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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 34 mi (55 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Boston Spa, near Wetherby | |||
 A659  A58  A661  A59  A6055  A1(M)  A167  A19  A170  A61 A167 | ||||
| North end | Northallerton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Wetherby, Thirsk, Northallerton | |||
| Road network | ||||
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The A168 is a major road in North Yorkshire, England. It runs from Northallerton to Wetherby, acting as a local access road for the A1(M).
The majority of it was built during A1 upgrades as parts of it between Dishforth and Walshford are originally part of the old A1 southbound carriageway until it was upgraded to the A1(M) several feet to the west.
The original route ran from Topcliffe to Northallerton, the current southern section of the A167.
Heading northwards, it begins at the roundabout with the A659 (Wattlesyke for Collingham) near junction 45 of the A1(M). This section of road was built when the A1 was improved to A1(M) in the Bramham to Wetherby section [1] of the A1 Darrington to Dishforth scheme which was completed in December 2009. [2] At Sweep Farm it follows the route of the former A1. It meets the eastern terminus of the A58 at a roundabout, and follows the former A1 Wetherby bypass across the River Wharfe, built in 1959. It runs next to the motorway Wetherby bypass and there is a roundabout for the former B1224, for Wetherby Racecourse. There is a roundabout for an industrial estate and then one for the newly diverted B1224, and junction 46 of the A1(M), where it rejoins the former Great North Road. There is a junction for Kirk Deighton then one for Cowthorpe. At Walshford Bridge it crosses the River Nidd.
The former route of the A1 went through Walshford. The A1 Wetherby to Walshford section opened in August 2005, when the former A1 south of Walshford became the A168. At Great Ribston with Walshford there is a roundabout for Walshford west of the A1(M), and on the eastern side, there is a roundabout for Hunsingore. The A168 from 1995 to 2005 terminated at Walshford, where the A1(M) joined the A1. The former A1 north of Walshford became the A168 when the thirteen-mile Walshford to Dishforth section was built [3] by Alfred McAlpine and AMEC, and opened by John Arthur Watts in November 1995. At Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton it passes under the A59, accessed from a turn to the right which leads to Allerton Castle. Flaxby Golf Club is to the left, near Flaxby. There is a left turn for Arkendale, and right turns for Marton and Grafton. At junction 48 of the A1(M) it meets the A6055 for Knaresborough, to the south-west. The former course of the Great North Road carries straight on through Boroughbridge. The A168 follows the former course of the A1 bypass, next to the current A1(M), to the west of the town. It crosses the River Ure and at Kirby Hill there is a roundabout for the B6265 for Ripon to the west.
It resumes the route of the Great North Road. At the point where it runs parallel to runway of the former RAF Dishforth at Norton-le-Clay, it joins the route of the Roman road Dere Street. The road becomes the parish boundary between Marton-le-Moor and Dishforth. At Dishforth, the road leaves Dere Street and forms part of junction 49 of the A1(M). The A1 junction was planned in the 1970s to be the northern terminus of the A6183, a motorway-standard road that bypassed Leeds to the west from Kirkhamgate, north-west of Wakefield. The scheme was eventually condensed into the A1-M1 motorway link road and the improvement of the A1 to Dishforth. The A168 becomes the main route from the A1 to Teesside, joining the short section of the A168(M), and a trunk road. The former route went through Dishforth, to the south. The South of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass, including Dishforth by-pass section was built in 1970, connecting with the A1 at the Dishforth Roundabout. At Asenby, the A167 leaves to the left, which is the former route of the A168, and the A168 bypasses Asenby and Topcliffe, crossing the River Swale, and consequently entering the district of Hambleton. The Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass was built in the late 1960s. There is a left turn for Topcliffe, the A167, also for RAF Topcliffe (which is still operational), and access to the east for Dalton and the former RAF Dalton. RAF Dishforth, Dalton, and Topcliffe were all used by No. 6 Group RCAF during the Second World War. It rejoins the former route. The South of Thirsk By-pass to north of Topcliffe and Asenby By-pass section opened in the late 1960s. In the parish of Topcliffe, there is a left turn for Sowerby, the B1448, the former route of the A168. The road becomes part of the Thirsk bypass, and at Sowerby crosses the East Coast Main Line, then Cod Beck. At Pudding Pie Hill it meets the A170 at a grade-separated junction, where the road continues as the A19 to Teesside. The improvements from the A1 to Thirsk in the late 1960s originally included classifying that section as the A19, not the A168. The Thirsk by-pass opened as the A19 in September 1972.
At Thornbrough, at the northern end of the Thirsk by-pass, the A168 leaves to the left at a grade-separated junction. It crosses the Cod Beck, and there is a left turn for the B1448, the former A168. Thirsk and Northallerton Golf Club is to the left. It passes through Thornton-le-Street. Thornton-le-Moor is to the left. Thornton-le-Beans is to the right. The Vale of Mowbray is to the west. It enters Romanby then Northallerton as Thirsk Road and the northern terminus of the road is with the A167 in the town centre at a roundabout.
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately 12 miles from Leeds City Centre, 12 mi (19 km) from York and 8 mi (13 km) from Harrogate. The town stands on the River Wharfe, and for centuries has been a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road midway between London and Edinburgh.
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.
The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland northwards, the route was formerly the A108. In the past the route was known as the East of Snaith-York-Thirsk-Stockton-on-Tees-Sunderland Trunk Road. Most traffic joins the A19, heading for Teesside, from the A168 at Dishforth Interchange.
The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England between Leeds and Kingston upon Hull. A section between North Cave and Hull forms the eastward continuation of the M62 motorway and is part of the unsigned Euroroute E20.
The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was re-routed with the opening of the A1(M) in the 1960s.
A1(M) is the designation given to a series of four separate motorway sections in the UK. Each section is an upgrade to a section of the A1, a major north–south road which connects London, the capital of England, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The first section, the Doncaster Bypass, opened in 1961 and is one of the oldest sections of motorway in Britain. Construction of a new section of A1(M) between Leeming and Barton was completed on 29 March 2018, a year later than the anticipated opening in 2017 due to extensive archaeological excavations. Its completion linked the Barton to Washington section with the Darrington to Leeming Bar section, forming the longest A1(M) section overall and reducing the number of sections from five to four.
The A64 is a major road in North and West Yorkshire, England, which links Leeds, York and Scarborough. The A64 starts as the A64(M) ring road motorway in Leeds, then towards York it becomes a high-quality dual carriageway until it is east of the city, where it becomes a single carriageway for most of its route to Scarborough.
The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham.
Asenby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, with a population of 285, increasing to 311 at the 2011 census. The village is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Thirsk and 7 miles (11 km) east of Ripon. It is 12 miles (19 km) south of the County Town of Northallerton on the south bank of the River Swale.
The A6055 is a 25-mile (40 km) stretch of road in North Yorkshire that runs from Knaresborough to Boroughbridge, with a break, then starts up again at Junction 50 of the A1(M) to run parallel with A1(M) acting as a Local Access Road (LAR) going between Junction 50 and 56 at Barton. Responsibility for the route rests with the Highways Agency, as it is designated as a primary route associated with the A1(M) upgrade.
Topcliffe is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the River Swale, on the A167 road and close to the A168. It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Thirsk and 11 miles (18 km) south of the county town of Northallerton. It has a population of 1,489. An army barracks, with a Royal Air Force airfield enclosed within, is located to the north of the village.
The A1058, known locally as the Coast Road, is a major road in Newcastle upon Tyne and the adjoining borough of North Tyneside in the North East. It runs from the Newcastle Central Motorway to the coast, terminating between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. From west to east it connects Newcastle city centre with Jesmond, Heaton, Wallsend, Battle Hill, Howdon, Meadow Well, North Shields, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. The road has existed since December 1924, when it was opened by then-transport minister Wilfrid Ashley.
The Vale of Mowbray is a plain in North Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by the Tees lowlands to the north, the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east, the Vale of York to the south, and the Yorkshire Dales to the west. Northallerton, Catterick Garrison, and Thirsk are the largest settlements within the area. The Vale of Mowbray is distinguishable from the Vale of York by its meandering rivers and more undulating landscape.
The A638 is a major road in England. It runs between the A1 at Markham Moor, Nottinghamshire and Chain Bar Interchange – Junction 26 of the M62 motorway, south of Bradford in West Yorkshire.
Dishforth is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Dishforth translates from Old English as dic-ford; a ford by a dike or ditch. The population of the parish taken at the 2001 census as 719 and had risen to 905 by the time of the 2011 census.
The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire. It crosses the full width of the Yorkshire Dales, passing through Garsdale and the full length of Wensleydale.
The City of Peterborough in East Anglia has an extensive and well integrated road network, owing partly to its status as a new town. Since the 1960s, the city has seen considerable expansion and its various suburbs are linked by a system of parkways.
The A186 is a road in Tyne and Wear, England. It runs between the A1 Junction 75, and the eastern end of the A69 to the A192 in Whitley Bay. It follows the old A69 into Newcastle-upon-Tyne city centre.
The A1 road around Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne after arriving from the south as the A1(M) from its origin in London, currently runs from the A1(M) terminus at Birtley. It then swings to the west of both Gateshead and Newcastle via Coal House, Lobley Hill, Metrocentre, Swalwell, Blaydon Bridge, West Denton, Fawdon and Wideopen to Seaton Burn interchange before continuing north towards Edinburgh.
A roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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