B6053
| B6053 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| From: | Staveley (SK435749) | ||||||||||||||||||
| To: | Swallownest (SK450855) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Via: | Eckington | ||||||||||||||||||
| Distance: | 8.1 miles (13 km) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Meets: | A6192, A6135, B6052, B6058, A57, B6200, A618 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Old route now: | A57 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
The B6053 is a semi-urban B-road on the edge of Sheffield.
Section 1: Staveley – Eckington
The B6053 begins as a mostly rural link following an undulating route through farmland. It starts on the A6192 in Staveley, just north of that road's junction with the A619 at the small Duke Street Roundabout.
The road heads north along Eckington Road and soon passes over a former railway branch line that has been reconstructed to form the A6192, a link road between industrial sites and Junction 29A of the M1. About half a mile further north, the B6053 passes under a narrow railway bridge and immediately over the River Rother at Sittingmill Bridge. An opencast mine which was working here in the 1990s has now reverted to woodland.
Further north, passing Renishaw Park and Hall to the east, we climb uphill to crest a small ridge to the south of Eckington Village. The B6053 historically passed along Southgate into Eckington, but was re-routed when Market Street was pedestrianised in the early 1980s. The current route bypasses Eckington and meets the A6135 (formerly A616) to the east of Eckington and multiplexes with the A6135 north for a quarter of a mile.
Section 2: Eckington – Beighton
_-_Geograph_-_4378674.jpg)
The B6053 reappears at a signal-controlled crossroads on the A6135 at Littlemoor and continues north. The first half-mile is not unlike Section 1, albeit with a steep hill climbing away from Eckington. On reaching the brow of the hill, the road characteristic changes considerably, with a mix of housing fronting the next half-mile.
Eckington Way was built in stages as the new housing extended northwards; originally, the B6053 met the B6058 Station Road a little to the west of where it does today with a signal-controlled crossroads. The first part of Eckington Way to be built was between Owlthorpe Greenway to Drake House Lane, with a tiny roundabout at the junction with Owlthorpe Greenway including a temporary spur linking through the current car dealership to Eckington Road. At the northern end, another temporary junction, this time a "T", linked Eckington Way to Drakehouse Lane.
The next part of Eckington Way to be built was the Station Road to Owlthorpe Greenway section, removing the temporary spur built a year earlier and replacing the previous signal controlled junction at Station Road and Rotherham Road (now Rotherham Road North) with a small roundabout at the current location, this was later enlarged when a supermarket was built on Oxclose.
The final sections of Eckington Way created what can be seen today, with the exception of the Roundabout at Drakehouse Crescent which was added in 1999. All of the length between Station Road and Mosborough Parkway is of a good standard and was designed from the outset as a 40mph road.
Eckington Way was originally planned in the 1960s as a dual carriageway and was referred to in official documents as Mosborough Expressway. this proposal was retained in a diluted form in the 1970s with a clear corridor capable of accommodating a wider road; however, the Supertram Project of the late 1970s identified this corridor as a possible route option. The Supertram Act of Parliament in 1985 affectively finished any plans for a future dual carriageway.
Section 3: Beighton – Swallownest
Originally the old line of the B6053 routed through Beighton Village, using Eckington Road, High Street, Rotherham Road and Chesterfield Road. However, in 1995 a new northern bypass was created to the village, linking with the grid road system of Mosborough Townships and formed a link that was to become the new line of the A57. Consequently the B6053 was re-routed along Eckington Way to meet the A57 to the west of Beighton and restarting in Rotherham where the new line of the A57 meets the c. 1980 line (Aston Way), which was constructed to bypass Swallownest and Aston.
The c. 1980 route was redesignated the B6200 between here and the A630 Sheffield Parkway (and beyond through Darnall and Attercliffe), but also this roundabout and the 90-degree turn in the A57 marks where the old line of the B6053 picks up again – well, about 50 m to the east of the old alignment. Chesterfield Road pushes a gentle hill into Swallownest meeting the old line of the A57 at a signal-controlled crossroads and continues generally uphill till it meets the A618 Aughton Road.
Opening dates
| Date | Section | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| c1978 | Eckington Way | Owlthorpe Greenway to Drakehouse Lane |
| c1979 | Eckington Way | Station Road to Owlthorpe Greenway |
| c1984 | Eckington Way | Drake House Lane to Waterthorpe Greenway |
| c1985 | Eckington Way | Waterthorpe Greenway to A57 Mosborough Parkway |
| 1995 | Eckington Way | Roundabout at Mosborough Parkway Enlarged |
| 1996 | Eckington Way | Roundabout at Station Road Enlarged |
| 1996 | Eckington Way | Roundabout at Oxclose Park Road added |
| 1999 | Eckington Way | Roundabout at Drakehouse Crescent added |