The A1146 is a road with a bit of history. It forms the hypotenuse of a triangle between the A18 in Hatfield and the A614 in Thorne. Known as the "Brickponds" road.
The A1146 is a short cut in both directions. If you are in Hatfield and want a quicker route to Thorne, you use it, and vice versa. For a long time, at the A614 intersection, the mileage sign simply read "(A18) Doncaster 10". Only later did they advertise the road number. It also serves the Borstal or Young Offenders Prison, which is about halfway in either direction.
The interesting thing about this road is that it was once used as a slip road onto the M18. It had two sides, one on either side of the M18, with a wierd little junction for those who merely wished to travel to Thorne via a scary little thin bridge. This bridge is still there, and if you are brave enough, you can drive to the bottom of "Old Thorne Road" to where it fades away, fenced off from the motorway and then drive up and over. The first time I took my wife down here (yes, she has to suffer my sudden decisions to deviate from our actual route to have a look at some old bit road) she was frightened that it would collapse as we drove over it. Nah, double decker buses used to merrily growl across on the way to Thorne many times a day. There are some little bits of road left on the other side with dividing chevrons from the days when the motorway ended there.
You can pretend you are in the sixties, if you take the left hand road, the one that involves the bridge. Dead simple. I told my mate Jon Manton about this, and he is threatening to bring his Viva over so we can take piccies of him trundling up and down. And what makes it so? The little things, the little details. After every single faded white line is a catseye. The telegraph poles have four or five parallel wires slung along them. On top of these poles is the small conical pointed cap which is either to stop water damage or bird perching, or both. And of course, as the road is now more or less unused (apart from Cross' car dealership) you can really feel what it was like to drive on a road devoid of vehicles. Brilliant.
The left hand road (approaching from the A18 in Hatfield) is now defunct and the road on the other side of the M18 carries two way traffic. This is now officially the A1146. However, according to NCPW, the left hand road (Old Thorne Road) once enjoyed the number A1032, and I have no information on why or when it was changed. In SABRE's maps section, you can find a scan of the page containing this area from NCPW, and this route is clearly marked as the A1032. I get the feeling that the A1032 might exist somewhere near Hull.
My earliest memories of this road were of going with my dad to spend a day at work with him in Hartlepool. We used the A1146 to get onto the M18, then had to leave again about 4 miles up as it was only built as far as jcn 6 (A614). Also, my Uncle Dave and me would go out and about in his company Mini and I vividly remember the "down" road (from Thorne) which had two 50mph signs at the junction with the A18. Also, at the end of the other road, after the M18 was finished and the became a relic, was a sign which cannot be seen from the motorway. Every time we drove past I would stare, hopelessly trying to see what it said. It pointed towards the little bridge. My dad was never one for unnecessary journeys, and now refuses to drive anywhere unless by force. So, when I was 14, I cycled over to my grandma's house (30 miles!!), and made a point of going via the little bridge to see... The SIGN. I was sadly left down. It merely pointed out that there was a weight limit on the bridge. Bugger. Still, even the sign has gone now. If you're ever in the area, frighten home owners by driving pointlessly up and down with the wind in your hair, and some Sergio Mendes on the 8 track.