A162

Route

The A162 runs a pretty strict north-south line between Darrington and Tadcaster, and followed the route of the Great North Road between London and York. There is a great amount of history connected with the road, considering that it was a major stagecoach route, and crosses straight through battlefield country, as well as through the ancient Kingdom of Elmet. When the A1(M) between Darrington and Dishforth opened in 2006, the A162 was extended along the former alignment of the old dual carriageway A1, to the south of Ferrybridge services, where the A1(M) diverts from the original alignment of the A1. The A162 follows the old A1 up to the junction where it formerly started at Brotherton, at which point the former A1 becomes the A1246.

The first section of the A162 runs parallel to the A1(M) for the majority of its length. Some maps mistakenly number this section of the A162 as a southern continuation of the A1246.

Darrington - Brotherton

The extension to the route of the A162 starts at junction 40 of the A1(M), near to Darrington, where there is no access between the motorway and the A162. Our road heads north as a D2, and follows the course of the former A1, meeting the M62 at junction 33. It then continues as the Ferrybridge Bypass

After Ferrybridge the road crosses the River Aire and then has a TOTSO, where there are slip roads for exits from the northbound carriageway and accesses to the southbound carriageway. At this point the A162 then becomes S2 for the rest of its route to Tadcaster. Traffic that does not turn off remains on the old A1; this is now numbered A1246 and soon becomes S2, remaining so up until the roundabout with the A63 at the Selby Fork.

Brotherton - Tadcaster

Railway Bridge at Ferrybridge

The southern end of the A162's original route starts by turning off the old A1 at the village of Brotherton, where there is no access from the A1246. The stretch through the village follows the course of the former A1 before it was dualled in the 1960s. The original start point of the A162 was by the Fox pub. The route basically follows a northerly direction, past the village of Burton Salmon, winding its way to a roundabout junction with the A63. It then heads towards the village of South Milford, where, in the 1990s, a bypass was constructed around this and Sherburn-in-Elmet to the north. The bypass is single-carriageway with a mile-long straight stretch - often taken advantage of by the local bikers, who tend to congregate at Squires's bar in Sherburn (a local meet point).

The road meets the B1222 (which heads East towards Cawood), and then loops round to the north of Sherburn to meet its original route. It then heads towards the villages of Barkston Ash and Towton. This area is famous for the 1461 Battle of Towton in the War of the Roses. This is recognised as the most costliest battle ever on British soil, in terms of lives.

After Towton, the road meets the B1223, again Cawood-bound, before dropping towards Tadcaster and into the flood plain of the Wharfe. The road crosses the A64 bypass with a limited access junction (you can only go to York or return from York), before terminating at the A659 junction in Tadcaster - the original route of the A64 - close to the John Smiths brewery there.

Original Author(s): stuart mitchell