A1(M)/Blyth - Adwick le Street
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Blyth – Adwick le Street | ||||||||||||||||||||||
From: | Blyth, Nottinghamshire (SK623883) | |||||||||||||||||||||
To: | Adwick le Street, Yorkshire (SE522093) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance: | 15.2 miles (24.5 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Meets: | M18, A1, A614, A630, A635, A638, B6045 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Nottinghamshire • Yorkshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Route
Starting in the south at Jct 34, the A1(M) Doncaster Bypass used to begin at a large roundabout, however in 2009 the roundabout was replaced with a grade separated junction - Blyth Interchange. Access to the services was retained in the new junction, via two smaller roundabouts and a single bridge across the mainline of the A1. North of Blyth, the A1(M) pushes into the Yorkshire region as a D2M, weaving a path around Harworth and Tickhill, before reaching a small village to the west called Wadworth, which gives its name to the most significant junction in the area.
The junction with the M18 is formed at Jct 35, as a three level stacked roundabout, with the A1(M) taking the lower level, the roundabout being at the middle level and the M18 at the higher level on Wadworth Viaduct, giving the junction its name. The junction has little in the way of modifications, originally opening with the M18 feeding in from the southwest, the viaduct added in the late 1970s to continue the M18 along to link with the Thorne Bypass. Minor improvements were made in the early 2000s with the introduction of a free-flow slip in road markings from the M18 eastbound exit slip to A1(M) northbound entry slip.
Perhaps the busiest section of the Doncaster Bypass is the section between Jct 35 and Jct 36, which has remained as D2M since the road was opened. Traffic can often be seen queuing for the southbound exit slip to the M18, and Jct 36 (known also as Warmsworth Interchange ) is a key point of motorway access for Doncaster via the A630. The mainline of the motorway actually runs through a significant cutting at Jct 36, with steep rock escarpments and concrete retaining walls each side of the mainline.
Just to the north of Jct 36 resides a high level viaduct that carries the motorway over the River Don below. The viaduct is, in fact two separate bridges, carrying one carriageway each. This structure proved to be technically difficult to construct and remains a key bottleneck for any future plans to widen the motorway along this section. A works unit depot (Sprotbrough) can be found just to the north of here. This was a proposed site for Sprotbrough services however it was never built. Like many unofficial junctions, automatic barriers have been added on the access links to prevent unauthorised access to the motorway from the residential areas of Sprotbrough and Newton.
The motorway follows a relatively unexciting route north from the works unit depot. Cusworth Hall can be seen to the east. Then the motorway passes over a roundabout that forms Jct 37 (Ducker Holt Interchange), where it meets with the A635. Just to the east of the motorway are the remains of Brodsworth Colliery, which was turned into a country park after the colliery closure in 1990. A little to the north of here, the Doncaster bypass ends at Jct 38, at Adwick le Street, although the junction is also known as Redhouse Interchange.
History
Before the construction of the A1(M) the old line of the A1 was to the east of the current motorway route. From the south at Barnby Moor, heading north along what is now the A638, through Ranskill and Bawtry, entering Doncaster along Bawtry Road. Bawtry in the 1950's was a key destination where the A1 met both the A614 and A631 and had a station on the LNER (now referred to as the ECML)
The A614 created a key route between Nottingham and the port of Goole, the A614 later becoming the current A1 and the A631 forming a key east-west link between Sheffield and the food baskets of Lincolnshire.
The A1 passed directly through the centre of Doncaster, along Bennetthorpe, South Parade, Hall Gate, High Street and out to the north via North Bridge Road, to meet what is now the A638 York Road. Which continued north to meet the current line of the A1 at Red House, near Adwick le Street. Which is why the current junction is known by both names.
Improvements
1979: Redhouse Improvement
Removal of the original roundabout and replacement with a new grade separated junction. Contract value £3.2m.
circa 2000: Jct 35 - Wadworth Interchange
Free-flow slip from M18 eastbound exit slip onto the A1(M) northbound entry slip created.
2009: Jct 34 - Blyth Interchange
New grade separated junction. Contract value £18.6m.
Links
Roads.org.uk
Roads UK
legislation.gov.uk