Everything about A46 Road totally explained
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The
A46 is a
trunk road in
England. It largely follows the course of the
Roman Fosse Way, from
Lincoln to south
Devon. However, large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by
motorway development, and the present A46 is no longer a single, unbroken road along its entire route. The A46 terminates at
Bath, Somerset, and the remainder of the Fosse route to
Exeter is followed by the
A37 and
A303 roads.
Route
Cleethorpes - Lincoln
The A46 starts as
Clee Road at
Cleethorpes at a roundabout with the A1098 and the start of the
A180, near
Cleethorpes railway station. It passes Lindsey Lower School on the left, and enters
Old Clee. It meets the A1031 at the
Lovelane Corner roundabout becoming
Weelsby Road and passes the
King George V Stadium
on the right and enters
Weelsby. It meets the B1213 from the right, then crosses the
A16 Peaks Parkway and enters Wellow. It heads into
Grimsby, meeting the A1243
Bargate (former A16) near the
Grimsby Institute at
Fryston Corner. There is the
Nuns Corner roundabout with the A1243
Scartho Road heading south. It becomes
Laceby Road and passes between
Nunsthorpe and Grange, passing
St Mark's church. It meets the B1444 at the
Bradley Crossroads roundabout, where the road becomes a dual carriageway and passes part of
Bradley on the right (the rest of Bradley is further south). At the
Cottagers Plot roundabout, a
Morrisons is on the right just past Laceby Acres. It becomes
Grimsby Road and bypasses Laceby to the
south. It meets the
A18 at a
roundabout. This was the old terminus of the A46, and what is now the A46 heading east into Grimsby used to be the A18. The road becomes the single carriageway
Caistor Road and crosses the north part of the
Lincolnshire Wolds. It bypasses
Irby upon Humber and enters
Lincolnshire and the district of
West Lindsey. It bypasses
Swallow to the north. and passes the
Swallow Inn. It becomes
Grimsby Road and passes
Cabourne and St Nicholas'
church. It climbs a hill to meet the B1225, A1173, and A1084 just east of
Caistor and near a collection of transmitters. It becomes the
Caistor Bypass to the south of the town, passing though a large cutting and is crossed by the
Viking Way. It resumes the old route and
passes through
Nettleton where it meets the B1205 becoming
Holton Road and passes the
Salutation Inn on the left. There is a right turn for
Holton le Moor and the road crosses the Nottingham - Grimsby railway at a
level crossing near the
Hope Tavern. It meets the B1434 (for
Moortown) from the right. The road becomes very straight and flat, passing though Middle Rasen Plantation and meets the A1103 from the right. At the junction with the B1202 (the former route), it bypasses
Market Rasen, passing through
Middle Rasen passing the
Nags Head on the right, becoming
Gallamore Lane where it overlaps the A631 from the left and becomes
Gainsborough Road passing the
Total Automania garage. The A631
leaves to the right at a
T junction, and the road becomes
Lincoln Road. There are sharp right and left turns and the road enters
Faldingworth passing the
Coach & Horses on the right and All Saints
church. There is a right turn for
Snarford and for
Welton at Welton Hill near the
Farmers Arms and the road becomes
Market Rasen Road and bypasses
Dunholme to the south then it passes close to the former
RAF Dunholme Lodge near the Rix
Centurion garage. It becomes
Welton Road and there are two left turns for
Nettleham and it becomes
Lincoln Road and passes the headquarters for
Lincolnshire Police on the left before the
Brown Cow Inn at Nettleham Heath. It meets the A158 (for
Skegness) and the B1182 (former route into Lincoln) at a roundabout.
Lincoln - A606
The eight-mile £19m part-dual-carriageway Lincoln Relief Road opened in December 1985. It
overlaps the
A15. The A15 leaves to the right at the
Riseholme roundabout, with the B1226 heading south into Lincoln. The road becomes
dual carriageway and traverses the
Lincoln Cliff and enters the borough of Lincoln. It meets the
A57 at the
Carholme roundabout and enters
North Kesteven and crosses the
Lincoln - Gainsborough railway. It meets the B1378 (for Swanpool and Birchwood) at the
Skellingthorpe roundabout, with a right exit for
Skellingthorpe and becomes a single carriageway. Close to Birchwood, the road re-enters the borough of Lincoln, and meets the B1190 at the
Doddington roundabout near the
BP Doddington Road Filling Station and
Damon's Diner, re-entering North Kesteven. The road passes the
Pride of Lincoln to the right, and
Ibis Hotel and large lakes to the left, crossing the Nottingham to Lincoln Line. After bypassing Lincoln, it starts following the route of the old
Fosse Way (bar bypasses) at the
Hykeham roundabout with the A1434 (former route through Lincoln and
North Hykeham), and the
Total Thorpe-on-the-Hill Service Station near a
Little Chef,
McDonalds and
Travelodge. This section to the
A1 has always been very busy, as it's the main road to Lincoln. On
July 10,
2003, the eight-mile (13 km) £28 million
dual-carriageway Newark to Lincoln Improvement was opened by
David Jamieson. Although a few junctions are
grade-separated, there are roundabouts and side exits, popular with
farmers. There is a right turn for
Thorpe on the Hill. There is the
Halfway House roundabout for
Swinderby,
Witham St Hughs,
Morton and
Morton Hall women's prison. On the right is the
Dovecote pub, and on the
left is the former airfield of
RAF Swinderby, the former trade-training centre for the
RAF. The village of
Swinderby is to the right, and the road becomes the boundary of Lincolnshire and Nottingham for a mile. The road enters
Nottinghamshire and the district of
Newark and Sherwood, near a turn for
Collingham, then the road
bypasses Brough. The new section of
road finishes at the roundabout with the A1133 (for (
Gainsborough) near
Winthorpe and the
Newark Air Museum and the
Newark Showground. The next short section is extremely busy at peak times and needs grade-separating, especially with all of the petrol stations and restaurants using the junction as well. It is a
dog's breakfast. The
JET Interchange Service Station is on the right. The
A17 joins from the left at a roundabout, with the
Total Winthorpe Service Station. The national distribution centre for
Currys has been built near this roundabout on the former airfield. The road crosses the
A1. The six-mile (10 km) £34 million
Newark-On-Trent Relief Road, opened in October 1990, and the former route is the B6166. At the roundabout at the start of the bypass there's a
KFC,
Brewers Fayre and
McDonalds. It crosses the
East Coast Main Line and
Nottingham to Lincoln Line, then meets the B6326,
A616 (both former parts of the A1), and
A617 (for
Mansfield) near a large
sugar beet factory for
British Sugar. The bypass ends with a roundabout with the B6166. The bypass was built without apparent knowledge that the nearby sections of the A46 would become dual-carriageway. As
Fosse Road, it passes a former Roman settlement at
Ad Pontem. The next village is
East Stoke, then there's a turn to the left for
Elston. There is a left turn for
Syerston and
RAF Syerston airfield is adjacent to the right, where the road
enters the district of
Rushcliffe. To the left is
Flintham and
Flintham Hall, and to the right is
Kneeton. There are left turns for
Screveton and
Car Colston, and to the
right is
East Bridgford. There is a
JET Pylon Service Station before the A6097
roundabout, which is also the site of the Roman town called
Margidumum. The road continues south-west, meeting the
A52 near
Bingham and passing many speed cameras. Close by to the right is
RAF Newton, and to the left is
Bingham. There is the
Saxondale Roundabout with the A52, with the
Shell Saxondale garage, close to the village of
Saxondale. There is a crossroads leading to
Cropwell Butler on the left and
Upper Saxondale on the right, then it
crosses the
Grantham Canal. Further on, by the
Shell Fosseway Service Station there's a left turn to
Cropwell Bishop, then a right turn for
Cotgrave, and a left
turn for
Owthorpe. This
section has a high accident rate (as a lot of the single carriage way sections of the A46 have), and the section from here to the A606 has
SPECS cameras. There are crossroads for
Kinoulton to the left, and Widmerpool to the right.
A606 - M1
From
Widmerpool to the M1, it's
dual-carriageway. There is a
grade separated junction (GSJ) with the A606, near Widmerpool near to where it goes under a railway line. There is a
GSJ for
Willoughby-on-the-Wolds As it
enters Leicestershire and the district of
Charnwood, it's going nearly directly south. The road is only a few feet inside Charnwood district as from the Willoughby junction to Six Hills, the road is the boundary between the districts of Charnwood and
Melton. The
Newark to Widmerpool Improvement will make this section grade-separated dual-carriageway, closing the gap in the corridor, when funding becomes available in ten years time from the
East Midlands Regional Assembly. It meets the A6006 (for
Wymeswold) at a GSJ near
Old Dalby. The B676 (for
Burton on the Wolds) meets the
road at a
GSJ at
Six Hills, near the
Six Hills Hotel. There is the
Ramada Loughborough Hotel on the left, a left turn for
Thrussington near the
Total Thrussington Service Station and a
Little Chef and
Travelodge. There is a right turn for
Seagrave and a
GSJ near
Ratcliffe on the Wreake and
Ratcliffe College. The
Leicestershire Round crosses here. The road bypasses
Syston and overlaps the A607 from
Melton Mowbray, crossing the
Midland Main Line and
River Wreake. At a roundabout, the A607 continues southwards. The eight-mile (13 km) £36 million
Leicester Western Bypass opened in November 1995. The road crosses the
Grand Union Canal then the
River Soar, then the first junction is a
GSJ with the
A6 near
Birstall. It crosses the
Great Central Railway and briefly enters the City of Leicester. There is a GSJ with the A5630 near
Anstey, where the road briefly re-enters the district of Charnwood then enters the district of
Blaby for 200m, and the
A50 near
Groby, where the
road enters the district of
Hinckley and Bosworth. The road again enters the district of Blaby and
merges into the
M1 motorway at Junction 21A near
Kirby Muxloe Castle, with a short section of the A46 being motorway which ends at the GSJ with the B5380 (for
Kirby Muxloe and
Glenfield). This junction is south facing only, with no access to or from the north.
M6 - Cheltenham
The A46 used to exist between Leicester and
Coventry, but it has been
replaced by the
M69 motorway. Consequently the A46 reappears at Coventry at junction 2 of the
M6 close to
Ansty in the district of
Rugby,
Warwickshire. The five-mile (8 km) £21 million Coventry Eastern Bypass opened in May 1989. It follows the boundary between the district of Rugby and the borough of Coventry, always staying inside Warwickshire. There is a roundabout with the B4082 near to
Coombe Abbey. It passes the
Texaco Binley Woods Service Station next to a
Little Chef and a
B & Q near the
roundabout with the
A428 (for
Binley) and over the
West Coast Main Line. At the southern end of that bypass, it merges with the
A45 near the
Texaco Ryton Service Station at the
Tollbar End roundabout, and enters the borough of Coventry for a short distance near
Coventry Airport near
Baginton. It follows the boundary with the district of
Warwick, crossing the
River Sowe, then enters the district of Warwick at the junction with the A444, taking the south exit. The £6.3m Kenilworth Bypass opened in June 1974, and in some stretches is three-lanes. There is an
exit for
Stoneleigh and
Stoneleigh Park. There is a GSJ with the
A452 for Kenilworth. It is crossed by a railway and there's a GSJ with the B4115,
A429 for Warwick and another exit for
Leek Wootton. The next GSJ is for the A4177, with access to the
Warwick Parkway railway station. It crosses the
Grand Union Canal and passes the
BP Budbrooke Services on both sides. It meets the
M40 motorway at the
Longbridge roundabout, one of the busiest motorway junctions in the United Kingdom. The roundabout couldn't cope with the A46's through-traffic, as well as the A429, although new traffic light sequencing has greatly improved the situation. South of the M40, the A46 follows its original route for a short distance past
Snitterfield to
Stratford upon Avon. The seven-mile (11 km) £12 million Stratford Northern Bypass opened in June 1987 as the A422. It meets the B4463 and enters the district of
Stratford-on-Avon on the section where the bypass is dual-carriageway, climbing
Sherbourne Hill. There is a roundabout with the A439 (for Stratford), where the dual-carriageway ends, then passes close to
Snitterfield where it's crossed by the
Monarch's Way. There is a roundabout with the A3400, and it crosses the
Birmingham to Stratford Line and the
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. It then turns west along the former
A422 to
Alcester, meeting the A422 from Stratford and overlaps this road as
Alcester Road, being a Roman road. It passes near
Billesley and the
Stag at Red Hill. At Alcester it's
crossed by the
Arden Way and the
Heart of England Way, and meets the
A422 and
A435 near to the
BP garage and Travelodge at the
Oversley Mill Service Station. The eight-mile (13 km) £19 million dual-carriageway Norton-Lenchwick Bypass opened in August 1995. This
road carries the route south to
Evesham. The first section of this follows the
River Arrow near to
Wixford. At the roundabout with the B439 near
Bidford on Avon, it meets the old route from Stratford. To the left is
Bidford-on-Avon and to the right is
Salford Priors, both on the former route. The road briefly enters
Worcestershire and begins to follow the
River Avon. Near
Harvington, it enters Worcestershire and the district of
Wychavon. At
Norton, it passes the
Esso Evesham Service Station and meets the
A44 at a roundabout, which overlaps the road around Evesham, near
Evesham Country Park and
Travel Inn. The four-mile (6 km) £7 million single-carriageway Evesham Bypass opened in July 1987 as the A435. The road crosses the River Avon and
Cotswold Line then meets the B4035 (for
Badsey) at a roundabout. The next
roundabout is for the A44 (for
Wickhamford), then there's a roundabout for the Vale Business Park and a
Morrisons store to the right, then it meets the former route through Evesham, the A4184, at a roundabout. From here, the A46, as
Cheltenham Road then runs south for a few miles along the former
A435 route, before turning west, on the old
A438 route, towards the
M5 motorway. The one-mile (2 km) £1.3 million
Sedgeberrow Bypass opened in May 1989 as the A435. The former route is partly the B4078. To the west is
Ashton under Hill, and the road skirts the Worcestershire -
Gloucestershire boundary, before passing the
Shell Vale Services on the left, with a cafe, and passes through
Beckford near the
Beckford Inn, entering Gloucestershire near Little Beckford and the
Teddington Hands roundabout with the A435 and B4077. The A435 resumes its old
course from here southwards. It passes the
Esso Teddington Hands Service Station and there are crossroads with the B4079 at
Aston Cross near the
Queens Head Inn. It passes
Ashchurch close to a
railway station, and there's the
BP Ashchurch Connect service station on the left and
meets the
M5.
Cheltenham - Bath
After a gap filled in by the A435, the A46 reappears on its original route on the south side of
Cheltenham. It then heads through
Stroud, through
Nailsworth, to the
M4 motorway. From the M4, the A46 heads to
Bath, ending at its junction with the
A4 in that town. The three-mile (5 km) £45 million dual-carriageway
Batheaston/
Swainswick Bypass opened in summer 1996. A small section of this strip of the A46 between
Painswick and
Stroud subsided during the floods on Friday 29th July and was shut for over 6 months, causing quite an impact on the local area. The road re-opened on 15th February 2008.
Former routes
As the above indicates, the A46 now deviates from its original alignment. There are now two sections where there are gaps of over 10 miles (15 km) where the road simply doesn't exist at all.
Many of the deviations are bypasses. A46 bypasses Market Rasen, Lincoln, Newark, Syston, Leicester, Coventry, Kenilworth, Warwick, Stratford, Alcester, Evesham and parts of Bath. However, not even all of those towns were originally on the route of the A46. The road never came anywhere near Alcester and Evesham when it was first numbered.
The first major gap in the A46 was created by the opening of the M69 motorway in the late 1970s. This resulted in the original road being downgraded to a mixture of the B4114 and unclassified roads. The second gap was created by the realignment of the road westwards from its original route between Stratford and Cheltenham. What was originally the A46 is now the
B4632 and runs through some of the most picturesque parts of the
Cotswold Hills. The section of the A46 that ran through Leicester has since redesignated the
A5460 (Narborough Road, in the southwest) and
A607 (Belgrave Road/Melton Road, in the northeast). The northern part of the A607 deviates from the straight course of the Fosse Way, bypassing the village centres of
Thurmaston and
Syston.
Original route of the A46:
- A46 from Bath, crossing M4 at Jct 18 and A433, through Nailsworth and Stroud to Cheltenham
-
B4632 from Cheltenham, via Winchcombe and Broadway, meeting the A3400 (former A34) just south of Stratford
- A439 and A46 from Stratford to Longbridge
- A429 through Warwick and Kenilworth to Coventry
- A4600 out of Coventry to M69 / M6 Jct 2
- B4065 through the villages of Ansty, Shilton and Wolvey
- unclassified through Wolvey Heath where the B4065 here was the original route of the
A447, the A46 met the current B4114 at a modern roundabout NE of Wolvey
- B4114 from Wolvey Heath to A5 where there's a slight dogleg, then through several small villages before picking up the course of the
Fosse Way where the A46 met the A5070 (now the B4669) near Sapcote, continuing through Narborough and Enderby before meeting the A563 at an island and the A5460 from M1 Jct 21 at another island.
- A5460 through the SW suburban areas of Leicester to Leicester city centre
- A607 through Belgrave
- unclassified through Thurmaston and Syston where the A607 and prior to that the A46 bypassed (the modern A607 and old A46 cross at a roundabout between the two
- short section of A607 north of Syston to meet the A46
- A46 (Foss Way) dual carriageway through Leicestershire, meeting A606, then continuing single carriageway to Newark
- B6166 through Newark (pre-bypass route)
- A46 from Newark to Lincoln (u/c through Brough)
- A1434 through North Hykeham and the SW of Lincoln to meet the
A15
- overlapping A15 through Lincoln to emerge as the B1182 (the prior section from Lincoln city centre to the B1273 is u/c)
- A46 from Lincoln bypass (also A46), meeting the A631 at Middle Rasen, diverging again at Market Rasen (part of this route is now A631 and B1202) crossing the Wolds at Caistor, heading East to end on the
A18 at Laceby. The A18 of course now continues South to meet the A16 (along what was B1431), the A46 following the old route of the A18 and A1030 into Cleethorpes.
History of the road number
The original (1923) route of the A46 was Bath to Laceby. Unusually for such a long road, no changes were made to its route before the Second World War. The central sections of the road have been rerouted and renumbered substantially in recent years (as detailed above). One further change not noted above is that the A46 has been extended into Grimsby and Cleethorpes - the road between Laceby and Grimsby was originally part of the A18.
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