A45 road

This article is about a road in England. For the highway in Spain, see A45 road (Spain).

A45 road

Major junctions
From:	Birmingham
	[[Image:Motorway Left.svg\|[ \|x30px\|link=]] M42 motorway [[Image:Motorway Left.svg\|[ \|x30px\|link=]] M45 motorway [[Image:Motorway Left.svg\|[ \|x30px\|link=]] M1 motorway A4540 road A4040 road A452 road A4114 road A429 road A46 road A423 road A445 road A4071 road A361 road A425 road A5 road A4500 road A5076 road A428 road A43 road A509 road A6 road A605 road A14 road
To:	Thrapston
Location
Primary destinations:	Coventry Rugby Northampton Wellingborough Rushden
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry. It then heads to Northampton and Wellingborough before running north of Rushden and Higham Ferrers and terminating at its junction with the A14 road in Thrapston.

Prior to the construction of the M6 motorway it was the main route from the Midlands to Ipswich and to the Haven ports. When the A1-M1 link road section of the current A14 opened in 1994 most of the A45 to the east of Cambridge was re-designated as the A14 and some sections to the west were downgraded to B-roads.

History

The original (1923) route of the A45 was Birmingham to Ipswich. The road was extended to Felixstowe in 1935, replacing the A139. Around the same time, the A45 was re-routed around the south of Coventry when the city's southern bypass was completed.

Initially, the A45 passed through Ipswich to Felixstowe; when the Orwell Bridge was opened in 1982, the road was diverted to pass over the new bridge.

A bypass for the village of Eltisley was built in 1972, along with a bypass on the B1040 road. The 3-mile (4.8 km) £8 million St Neots Bypass opened in December 1985 on what was then the A45. When the M6 to Felixstowe route was moved and upgraded to become the A14, this bypass became redesignated part of the less important Cambridge-Coventry A428.

Bypasses and realignments

Small Heath (Now bypassed to the south)
Meriden (Now bypassed to the north)
Coventry (An early bypass to the south)
Daventry (The route now follows the ring road)
Northampton (Bypassed, the former route being A4500)
Higham Ferrers (Bypassed to the west of the town)

Re-designation

When the new A14 A1-M1 link road was opened to traffic in the mid-1990s, the Cambridge to Felixstowe stretch of the A45 was redesignated as the A14; the former A45 to the A1 was downgraded to B645; and the A1 to Cambridge section became part of an extended A428. The route through Felixstowe at the end of the A14 is now the A154.^[1]

Route

Birmingham to Dunchurch

The road starts on the A4540 Birmingham Ring Road, bypassing Small Heath and crossing the B4145. It passes over the River Cole and meets the A4040 at a grade-separated junction at the Swan Shopping Centre in Yardley. It meets the B425 at traffic lights in Sheldon, then enters the borough of Solihull. The section of the A45 from Birmingham city centre to the M45 is all dual-carriageway—urban dual-carriageway with traffic lights until Birmingham Airport, then rural grade-separated between the airport and Coventry. The Bickenhill Junction intersects with the B4438, a dual-carriageway access road for Birmingham International Airport, the N.E.C. and Birmingham International railway station. There is a grade-separated junction with the M42 at junction 6. On this roundabout is also access to the National Motorcycle Museum. The road passes over the A452 at Stonebridge and passes over the River Blythe where the road briefly enters Warwickshire. Meriden is bypassed to the north. The Heart of England Way passes under the road, and the road enters the borough of Coventry.

A45 in south Coventry (road works July 2006)

The A45 becomes an urban road and skirts the south side of Coventry, crossing the B4101 at Tile Hill, West Coast Main Line, A429 and B4113. Beyond here the road takes a more rural nature, with a grade separated junction with the A46. Between here and the next junction the A45 multiplexes with the A46. Tollbar End roundabout is one of the busiest in the Midlands. It has exits for the A46 north/Coventry Eastern Bypass, Coventry Airport and B4110. Crossing the River Avon, the road re-enters Warwickshire. The A423 exits to the south-east at a GSJ near the former Peugeot factory. The A445 crosses at a roundabout near Ryton on Dunsmore, followed by another roundabout with the B4455 Fosse Way. There is a grade separated junction with the A4071 (Rugby), the final roundabout on this section is the start of the M45. For 2 miles (3.2 km) the A45 multiplexes with the M45 to a fairly new junction beyond Dunchurch.

Dunchurch to Thrapston

Heading towards Daventry, the road is a single-carriageway. The road passes two prisons: HMP Onley and HMP Rye Hill. After Willoughby, the road enters Northamptonshire, where it crosses the Oxford Canal and Grand Union Canal near Braunston. The Jurassic Way crosses the road here. The road enters Daventry, home to large distribution centres for Ford Motor Company, and Diageo. The road briefly runs concurrent with the A425 heading to Leamington Spa, then heads south-east on the Daventry bypass, called the Stefen Way. The road meets the B4038 at a roundabout where the A425 exits. The road heads west past Dodford to Weedon Bec, where it crosses the West Coast Main Line and Grand Union Canal, then meets the A5 at traffic lights. The road passes through Flore, then meets the M1 at junction 16.

The A45 resumes at the M1 junction 15, heading around the south side of Northampton. From the point as which it meets the old route at the A45/A508 GSJ, near Northampton High School, it crosses the River Nene and Nene Way, then there is a large GSJ with the A428. This section is concurrent with the A43, which exits at a GSJ near Weston Favell. The GSJ with the A5076 is also the exit for Billing Aquadrome. The road has a GSJ with the B573 near Earls Barton. The road meets the Wellingborough bypass (A509) at a roundabout. It runs concurrently with the A509 to the GSJ near the bridge over the River Nene, where the A509 exits south near Irchester Country Park. East of Wellingborough, the road crosses the Midland Main Line. There is a GSJ for the A5001 into Rushden and the route runs alongside the River Nene, offering a second turning to Rushden at a roundabout with the A5001 again. At the roundabout with the A6 near Higham Ferrers, it starts the follow the former route of the A605. The section of dual carriageway from the M1 now ends at the next roundabout. This is the start of the Raunds bypass. The next roundabout is with the B663. The route bypasses Ringstead and the A45 finishes at a GSJ with the A14 near Thrapston.

Felixstowe

The final leg of the A45 in Felixstowe was never re-designated as the A14. It runs as Walton Avenue from Junction 62 of the A14, along Beach Station Road and ends at the junction with the terminus of the A154 at Langer Road: Ordnance Survey maps, however, show Walton Avenue as part of the A154.^[1]

Proposed developments

A45/A46 Tollbar End

The A45/A46 Tollbar End improvement near Coventry will create a grade separated junction here as well as improvements to the Stonebridge Highway.^[2] The project was given the go ahead in the 2011 Autumn Statement on 29 November 2011.^[3]

Following the work, the main free flow route through the junction will be an underpass connecting the A45 west with the A46. It will be necessary to turn off in order to continue on the A45.

Popular culture

The A45 is mentioned in the song "Driving in my car" by pop group Madness in 1982. Also mentioned in the Thomas Dolby song called White City when the voice over states "Where was I? Bedfordshire. That's a lousy place, since the A45. You go round and it's utterly flat. I can't see how you can have any, any enthusiasm for that sort of thing at all... "

References

1 2 "Ordnance Survey via Multimap". Retrieved 2010-03-15.
↑ "Highways Agency Projects". Retrieved 2008-09-23.
↑ "Infrastructure – West Midlands". HM Treasury. 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.

External links

SABRE - The A45

A roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme

	A4 A40 A41 A42 A43 A44 A45 A46 A47 A48 A49

	A403 A404 A405 A406 A412 A413 A414 A415 A417 A418 A419 A420 A421 A422 A423 A425 A426 A427 A428 A429 A431 A432 A433 A435 A441 A442 A444 A445 A446 A448 A449 A452 A453 A454 A456 A458 A461 A465 A468 A469 A470 A472 A473 A474 A475 A476 A477 A478 A482 A483 A484 A485 A486 A487 A488 A489 A490 A491 A493 A494 A496 A497 A498 A499

	A4005 A4006 A4008 A4010 A4012 A4018 A4025 A4032 A4037 A4040 A4042 A4050 A4053 A4054 A4055 A4059 A4060 A4061 A4063 A4067 A4069 A4074 A4076 A4080 A4085 A4094 A4103 A4107 A4109 A4110 A4113 A4117 A4118 A4119 A4123 A4130 A4133 A4135 A4136 A4138 A4142 A4146 A4148 A4150 A4155 A4160 A4161 A4169 A4173 A4174 A4202 A4212 A4216 A4217 A4221 A4226 A4230 A4232 A4234 A4240 A4241 A4260 A4361 A4400 A4536 A4540

List of A roads in Zone 4 List of B roads in Zone 4

Streets and roads in Birmingham, England

City centre streets	Bennetts Hill Broad Street Colmore Row Corporation Street Edmund Street Hurst Street New Street Newhall Street Paradise Circus Paradise Street

City centre squares	Brindleyplace Centenary Square Chamberlain Square Five Ways Old Square St Paul's Square Victoria Square

Suburban streets	Orphanage Road

A roads	A34 A38 A41 A45 A47 A435 A456 A5127 A4040 (outer ring road) A4400 (inner ring road)

Motorways	A38(M) M5 motorway M6 motorway

Defunct	The Crescent

Category

Coordinates: 52°20′27″N 1°19′23″W / 52.3409°N 1.32308°W / 52.3409; -1.32308

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