A69_road

A69 road

The A69 is a major road in England running east-west across the Pennines, through the counties of Northumberland and Cumbria. Originally starting in Blaydon, but since the creation of the A1 Western Bypass, starting at Denton Burn a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, it runs up the Tyne valley, by-passing the towns of Corbridge and Hexham. The A69 crosses the River Tyne as it passes through the village of Haydon Bridge, and then further on by-passes Haltwhistle.

After crossing the border into Cumbria, the A69 by-passes the town of Brampton, before coming to a roundabout junction with the A689 road. The A69 turns left here, and travels through the village of Warwick Bridge, which is planned to be by-passed in the future. Following a short piece of dual carriageway, the A69 comes to Junction 43 of the M6 motorway, which skirts the eastern edge of Carlisle.

The A69 into Carlisle has the name Warwick Road, and is known to be one of the most congested roads in the county. At Saint Aidan's Church, the A69 turns right up Victoria Place, and meets the A7 road at a busy traffic-light controlled crossroads, where it terminates.

The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroute E18. It is maintained by RoadLink.

History

The original A69 highway was developed in 1757 to address the Jacobite uprising; however, the alignment follows the much older Roman Stanegate in some of its elements. Hadrian's Wall, the most significant Roman monument in Britain, was constructed in 122 AD. The extent of Hadrian's Wall was 117 kilometres, spanning the width of Britain; the wall incorporated Agricola's Ditch and was constructed mainly of stone in the eastern reaches. The wall was constructed primarily to prevent small bands of raiders and unwanted immigration from the north, not as a fighting line for a major invasion.

Standard of Route

The A69 is a major route linking the northeast and northwest of England, and as such has primary status throughout. For about twenty miles (30 km) between its start at Newcastle, and the Hexham by-pass, the A69 is dual carriageway standard, and is largely grade separated. The rest of the route, apart from a small dualled section near M6 Junction 43 is single carriageway, with occasional climbing lanes.

Haydon Bridge bypass

A new bypass round Haydon Bridge, one of the most treacherous sections of the road, is currently under construction. As of April 2007, groundworks are clearly underway and Highways Agency signage informing of the new bypass have been erected. The signs show Spring 2009 as the expected opening date of the bypass. The bypass will only be of single carriageway standard, criticized by some as inadequate given the route's status.