Durham Northern and Western bypass schemes

The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.

There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).

Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.

Moderator: Site Management Team

Glenn A
Member
Posts: 9776
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 19:31
Location: Cumbria

Re: Durham Northern and Western bypass schemes

Post by Glenn A »

owen b wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 23:18 Very interesting, takes me back to my youth in Durham. Thanks for the additional information.
A691(M) wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 21:25 The whole idea of bypassing Durham was incorrectly done back in the 1960's when they built Milburngate Bridge and the connecting roads.
I can see that what was built in the late 60s / early 70s might not be perfectly suitable for today's needs half a century later. But I think the top priority in those days (rightly so) was to get traffic out of the historic city core with its narrow streets (Market Place, Saddler Street, Silver Street, Framwellgate Bridge, Elvet Bridge), and I think it succeeded brilliantly in that respect. I'm old enough (just) to remember through traffic using these roads, with traffic lights at Framwellgate Bridge, and I dimly remember when it was all pedestrianised. By the standards of 60s/70s urban road schemes I think the A690 throughpass / Milburngate Bridge / New Elvet Bridge were done very sensitively. The main issue as I recall was that Claypath (formerly an important shopping area) got severed from the Market Place and died a death, as well as leaving a huge hole in the cityscape which wasn't filled until the Millennium Square development was built.

If those roads and bridges hadn't been built, and an outer bypass or ring road built instead, I think it would have been impossible to close the historic city centre roads to traffic, as there would have been no other river crossings close to the centre available to vehicle traffic, the nearest alternatives being Shincliffe Bridge to the south or a bridge on a new bypass to the north, both very considerable diversions just to get from one side of the river to the other in the city area. The thought of 21st century traffic going through Durham city centre is not a happy one.
Serious congestion in the city centre, even by pre war standards, was one reason the A1 western by pass was built before the war, and when this proved inadequate in the sixties, the A1(M) was built to the east. However, the A690 has become a serious problem in Durham, as it has to carry traffic from the west of the county and Durham City to Sunderland. A by pass from Langley Park to jct 62 of the A1(M) would remove most of the through traffic from Durham and provide much faster access to the A1(M).
User avatar
owen b
Member
Posts: 9861
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 15:22
Location: Luton

Re: Durham Northern and Western bypass schemes

Post by owen b »

Glenn A wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:35 Serious congestion in the city centre, even by pre war standards, was one reason the A1 western by pass was built before the war, and when this proved inadequate in the sixties, the A1(M) was built to the east. However, the A690 has become a serious problem in Durham, as it has to carry traffic from the west of the county and Durham City to Sunderland. A by pass from Langley Park to jct 62 of the A1(M) would remove most of the through traffic from Durham and provide much faster access to the A1(M).
Yes, but neither the A167 route via Cock of the North / Neville's Cross / Pity Me, nor the A1(M) do anything for NE - SW traffic (A690), or SE - NW traffic (A177 / A691). Both of these routes require a river crossing (and a railway crossing for that matter), and prior to New Elvet Bridge and Milburngate Bridge, there were no bridges anywhere near the city centre suitable for 20th century (let alone 21st century) traffic. Hence in the 60s it was clear that a through pass close to the city centre was necessary to remove traffic from the totally unsuitable historic city centre streets. Certainly when I was growing up in Durham (70s - mid 80s) the through pass was doing a great job, with very limited congestion and Neville's Cross to Carrville A1(M) junction on the A690 being a 10 minute drive. I simply don't think a northern and western bypass (built instead of the central through pass in the 60s or 70s) would have allowed the pedestrianisation of the city centre and Elvet and Framwellgate bridges.If you'd closed those two old bridges to vehicle traffic and not built replacements very nearby, then driving from say the railway station to Claypath (half a mile as the crow flies) would have involved a huge diversion to Pity Me, then around a northern bypass almost to the motorway, then back in again. It would have been like Oxford on steroids :shock: .
Owen
Glenn A
Member
Posts: 9776
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 19:31
Location: Cumbria

Re: Durham Northern and Western bypass schemes

Post by Glenn A »

owen b wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 19:14
Glenn A wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:35 Serious congestion in the city centre, even by pre war standards, was one reason the A1 western by pass was built before the war, and when this proved inadequate in the sixties, the A1(M) was built to the east. However, the A690 has become a serious problem in Durham, as it has to carry traffic from the west of the county and Durham City to Sunderland. A by pass from Langley Park to jct 62 of the A1(M) would remove most of the through traffic from Durham and provide much faster access to the A1(M).
Yes, but neither the A167 route via Cock of the North / Neville's Cross / Pity Me, nor the A1(M) do anything for NE - SW traffic (A690), or SE - NW traffic (A177 / A691). Both of these routes require a river crossing (and a railway crossing for that matter), and prior to New Elvet Bridge and Milburngate Bridge, there were no bridges anywhere near the city centre suitable for 20th century (let alone 21st century) traffic. Hence in the 60s it was clear that a through pass close to the city centre was necessary to remove traffic from the totally unsuitable historic city centre streets. Certainly when I was growing up in Durham (70s - mid 80s) the through pass was doing a great job, with very limited congestion and Neville's Cross to Carrville A1(M) junction on the A690 being a 10 minute drive. I simply don't think a northern and western bypass (built instead of the central through pass in the 60s or 70s) would have allowed the pedestrianisation of the city centre and Elvet and Framwellgate bridges.If you'd closed those two old bridges to vehicle traffic and not built replacements very nearby, then driving from say the railway station to Claypath (half a mile as the crow flies) would have involved a huge diversion to Pity Me, then around a northern bypass almost to the motorway, then back in again. It would have been like Oxford on steroids :shock: .
The throughpass was essential to remove through traffic from the city centre, but has now become inadequate and the city needs a northern by pass.
Post Reply