Road system in the UK
Great Britain's road system numbers its roads across the country, dividing them into three main groups. The uppermost level are the highways ( motorways ) defined by the leading letter M are indicated. A roads are important main traffic axes that most closely correspond to the German federal highways. B roads are connections of local or regional importance. In addition to roads of these three main categories, there are also C roads , D roads and U roads , on which there is very little and only regional traffic and which are of little importance.
In England and Wales , the numbering system is geared towards radials that start in London . In Scotland the system is centered on Edinburgh .
history
Great Britain has a large number of old roads , some of which were built long before the rule of the Romans . The Sweet Track , a paved road through a Somerset marshland , was built around 3800 BC. And is one of the oldest known artificially created trails in the world.
The Roman roads followed these prehistoric roads . Many of today's main roads have taken their lines, such as B. Watling Street , which today largely corresponds to the A5. Other prehistoric and Roman roads such as the Icknield Way and the Fosse Way have completely lost their former importance, they are no longer or hardly recognizable; individual local roads follow their course. The road system of the Middle Ages and modern times was largely based on that of Roman times. During industrialization , the old transport routes lost their importance when canals and railways were built, which allowed goods and people to be transported much faster and cheaper.
With the increasing motorization during the first half of the 20th century, many new roads were created that had to be categorized and signposted according to a standardized procedure. The Highway Code , which came into force in 1931 , provided the basis for this; a uniform numbering scheme was introduced, which is essentially still in force today. Similar regulations exist for Northern Ireland , Isle of Man and the Channel Islands .
Highways
The first motorway in Great Britain was the Preston bypass, opened in 1958 . This section is now part of the M6 and the eastern section of the M55 up to exit 1. The M1 , M10 and M45 followed a year later. At this point the numbering system was already firmly established. For this reason, the numbers of the motorways (with a preceding M) generally follow the radials of the long-distance roads that already existed at the time. One exception is the M5 , which roughly follows the course of the A38 . Two-digit highways are usually found near single-digit highways.
A roads
The Ministry of Transport is directly responsible for the maintenance and construction of the category A trunk roads. On April 1, 1923, the list was published with the first definition of the A roads. It comprised 1305 streets. This was stipulated in the Trunk Road Act of 1936 , when 30 important roads with a length of 7250 kilometers were defined as trunk roads and placed under the control of the Highways Agency . Since then, the network of trunk roads has grown many times over and the highways are now a part of it.
Primary routes
Larger A roads form a network of so-called primary routes , roads recommended for long-distance and freight traffic in addition to the motorway network. These roads are signposted with white letters and yellow A numbers on a green background. Many (but by no means all) of these primary routes have four lanes with separate lanes ( dual carriageway ). In contrast to motorways, however, all vehicles are permitted on these highways (e.g. also tractors and bicycles), the lanes intersect with other streets, there are traffic lights , turns via the opposite lane and roundabouts .
Single digit A roads
The most important highways have a single-digit number with a prefixed A. The counting starts from London with the A1 going north, then the other highways follow in clockwise direction. In Scotland the road network is centered on Edinburgh .
- A1 : London to Edinburgh ( sometimes referred to as the Great North Road , not entirely correct )
- A2 : London to Dover ( Watling Street )
- A3 : London to Portsmouth ( Portsmouth Road )
- A4 : London to Bristol ( Great West Road or Bath Road ; originally the A4 only went to Bath)
- A5 : London to Holyhead ( Watling Street )
- A6 : Luton to Carlisle (the A6 originally started in the London borough of Barnet ; Luton was set as the new starting point after the A1 was relocated in the 1970s)
- A7 Edinburgh to Carlisle
- A8 Edinburgh to Greenock (originally to Gourock; now A770)
- A9 Falkirk to Thurso (originally Edinburgh - Inverness)
Double-digit A roads
A roads with two digits are routes on which there is less traffic, but which are still considered to be long-distance roads. They are not all centered on London, but for the most part follow the general scheme with clockwise numbering. For example, the A10 is the first clockwise street after the A1; the A10 follows the A11 etc.
- A10 London to King's Lynn
- A11 London to Norwich
- A12 London to Lowestoft
- A13 London to Shoeburyness
- A14 motorway junction M1 / M6 at Rugby to Felixstowe (originally Royston to Huntingdon )
- A15 Peterborough to Kingston upon Hull
- A16 Stamford to Grimsby
- A17 Newark to King's Lynn
- A18 Doncaster to Ludborough
- A19 Doncaster to Seaton Burn
- A20 London to Dover
- A21 London to Hastings
- A22 London to Eastbourne
- A23 London to Brighton
- A24 London to Worthing
- A25 Wrotham Heath to Guildford
- A26 Maidstone to Newhaven
- A27 Pevensey to Whiteparish
- A28 Margate to Hastings
- A29 Beare Green to Bognor Regis
- A30 London to Land's End
- A31 Guildford to Bere Regis
- A32 Alton to Gosport
- A33 Southampton to Reading
- A34 Winchester to Salford
- A35 Southampton to Honiton
- A36 Southampton to Bath
- A37 Dorchester to Bristol
- A38 Bodmin to Mansfield
- A39 Bath to Falmouth
- A40 London to Fishguard
- A41 London to Birkenhead
- A42 Appleby Magna (M42) to Kegworth (M1) (originally Oxford to Birmingham : taken over from A34)
- A43 Cherwell Valley to Stamford
- A44 Oxford to Aberystwyth
- A45 Birmingham to Thrapston (originally taken over to Felixstowe , eastern section of A14)
- A46 Bath to Cleethorpes
- A47 Birmingham to Lowestoft
- A48 Highnam to Carmarthen
- A49 Ross-on-Wye to Bamber Bridge at Preston
- A50 Leicester to Warrington
- A51 Kingsbury to Chester
- A52 Newcastle-under-Lyme to Mablethorpe
- A53 Shrewsbury to Buxton
- A54 Chester to Buxton
- A55 Holyhead to Chester (North Wales Expressway)
- A56 Chester to Broughton
- A57 Liverpool to Lincoln
- A58 Prescot to Wetherby
- A59 Liverpool to York
- A60 Loughborough to Doncaster
- A61 Derby to Thirsk
- A62 Manchester to Leeds
- A63 Leeds to Kingston upon Hull
- A64 Leeds to Scarborough
- A65 Leeds to Kendal
- A66 Workington to Grangetown
- A67 Bowes (A66) to Crathorne (A19)
- A68 Darlington to Edinburgh
- A69 Carlisle to Blaydon
- A70 Edinburgh to Ayr
- A71 Edinburgh to Irvine
- A72 Galashiels to Hamilton
- A73 Abington to Cumbernauld
- A74 Carlisle to Glasgow
- A75 Gretna to Stranraer
- A76 Dumfries to Kilmarnock
- A77 Glasgow to Portpatrick
- A78 Prestwick to Greenock
- A79 Prestwick to Doonholm
- A80 Glasgow to Bonnybridge
- A81 Glasgow to Callander
- A82 Glasgow to Inverness
- A83 Campbeltown to Tarbet
- A84 Stirling to Lochearnhead
- A85 Oban to Perth
- A86 Spean Bridge to Kingussie
- A87 Invergarry to Uig
- A88 Larbert to Stenhousemuir
- A89 Newbridge to Glasgow
- A90 Edinburgh to Fraserburgh
- A91 Bannockburn to St Andrews
- A92 Dunfermline to Stonehaven
- A93 Perth to Aberdeen
- A94 Perth to Forfar
- A95 Aviemore to Meld
- A96 Inverness to Aberdeen
- A97 Dinnet to Banff
- A98 Fochabers to Fraserburgh
- A99 Latheron after John o 'Groats
More A roads
The system continues with three- and four-digit numbers that cross or branch off from the radials. The lower numbered streets start closer to London than those with higher numbers. Most streets that have been rebuilt or renumbered since the introduction of street numbers have a three-digit number. The street number indicates the approximate location once you are familiar with the system. When established in 1923, the numbers A (1–5) 200 – A (1–5) 2xx were used for streets in London and A (1–6) 000 – A (1–6) 0xx outside London (Note: Since the A6 branched off from A1 outside London, there are no Zone 6 roads in London).
Below is a list of the number series with the region in which the respective streets are located:
- Series 10 and 100: Greater London , Essex , Cambridgeshire , East Anglia and Lincolnshire
- Series 20 and 200: Surrey , Sussex, and Kent
- 30s and 300s series: Hampshire , Dorset and South West England
- 40s and 400s series: Central England and Wales
- 50s and 500 Series: North Wales, North Midlands , Cheshire , South Lancashire and Cumbria
- 60s and 600s series: North East England, Yorkshire and North Lancashire
- 70s and 700s series: Southern and Central Scotland
- 80s and 800 series: Northwest Scotland and Hebrides
- 90s and 900s series: Northeast Scotland, Orkney and Shetland
Important three-digit A roads are:
- A180 Continuation of the M180 motorway east to Grimsby , part of European route 22
- A205 Woolwich to Kew (south ring road from London)
- A259 Folkestone to Havant
- A272 Poundford to A30 at Andover
- A303 Basingstoke to Honiton (relieves the A30)
- A331 Camberley to Farnham
- A361 Ilfracombe to Rugby (the longest three-digit road)
- A403 Avonmouth to Aust
- A406 Chiswick to Beckton (north ring road from London)
- A414 Hemel Hempstead to Maldon
- A465 Hereford to Neath (Head of the Valleys Road)
- A470 Cardiff to Llandudno
- A483 Swansea to Chester
- A487 Haverfordwest to Bangor
- A580 Liverpool to Manchester (East Lancashire Road)
- A846 Ardbeg to Craighouse
- A865 Lochmaddy to Lochboisdale
- A993 Muirhouses to Bo'ness
- A994 Kincardine after Rosyth
Motorway-like A roads
Some sections of A roads have been turned into a motorway . These streets keep the A classification but have an (M) as a suffix. Examples are A1 (M), A3 (M), A308 (M), A329 (M), A404 (M).
B roads
B roads are routes with less traffic than A roads. The classification is not necessarily reflected in the width or quality of the road. B roads can be as well or even better developed than A roads. The only difference is that the local authorities are responsible for the B roads and the Highways Agency, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Transport, for the A roads . The B roads were defined at the same time as the A roads in 1923. The list published by the Ministry of Transport on April 1, 1923 includes 2685 Class II roads (= B roads).
B roads uses the same numbering scheme as A roads (clockwise around London or Edinburgh ), but there are only three or four-digit names. Most of the three-digit B roads outside London are former A roads that have been downgraded due to the construction of new roads. In 1923, the three-digit number for streets within London was B (1-5) 00 to B (1-5) 49 and outside B (1-6) 50 to B (1-6) 99. In zones 7 and 8, there were no four-digit B roads when they were defined.
Smaller streets
Roads with even less traffic than B roads are designated with the letters C, D or U (U stands for unclassified , i.e. small connecting roads below the classification scheme). These also have a number, which is only intended for administrative purposes and is usually not visible on signposts or on the road itself.
See also
- List of motorways in Great Britain
- Road system in Ireland (or Northern Ireland)
- License plate (United Kingdom)
- List of river crossings of the Thames
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Legal definition , accessed May 13, 2017