels to accommodate a bigger road), when it came to building the final section of the M56 into North Wales, the road had been deemed obsolete and too costly to upgrade. Instead a new southerly route was chosen, which opened in 1981. The M56 crosses the Gowy on a purpose-built embankment made of sandstone before it reaches a new junction with the M53 at Stoak. [7]

As the route of the M56 bypassed the A5117 road, it was relegated to a secondary route between the M56 and the A55. It continues to be used as an alternative to the motorway but for much of its length it remains single carriageway in both directions apart from a short duelled section near Elton, Cheshire.

Current configurations

The road is dualled west of the M56. There is roundabout with the A540 and at Dunkirk at the western terminus of the M56. East of the junction the road is single carriageway and crosses the A41 by way of a roundabout at Backford Cross. The A5117 intersects the M53 at Junction 10. This junction is just east of Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet. The road then continues almost parallel to the M56, which it intersects at Junction 14, at which there is a Motorway service area. The road then continues south east to terminate where it joins the A56 at Helsby.

The upgrading of the A5117 on a section west of the M56 motorway, Dunkirk roundabout to Sealand was started in 2006 because that section was regularly congested. The improvement converted the road to grade separated two-lane dual carriageway standard. [8] The British Government at the time decided that a motorway standard M56 extension would be too environmentally damaging, and instead opted to utilise part of the existing road while providing off-line bypasses for all of the at-grade junctions. The improvements tied in with completed works over the Welsh border which upgraded the A550 to a standard similar to that of motorways. Work started in late 2006 and was completed in 2008.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A41 road</span> Road in England

The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Newport, Whitchurch, Chester and Ellesmere Port.

The A1, also known as the Great North Road, is the longest numbered road in the United Kingdom, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The numbering system for A-roads, devised in the early 1920s, was based around patterns of roads radiating from two hubs at London and Edinburgh. The first number in the system, A1, was given to the most important part of that system: the road from London to Edinburgh, joining the two central points of the system and linking the UK's (then) two mainland capital cities. It passes through or near north London, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Baldock, Letchworth Garden City, Biggleswade, Eaton Socon, Buckden, Peterborough, Stamford, Grantham, Newark-on-Trent, Retford, Doncaster, Pontefract, York, Wetherby, Ripon, Darlington, Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M40 motorway</span> British motorway connecting London and Birmingham

The M40 motorway links London, Oxford, and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately 89 miles (143 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M67 motorway</span> Motorway in Greater Manchester, England

The M67 is a 5-mile (8.0 km) urban motorway in Greater Manchester, England, which heads east from the M60 motorway passing through Denton and Hyde before ending near Mottram. The road was originally conceived as the first section of a trans-Pennine motorway between Manchester and Sheffield that would connect the A57(M) motorway with the M1 motorway; however, the motorway became the only part to be built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A6 road (England)</span> North-south road in England

The A6 is one of the main north–south roads in England. It runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet. It is the fourth longest numbered road in Britain; only the A1, A38 and A30 are longer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M20 motorway</span> Motorway in Kent, England

The M20 is a motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports at Dover. It is 50.6 miles (81.4 km) long. Although not signposted in England, this road is part of the European route E15. It is also used as a holding area for goods traffic when traffic across the English Channel is disrupted, such as Operation Stack and Operation Brock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M56 motorway</span> Motorway in England

The M56 motorway serves the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas of England. It runs east to west from junction 4 of the M60 at Gatley, south of Manchester, to Dunkirk, approximately four miles north of Chester. With a length of 33.3 miles (53.6 km), it connects North Wales and the Wirral peninsula with much of the rest of North West England, serves business and commuter traffic heading towards Manchester, particularly that from the wider Cheshire area, and provides the main road access to Manchester Airport from the national motorway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M53 motorway</span> Motorway in England

The M53 is an 18.9-mile (30.4 km) motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside and the borough of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway. It runs between the Kingsway Tunnel, at Wallasey in the north, and the A55 at Chester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A6144(M) motorway</span> Former road in United Kingdom

The A6144(M) was a motorway in Carrington, Greater Manchester, England. It was known in official documentation as the Carrington Spur Road and built to facilitate the transport of hazardous goods from Shell Chemicals' ethylene oxide plant in Carrington and other industrial estates in Carrington and Broadheath. It was extremely unusual in that it was entirely single carriageway, the only motorway of its kind in the UK as others were dual carriageway for at least some of their length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A49 road</span> Road in England

The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrington and Wigan before terminating at its junction with the A6 road just south of Bamber Bridge, near the junction of the M6, M65 and M61 motorways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A55 road</span> Major road in England and Wales

The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and North Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and several short sections where there are gaps in between the two carriageways. All junctions are grade separated apart from a roundabout east of Penmaenmawr and another nearby in Llanfairfechan. Initially, the road ran from Chester to Bangor. In 2001, it was extended across Anglesey to the ferry port of Holyhead parallel to the A5. The road improvements have been part funded with European money, under the Trans-European Networks programme, as the route is designated part of Euroroute E22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M50 motorway (Great Britain)</span> Motorway in England

The M50 is a motorway in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire, England. Sometimes referred to as the Ross Spur, it is a 22 miles (35 km) connection of the M5 motorway M42 Motorway to a point near Ross-on-Wye, where it joins the A40 road continuing westward into Wales. The motorway was fully opened in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M66 motorway</span> Motorway in North West England

The M66, also known as the Bury Easterly Bypass, is a motorway in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) long and provides part of the route between the M62 and M60 motorways and the M65, with the rest being provided by the A56.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mancunian Way</span> Elevated motorway in England

The Mancunian Way is a two mile long grade separated elevated motorway in Manchester, England. It is officially made up of the A57(M) and A635(M) motorways, although the latter does not appear on road signs for practical reasons. It is also part of two other roads: the A57 to the west, which runs east–west through Greater Manchester linking the M602 and M67 motorways, and a short section of non-motorway A635 to the east. Part of this non-motorway section collapsed on 14 August 2015 due to a sinkhole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A54 road</span> Road in England

The A54 road is a road in England linking Chester in Cheshire with Buxton in Derbyshire. Its route through both urban and steep rural areas presents a challenge to Cheshire County Council in maintaining the safety of the road. Many years ago it was the main east–west route in Cheshire. The importance of the A54 through Middlewich and Winsford decreased in the 1970s and 1980s with the building of the M56 motorway and dualling of the A556 at Northwich. The section through Winsford carries approximately 30,000 vehicles per day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A56 road</span> Road in England

The A56 is a road in England which extends between the city of Chester in Cheshire and the village of Broughton in North Yorkshire. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections, and traverses environments as diverse as the dense urban sprawl of inner city Manchester and the lightly populated region of rural east Lancashire. The road includes a short section of trunk road between the end of the M66 motorway near Ramsbottom and the M65 motorway west of Burnley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M63 motorway</span> Former road designation in Greater Manchester, England

The M63 motorway was a major road in the United Kingdom. It was completely renumbered, in 1998, to become a substantial part of the M60 motorway which orbits part of Greater Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A525 road</span> Road in England and Wales

The A525 is a major route from Rhyl in Wales to Newcastle-under-Lyme in England. The route passes near Denbigh, through Ruthin, through Wrexham and near Whitchurch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester services</span> Motorway service area in Cheshire, England

Chester services is a motorway service area on the M56 motorway in Cheshire, England. The site is approximately 10 mi (16 km) from Chester city centre. Operated by Roadchef, it is the only motorway service area on the M56 and the last before heading into North Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A556 road</span> Road in Cheshire

The A556 is a road in England which extends from the village of Delamere in Cheshire West and Chester to the Bowdon Interchange in Cheshire East, bordering Greater Manchester. The road contains a mixture of single and dual carriageway sections and forms a large part of the route between Manchester and Chester. It also acts as a major access route to Chester/North Wales to the west and to Manchester to the east for the conurbation of towns and villages around the Dane Valley centering on Winsford and Northwich. The central part, which forms the Northwich Bypass between Davenham and Lostock Gralam, suffers because of the amount of commuter traffic from this area. The part of the route between the M6 motorway Junction 19 and the M56 motorway Junction 7 is a major route into Manchester and has been recently upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway.

References

  1. "A New Way to Travel". December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011.
  2. "Special Roads Act 1949" (PDF). Office of Public Sector Information. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  3. Chapman, W. Dobson (1947). County Palatine: A Survey and Plan for Cheshire.
  4. 1 2 "The Motorway Archive – M56 Scheme Introduction". Iht.org. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. "The Motorway Archive – M56 Dates Page". Iht.org. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.[ dead link ]
  6. "CBRD Motorway Database – M56 Timeline". cbrd.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  7. "M56 Lea-by-Backford to Hapsford (J16 to J14)". iht.org. The Motorway Archive Trust. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  8. "A5117 / A550 Deeside Park Junctions Improvement". Highways Agency. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap

53°15′35″N2°53′02″W / 53.2597°N 2.8839°W / 53.2597; -2.8839 (A5117 road)