A135 (Colchester - Harwich)

This article is about the original A135 in Essex.
For the current A135, near Stockton-on-Tees, see A135.

The former A135 (now B1352) in Ramsey

The original A135 was an important road, as it was the main route to the docks at the historic naval port of Harwich.

It started on the A133 in the centre of Colchester (only a few yards away from the A12), and followed a northeasterly route to Manningtree, where the A137 branched off to head into Suffolk. It then followed the southern edge of the Stour estuary all the way along to the mouth at Harwich.

In 1934, the opening of the Colchester Bypass caused the A135 to take over a former section of the A12 as far as the junction with Head Street and North Hill (the A134) - the road ahead becoming an eastern extension of the A132.

One of the aims of the 1935 Road numbering revision was to provide more-continuous routes for navigation purposes, and consequently on 1st April, 1936, the A135 was renumbered as an extension of the A1124 (including a spur) from the centre of Colchester as far as the A12 Colchester Bypass, and from there became an eastern extension of the A604.

In 1948, the route of the A604 was swapped with that of the B1352 further south, which had fewer sharp turns and was easier to upgrade as a major road. This resulted in the A137 being extended over the old A135 / A604 route, which explained the TOTSO with the B1352 at Ramsey that existed until the junction was destroyed with the construction of the current route of the A120.

Since then, the A604 has been upgraded as an extension of the A120, which now carries the main route to Harwich.