Road system in the UK

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Zoning of A and B road numbers in Great Britain
A-roads, which are among the primary routes , have green signs with white letters and A numbers in yellow.
The A1 expanded as a dual carriageway with exit via the opposite lane
A roads that are not primary routes have white signs with black letters. The A14, which is reached on the right, is a primary route .

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 .

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.

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:

Important three-digit A roads are:

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

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Legal definition , accessed May 13, 2017