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A177

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A177
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (12)
From:  Durham (NZ264398)
To:  Stockton on Tees (NZ445197)
Distance:  21.7 miles (34.9 km)
Meets:  A167, B1198, A1(M), A688, B6291, B1278, A689, B1274, A1027, A139, A1305
Former Number(s):  A1050, A1051
Old route now:  B6532, B6291
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Durham  • Stockton-on-Tees

Traditional Counties

Durham

Route outline (key)
A177 Framwellgate Moor – Durham
A177 Durham – Bowburn
(A688) Bowburn – Tursdale
A177 Tursdale – Sedgefield
(A689) Sedgefield bypass
A177 Sedgefield – Stockton on Tees

Route

The A177 is a largely rural Class I road in County Durham, connecting the City of Durham to Stockton on Tees.

Durham – Stockton on Tees

The road starts at the Cock o' the North Roundabout on the A167 to the southwest of Durham city centre. It heads in a northeasterly direction along South Road, passing a number of Durham University colleges and teaching facilities before reaching the traffic lights at the Whitechurch (formerly New Inn). The A177 then bears right along Stockton Road to the Mount Joy roundabout.

From the Mount Joy roundabout the speed limit increases from 30 to 40 mph and the A177 heads through Great High Wood in a cutting, then passing the Maiden Castle sports hall (used by NUFC for training). At the Rose Tree Inn there is a turning left for the B1198 (former A180) which leads to the A181 and ultimately the A19. The A177 then climbs to the right, before curving left to bypass High Shincliffe, which is followed by a speed derestriction. A 40 mph speed limit is reimposed as the A177 enters Bowburn, which drops to 30 mph along the main shopping street on the approach to A1(M) junction 61.

Thorpe Larches

Originally the A177 continued ahead to pass through Coxhoe (where the roads have a 17 tonne weight limit), but since the (formerly unclassified) Tursdale road was re-engineered, removing the bends, the A177 passes along this road, multiplexing with the (primary) A688. The A177 reappears at a roundabout where the A688 heads west towards Spennymoor, while the A177 heads east across the A1(M) and to the south of Coxhoe. The XC 275kV transmission line between the Spennymoor and Norton substations used to pass beneath this roundabout, but was replaced in 2011 with the ZXC 400kV line which follows a more southerly alignment.

As the road curves right past Coxhoe there is a turning for Trimdon and Fishburn (both on the B1278). The next few miles are relatively straight and fast, with a brief dual-carriageway section at the turning for Cornforth. After the B1278 turning, the road passes the Hardwick Hall hotel and country park, before ending just over a mile later at the A689. The A177 then multiplexes with the (primary) A689 along the Sedgefield bypass before diverging again at the next roundabout. The A177 heads southeast for Stockton on Tees as a dual carriageway (in sections with widely separated carriageways). The southbound carriageway here is the original S2 route. While wide enough for two lanes, it is largely hatched down to a single lane with occasional sections of D2. The northbound carriageway, however, maintains two lanes throughout this section. This bit of D2 peters out after a couple of miles just before Thorpe Larches.

After two miles of single carriageway the road becomes dual again along the Thorpe Thewles bypass, which (in both directions) has one lane to begin with then widens to two (this is caused by actual carriageway width rather than hatching). This section of D2 is subject to a fairly-unusual 60mph limit. The A177 then passes under two line of pylons before entering the suburbs of Stockton on Tees.

A roundabout provides access to the B1274 for Billingham. Further on, after meeting the A1027 relief road, the A177 follows the sweeping new-build Durham Road bypass to end at a roundabout on the A1305 inner Stockton ring road and A139 (former A19), near the northern end of the High Street.

History

Durham in 1923, showing the original route of the A177 through the city

In the last 30 years the A177 has twice changed its course within Durham City. Originally the A177 started on the A1 (now A167) in Framwellgate Moor to the northwest of Durham. It headed southeast along Durham Road and North Road, where it met and started a multiplex with the A690. It then crossed Framwellgate Bridge and reach the Market Place. It then crossed Elvet Bridge to run up New Elvet and Hallgarth Street to reach the road's current route.

Road improvements in Durham in the 1960s bypassed the northwestern section, which became an extension of the A691 and the A177 was cut back to start on the A690 relief road. The last section of the improvements to open, in 1975, was New Elvet Bridge, thus taking A177 traffic away from the Market Place to start at the Leazes Bowl roundabout.

In the 1990s the A177 was re-routed again (probably due to the inability of Hallgarth Street to handle HGVs). It took over part of the A1050 and A1051 to give the road its current route in Durham. Except for a short section near Framwellgate Moor which is now part of the B6532, the whole of the ex-A177 west of Mount Joy roundabout is now unclassified.

Other parts of the A177 have also been rerouted. The old road through Coxhoe is now the B6291 although other bypassed sections are now unclassified. The original eastern end of the road was on the A19 Stockton High Street.




A177
Junctions
Crossings
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (12)
A177 A689 Roundabout - Coppermine - 18855.jpgA177 - Coppermine - 18858.jpgOld A177 - Coppermine - 18856.jpgApproaching the A1 - Geograph - 1905180.jpgA177 towards the A167 (C) JThomas - Geograph - 2699944.jpg
Other nearby roads
Durham
A1(M) • A167 • A180 (Durham - Byers Garth) • A181 • A688 • A690 • A691 • A1050 • A1051 • B1198 • B1282 • B1283 • B6291 • B6300 • B6302 • B6532 • E15 • E31 (via Newcastle) • M100 • T1 (Britain)
Stockton-on-Tees
Teesside
A100-A199
A100 • A101 • A102 • A103 • A104 • A105 • A106 • A107 • A108 • A109 • A110 • A111 • A112 • A113 • A114 • A115 • A116 • A117 • A118 • A119
A120 • A121 • A122 • A123 • A124 • A125 • A126 • A127 • A128 • A129 • A130 • A131 • A132 • A133 • A134 • A135 • A136 • A137 • A138 • A139
A140 • A141 • A142 • A143 • A144 • A145 • A146 • A147 • A148 • A149 • A150 • A151 • A152 • A153 • A154 • A155 • A156 • A157 • A158 • A159
A160 • A161 • A162 • A163 • A164 • A165 • A166 • A167 • A168 • A169 • A170 • A171 • A172 • A173 • A174 • A175 • A176 • A177 • A178 • A179
A180 • A181 • A182 • A183 • A184 • A185 • A186 • A187 • A188 • A189 • A190 • A191 • A192 • A193 • A194 • A195 • A196 • A197 • A198 • A199
Defunct Itineraries & Motorways: A102(M) East Cross Route • A102(M) Southern Approach • A106(E) • A108(N) • A108(S) • A115 • A118
A132 • A122 • A135 • A138 • A139 • A147 • A154 • A160 • A167(M) • A168(M) • A176 • A180(W) • A180(E) • A194(M) • A194 • A195(M) • A195

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