A41
From Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki
| A41 | |||||||||||||
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| From: | London (SO944960) | ||||||||||||
| To: | Liverpool (SO903967) | ||||||||||||
| Via: | Watford, Aylesbury, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Chester | ||||||||||||
| Meets: | M1, M25, M40, M42, M5, M54, M53 | ||||||||||||
| Primary Destinations | |||||||||||||
| Aylesbury • Birkenhead • Birmingham • Brent Cross • Central London • Chester • Hemel Hempstead • London • Solihull • Warwick • Watford • West Bromwich • West End • Whitchurch • Wolverhampton • | |||||||||||||
| Highways Authorities | |||||||||||||
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Highways Agency • Transport for London • Birmingham • Wolverhampton • Buckinghamshire • Cheshire West & Chester • Hertfordshire • Oxfordshire • Sandwell • Shropshire • Solihull • Telford & Wrekin • Walsall • Warwickshire • Wirral | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
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Buckinghamshire • Cheshire • Hertfordshire • Middlesex • Oxfordshire • Staffordshire • Shropshire • Warwickshire • Worcestershire | |||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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Contents |
Route
London - Watford (M25)
The A41 begins as two one-way streets—Portman Street (northbound), which turns into Gloucester Place, and Baker Street (southbound) -- off Oxford Street. The A41 starts in the wrong zone, as the A40 forms the boundary between zones 4/5 at this point, and it also finishes in the 5-zone. This is actually legit—the number is taken from the furthest anticlockwise zone entered—in this case the 4-zone.
We run on top of the Metropolitan Line from Baker Street to Finchley Road Stations, passing Swiss Cottage en route. After a mile or two, we get to a TOTSO where the 30s bypass (the A41) turns off the Finchley Road, which heads north to Golders Green. Hendon Way (for this is what we're on) is one of those classic 30s radial roads, like Gt Cambridge Road, Gt West Road etc: nice and wide, and lined with 30s semis. We skirt the eastern fringe of Cricklewood and make it to the North Circular (A406). There's a fully grade separated junction (although with a very tight roundabout) with the A41 continuing over a flyover. Leave here for access to the M1.
We continue through Hendon Central then end up running parallel to the M1. We meet the A1 at Fiveways Corner, the location of M1 J2. However, only A1 traffic can get onto the M1 at this point. Now the A41 multiplexes the A1, as the Hendon/Edgware and Barnet bypasses converge. They split again at Apex Corner and we get our A41 number back. Eventually, we emerge out of suburbia, and get faced with M1 J4 (watch the tight bends on the slip roads). This time there's access to/from the southern A41 and northern M1 only.
We can start feeling less naughty now we're in the correct numbering zone, and the A41 travels parallel to the M1 in a north-westerly direction. It's a wide single carriageway, one lane each way, and looks like it was once a 'suicide alley' stretch. We cross the M1 on an overbridge, then the road becomes dual carriageway. There's another junction with our friend the M1 -- J5—which is a weird double-junction, with four slip-roads and one big roundabout (look at a map and you'll see what I mean). Then, there's a couple of roundabouts, including one with the A405, the erstwhile Northern Orbital Road. We meet a spur from M25 J19 (the spur used to be part of the A405) at the Hunton Bridge roundabout, then the M25 proper at J20.
Watford (M25) - Aylesbury
The Berkhamsted Bypass was built by Amey Construction Ltd. They survived the construction process and went on to build other major roads, but have recently opted out of mainstream contracting to concentrate on long term asset management.
The A41 between junction 19 of the M25 and the eastern end of the Tring bypass was opened to traffic in 1993. It was built under two contracts – the Kings Langley bypass was started by Budge and completed by (I think) Alfred McAlpine when Budge went bust during the contract. At the time I was working on a maintenance job in Hemel Hempstead and I can remember seeing a fleet of low-loaders from the various plant hire firms and sub-contractors retrieving their kit before it got into the hands of the receivers.
The Berkhamsted Bypass was built by Amey Construction Ltd. They survived the construction process and went on to build other major roads, but have recently opted out of mainstream contracting to concentrate on long term asset management—they have a number of prestigious contracts with the Highways Agency.
This section of the A41 is built to dual 2 lane standard with grade separated junctions. Whilst the main line is built to a reasonably high standard, frequent changes to the design requirements during the planning stages meant that the junctions themselves are very tight. Why else would you wish to plaster a load of anti-skid surfacing on a modern slip road? Heading north west from the M25, the first junction is a diamond junction with a dumbbell roundabout underneath. From here, the A414 begins its trek to Malden in Essex. In my opinion, this is not a good junction, but it is better than the others on this stretch of the A41.
Continuing in a westerly direction, the road comes alongside the west-coast main line, crosses the old A41 (now the A4251), skirts Boxmoor common before arriving at the Bourne End junction with the A4251. Cue a set of dodgy slip roads in a half cloverleaf arrangement. The antiskid surfacing is required to help deter traffic leaving the A41 from missing the bend on the slip road and ploughing straight across the on-bound traffic.
Next up is a less important junction leading to a farm, a few industrial units, a filling station and the obligatory Drive Thru McDonalds.
The A41 continues to the south of Berkhamsted, past its junction with the A416 (cue another junction arrangement like the one at Bourne End. Soon we pass under a reinforced concrete arched bridge which carries the Ridgeway long distance trail across the road. We then join up with the Tring Bypass – well known to the Sabristi as the former A41(M). The old A41 was detrunked and became the A4251.
The Tring bypass was built in the 1970s to dual two lane standard. As it has subsequently been despecialised and is now just the A41, they have had to put up clearway signs on the hard shoulder to prevent people parking there. From memory, the Tring bypass is no more than 2 miles long. Aston Clinton is now bypassed to the North. Aylesbury itself seems to be a collection of roundabouts joined by some very short lengths of road. The A41 forms the southern side of the Aylesbury Ring Road, passing junctions for the A413, A418 and countless local roads before making a left turn at a roundabout with the A4157 to head out towards Bicester.
Aylesbury - Wendlebury (M40)
Rural Buckinghamshire takes us past a couple of speed camera sites.
The section between leaving Aylesbury and arriving at the Bicester Ring Road used to be free of roundabouts though during late 2008 a roundabout was built just before the railway bridge that carries the Aylesbury-Quainton railway. This was done to facilitate access to the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station that has been built there.
The road is a reasonable single carriageway between Aylesbury and Waddesdon (stop here for the Manor, which is the home of the Rothschilds).
Continuing westwards, the road becomes rural in nature with few junctions of any note. There is a low bridge where the road passes under the Chiltern Railways line on the outskirts of Blackthorn. The bridge used to be subject to vehicle strikes and an electronic height warning system was in place. In the early 2000s the road was lowered under the bridge and the electronic warning system appears to be no longer in use.
Arriving on the outskirts of Bicester, the road becomes wider on an embankment past Bicester Village Outlet Stores. Eventually we arrive at a roundabout where we turn left onto a dual carriageway which takes us to the M40 at junction 9. The dual carriageway continues south west to Oxford as the A34. There is now a gap in the A41 between here and Solihull, traffic for the Midlands is sent along the M40.
Solihull (M42) - Wolverhampton
The A41 has been abolished between Bicester and Copt Heath, much of it now being the B4100. The section though Knowle is now the A4141. After being revived, the A41 is the Solihull By-Pass, then the Warwick Road through Olton, built-up with houses and some shops on both sides. At Olton we meet the Birmingham city boundary, and pass into Acock's Green, goung right through the middle of this busy suburb. There have long been plans for a bypass, and much is built (Olton Boulevard East/West), but there are gaps which may never be bridged. From Acocks Green, we pass through Tyseley and Greet before meeting the A34 in Sparkhill, and carrying on through Sparkbrook (this is all built-up, mainly Victorian) to the Birmingham Ring Road.
It emerges on the opposite side of the Birmingham Ring Road, and heads directly for West Bromwich, via Hockley (near the Jewellery Quarter), over the Hockley Flyover into Handsworth, and up Soho Road, a bustling highway lined with many Asian shops and eateries. From Handsworth it's just a short ride to the Hawthorns (boing boing) and M5 J1 and off to the Black Country.
After coming past The Hawthorns (West Bromwich Albion's ground), we find ourselves at junction 1 of the M5, where an unclassified road signposted "West Bromwich Town Centre" marks for former route of the A41 through West Bromwich High Street. However, the current route follows the dual carriageway bypass "The Expressway". At peak times, this is a very busy route, and often tails back from the junction with the A4031 for Walsall to the motorway. The Expressway then continues for 0.5 miles, up to the junction with the A4196, which is where the old route joins up again. Straight ahead of us lies the expanses of the Black Country Spine Road, which is a new dual carriageway that takes us all the way to the A463/A454 Black Country Route, which links with M6 junction 10. To the right lies the A4196, which is the old route of the A41 via the imaginatively named Hill Top and Wednesbury. The A41 here is a modern, wide dual carriageway in mainly industrial estate country, with most reached off roundabout junctions. Be careful, it's a 40 zone, although it feels much faster than that.
Anyway, after about a mile, the A461 from Dudley comes in and multiplexes with us for a short distance before leaving right for Wednesbury and M6 junction 9. Soon afterwards, we reach another roundabout where the character of the road changes as for this stretch we re-join the old A41 that has been upgraded to dual carriageway through Moxley. We then reach a roundabout with traffic lights where we totso left (looks better on a map that it feels on the ground, believe me!) as the A4444 finishes the final stretch of the BCSR for us, and the A4038 goes towards Darlaston. The A41 then goes through Moxley High Street, and meets the A4098, which is the grand total of 1 mile long. After a period of time, we reach the A463 Black Country Route just as we enter Bilston.
The A41 continues in to Bilston Town Centre, and is very narrow and congested through the town. It gets wider and better the further into Wolverhampton we get, and after a small distance we multiplex with the Midland Metro at Priestfield. The Metro is street running all the way from here into Wolverhampton City Centre, past the former Royal Hospital and bus depot, up to the Wolverhampton Ring Road (A4150). The former route of the road through the city centre is impossible to follow now, as it's first cut off by the ring road, then has Sainsbury's car park on it, and then is one way (the other way!), is again cut off by the ring road before re-joining the current route.
Wolverhampton - Whitchurch
On the opposite side of the city centre, the A41 re-emerges from the ring road (multiplexed with the A454) and continues its journey north-west through a very busy stretch of road called Chapel Ash, at the end of which the A454 forks left heading for Bridgnorth, and we fork right. The road follows quite a pleasant urban route out of the city here, with highlights such as the Halfway House pub, which is supposedly half way between London and Holyhead (follow the A41, A464 and A5 for the route!), and The Rock, which is a large ridge that the road cuts through. We are now entering the pleasant suburbs of Tettenhall and The Wergs, which we meander through before reaching rural Staffordshire. After about 1 mile of the border, we reach the junction with the A464, which forks left towards Telford and the A5, before we get to the Albrighton by-pass. This used to be a three-lane "Danger Alley", but nowadays it just has wide lanes. After the by-pass, we enter the village of Cosford, well known for the RAF base and aerospace museum (well woth a visit). The junctions have been much improved recently to enable better access for the base.
After about 0.75 miles, we reach our next major traffic landmark: junction 3 of the M54. Conntinuing on, we meet the village of Tong, which Charles Dickens used as the final resting place for Little Nell and her Grandfather in "The Old Curiosity Shop". The road here is wide and generally pleasant to drive down, and before too long at all we reach the roundabout with the A5 near Weston-under-Lizard. After this, the road is again wide and generally pleasant to drive along, before reaching Newport. Again, we reach another junction before very long, this time with the A518 Telford - Stafford road, which is another staggered junction, and then the A519 towards Stoke-on-Trent. After the Newport by-pass, it turns back into a generic rural A-road, having junctions with the A529, A53 and A442 in what can best mid described as the middle of rural Shropshire, before we reach the junction with the A49, which really tells you you're about to reach Whitchurch, the by-pass of which is about 1.5 miles distant.
Whitchurch - Birkenhead
The view to the left of the A49/A41 roundabout is anything but rural and the general dereliction around here depressing. But at least you've now got enough dual carriageway to get past what you've been stuck behind, seemingly for an eternity. After a mile, a slip lane enables a speedy transfer onto the Whitchurch by-pass. This is generously wide but only marked two lane - overtaking can thus be hairy, especially southbound, up the hill. The first roundabout collects the B5476 (Wem road) and A525 (the eastern part of the by-pass), now merging with the A41 until it heads west into Wales at the next roundabout (services here). As you leave this roundabout, steal a quick glance on the left at the tranquil Llangollen Canal.
Reunion with the original, now detrunked, A41 follows to the left at the next roundabout, where the A49 disentangles to head off to Tarporley and Warrington. Our road runs down the hill to a tricky chicane at Grindley Brook (historical buildings juxtaposed with sad dereliction), where road and canal compete for the gap. The 1872 Chester - Whitchurch railway also used to be here but gave way in 1963. This is the line of the roman road, but don't blink or you'll miss it because those earlier road builders took a more sensible, straighter course north-west, initially along what is now the B5395. (If you want to see original roman road, divert to Kidnal Hill a mile north west of Malpas. A footpath traces the route, later by-passed by the modern road. Walk it to see why!)
After Grindley Brook, the A41 becomes a Cheshire road; gently undulating, with gentle bends and a gentle rise in blood pressure as you peer ahead in vain for safe overtaking. But it has been worse; modern engineers have ironed out many kinks, so much so that you're hard pressed to see where the original line ran. The No Man's Heath by-pass three miles from Grindley Brook represents the latest in early 21st century improvements. But 200 years ago they took this village as their starting point for no less than six miles of by-pass of the winding coach road (the old road rejoins half a mile north of the Broxton roundabout). The parallel turnpike route to the east is pretty, something probably unappreciated in 1740 by a Mr. Pennant who described going by coach from Chester to London, the first day of which was spent getting the 20 miles to Whitchurch "with much labour"!
Broxton roundabout is a curiously dinky little thing. Immediately before is the attractive Egerton Arms Hotel (pub) and to the left, the less appealing picnic site for refreshment and relief (of several sorts if the graffiti in the gents are to be believed). The road continues north much as before, passing left turns to various attractions and by-passing Handley (where there's another nice pub, the Calveley Arms). Soon after Hatton Heath, the national speed limit (for what it's been worth) gives way to 50 and then 40, imposed in recent years to try to stem the sad carnage on this stretch. The latest ploy to try to get through the thick skulls of the inattentive and reckless is to splash red tarmac and visual pinch points through Waverton / Christleton. Not pretty and should not be necessary.
Chester is now close. This was the Roman legionary fortress of Deva connected, via their version of the A41, with Watling Street (at Stretton on the A5). Continuing on the A41, you test your driving skills through 270 degrees at the roundabout (junction with a link road to the A55 (confusingly styled A41) and the A5115 into the City). There's now unrestricted dual carriageway through the A51 junction traffic lights junction at Vicar's Cross and on to the meeting with the A56 at the inadequate Hoole roundabout (it has a bad accident record because of the heavy traffic loads in all directions). Ahead on the A41, the bad driving of a few has caused a 50 limit and loss of dual carriageway, which frustrates the many (better drivers). This part of the A41 was the original (1930s) Chester eastern by-pass, which relieved the City centre of northbound traffic.) Brief dual carriageway through the Upton-by-Chester lights (camera!), then back to single past the roundabout for the famous zoo and down the dip over the Shropshire Union Canal. There's little scope for a burst of speed on the dual carriageway ahead because of a notorious minor road crossing at Backford (hence the screaming 'slow' signs). The junction with the Ellesmere Port road (A5032) sees the start of a short four lane single carriageway, which passes under the nascent M56 before crossing the A5117. Cheshire rural is now swapped for Wirral urban. (The formal Cheshire County / Wirral Borough boundary is further on at Hooton, just before the M53.)
The next 11 miles is mostly 40 mph single carriageway through urban sprawl. Cycle lanes, now reduce what were once two lanes each way through Great and Little Sutton, to one in each direction. From now on the traffic lights seem countless (I did try once). The 1970s M53 has siphoned much traffic off the A41 (it used to have a fearsome reputation) but despite still being an urban artery, progress on the older road is usually smooth. Historical Wirral interest is pretty well lost, if only because many kinks (ie through former villages) have been ironed out. The very straight stretch north of Bromborough was created in the early 19th century to serve burgeoning industries, replacing the wriggling coach road to the west. Soon after this, comes the modern New Ferry dual carriageway by-pass and time was when this gave welcome relief from the (necessary) 40 limit. But alas, for what I'm sure must have been very good reasons…, this too was lost in the late 1990s when a 50 limit sprouted.
At the end of the New Ferry by-pass, the 50 drops straight to 30 (care - camera). This is Tranmere, where former industrial dereliction along the road has been replaced with the usual range of out-of-town superstores. (Ahead, but off our route, is the Queensway Mersey Tunnel (opened 1934), still tolled (£1.40 in 2008). The end is now nigh. Shortly before the tunnel, the A41 peels off into Birkenhead and, as Chester Street, is only stopped from running into the river by the bus station.
History
Finchley Road and Watford Bypass
Finchley Road was built during the 19th century to provide a decent route from London's West End to Finchley, and the Great North Road. When the numbering system was introduced in 1922, the whole of this route from Oxford Street to Tally-Ho Corner in North Finchley (junction with the Great North Road) was numbered the A500 (Marble Arch - Finchley). Meanwhile, the A41 began at a junction with the A5 north of Edgware (the current A410) and went through Stanmore (current A4140) and Watford (current A411). Now, in the 1920s and '30s many radial roads had become congested because north London suburbs were spreading to the extremities of the Underground network, so bypasses were needed for Watford and Barnet. These were duly built and numbered A500 (Marble Arch - Finchley)/A555 respectively (early bypasses tended not to assume the route numbers of the roads they bypassed).
The A41 originally ended on the A5 at its northern end as well (it ran along what is now the A464 to Oakengates). In 1935 it was rerouted north of Wolverhampton and extended all the way to Birkenhead.
The Watford bypass was opened in the mid twenties, and was firstly called the A4088, then the A500 (Marble Arch - Finchley) and was only renumbered A41 after the war. The Watford bypass also linked, to the south-east across the A5, with bypasses for Edgware and Hendon, to meet the Finchley Road. So, the best way to get to Aylesbury etc was to use these new bypasses, rather than the A5 and A41. After a while (don't know when exactly), the chain of bypasses was sensibly renumbered to the A41, hence the discrepancy. What I don't understand, however, is why the A5 wasn't renumbered up as far as Edgware, as it was well and truly bypassed by these roads. Indeed, the Edgware and Hendon bypasses (and the southern bit of Finchley Road) could just as well have been numbered the A5.
Bicester - Solihull
These days, there is no trace on the map of the A41 between M40 junction 9 and the M42. Indeed, both the A34 and A41 traffic are signed north to Birmingham on the M40. In fact, the route of the old A41 is not too difficult to find—just follow the B4100 towards Banbury and Warwick.
Pictures
 Looking north towards Bilston Street Island junction with A4150 and A454 with Midland Metro in central reservation. |
Links
Original Author(s): Tom, M4 Man (Simon), Herr Bratsche, Steven Jukes, Rod Warrington, M40
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