A34/Improvements Timeline
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The A34 is constantly evolving… from early road straightenings and bypasses, the first tentative steps at dual carriageway sections, and finally comprehensive dual carriageway schemes. The following tables have been compiled from map changes through the years.
The primary resource for opening dates has been newspaper reports digitised by the British Newspaper Archive (BNA). The newspaper digitising is ongoing so this source is not possible for all openings. Maps have been used, with Ordnance Survey 1 inch and Quarter inch being the most accurate, and also other online archives including Hansard. In these cases the year has been entered and reference made in the notes section.
The completion of the tables are ongoing.
Single carriageway schemes
The table shows the improvements to the A34 which were single carriageway.
| Location | County | Date | Distance | Notes | Location Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderley Edge Bypass | Cheshire | 2010 | 3.1 miles (5 km) | Opened on 19 November 2010 by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Named "Melrose Way" after Margaret Melrose who started campaigning for this road 43 years previously. Contractor Birse Civils, cost £52 million. | |
| Congleton: Clayton bypass | Cheshire | 1956 | 0.4 miles (0.6 km) | Between Rood Hill and West Road. Opened on 3 October 1956 by Alderman J Wesley Emberton, Chairman of Cheshire County Council. It was named after Ald. T. Clayton, Chairman of the County Roads and Bridges Committee. Contractor was Messrs. Thomas Ashley of Hartford. It included a new bridge over the River Dane. | |
| Walton, by Stone | Staffordshire | 1933 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | A direct route from Stafford Road to The Fillybrooks to remove dog leg at A520 Eccleshall Road. Also included widening of The Fillybrooks for half mile north to railway bridge. Cost £37,109 | |
| Litchfield and Whitchurch Bypass | Hampshire | 1976 | 6 miles (9.7 km) | North of North Arch, Litchfield to Tufton. Was expected to open in January 1976 per Hansard debate report of 30 October 1975. Contractor Brimms & Co. Ltd., cost £2.4 million. It utilised the line of the disused Newbury to Winchester railway line in part. It was constructed to allow for it to be converted to dual carriageway later, which was completed in 1981. |
Dual carriageway schemes
The table shows the improvements to the A34 which were dual carriageway.
| Location | County | Date | Distance | Notes | Location Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of Manchester to Wilmslow continuous dual carriageway | |||||
| Manchester Kingsway | Lancashire | 1923 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | Slade Lane junction, Rushford Park to Parr's Wood, East Didsbury (to connect to Manchester Road to Cheadle). It continued on to Laneside Road as a residential road. Opened on 11 April 1923 by Mary Cundiff, Lady Mayoress, and Margaret Turnbull, daughter of Alderman Turnbull, Chairman of Manchester Town Planning Committee. Width was 100 feet and it was designed for tram tracks in the central reservation. The dual road carriageways were 20 feet wide. Manchester's tram system was closed in 1949. The carriageways were widened and central reservation grassed over. Originally opened as A5079 | |
| Manchester Kingsway | Lancashire | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | Parr's Wood to Laneside Road, East Didsbury is shown as single carriageway on the 1961 OS 1 inch map. Dualled by the 1964 map. | ||
| Manchester Kingsway Extension (Cheadle Bypass) | Lancashire • Cheshire | 1959 | 1.7 miles (2.7 km) | Laneside Road, East Didsbury to Schools Hill/ Wilmslow Road junction, Cheadle. Opened on 12 October 1959. The official opening was on 15 October 1959. Planning for the bypass had been halted by the war. In December 1949 Manchester Corporation stated that it was not a priority since the Corporation was only responsible for the 200 yards to the proposed bridge over the River Mersey and Cheshire County Council had not asked for a joint approach to Ministry of Transport to build it. Work was finally authorised in January 1957 and started in the June. Width was 90 feet with dual 24 foot carriageways. Expected cost was £600,000 to £700,000. | |
| Handforth and Wilmslow Bypass | Cheshire | 1995 | 6 miles (9.7 km) | The Handforth Bypass section from Cheadle Royal Junction (Schools Hill at the end of Kingsway) to Bollin Valley Roundabout and also the A538 Bollin Link to B5166 Manchester Road, Wilmslow was opened on 24 October 1995 per the Land Compensation Act notice. Also opened was the adjoining section of the Manchester Airport Eastern Link Road. The southern Wilmslow Bypass Section was opened about the same time, but may have been in 1996. | |
| Finish of Manchester to Wilmslow continuous dual carriageway | |||||
| Newcastle-under-Lyme Bypass | Staffordshire | 1965 | 0.7 miles (1.1 km) | The dual carriageway from Endersley Street to London Road was opened on 30 July 1965 by Tom Fraser, Minister of Transport. It included a sunken pedestrian precinct with subways at Grosvenor Roundabout, a design brought back from Lyon, France by the Newcastle Borough Engineer, J.W. Tonge. Contractor was Percy Bilton Ltd., cost £700,000. Part of a scheme to upgrade 5 miles of A34. | |
| Stafford Inner Relief Road | Staffordshire | 1978 | 0.8 miles (1.3 km) | Queensway. The dual carriageway was officially opened on 12 June 1978 by Cyril Finney, Staffordshire County Council Highways Committee Chairman. Even he admitted he was surprised by the forest of traffic lights, but the alternative was pedestrian subways which would never have got through. There was a cartoon of a coachload of tourists coming to see the “illuminations”! Parts of the road were in use earlier. Contractor was Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd., contract cost £3 million, total cost £6.5 million. | |
| Start of Wendlebury to Winchester continuous dual carriageway | |||||
| M40 Wendlebury Interchange - Oxford Peartree Interchange | Oxfordshire | 1990 | 6.2 miles (10 km) | Gosford Bypass plus dualling of existing road. Completed in April 1990 per Hansard. Originally part of A421 and A43. Renumbered A34 after M40 opening on 16 January 1991. | |
| Oxford Ring Road Western Bypass | Oxfordshire • Berkshire | 1961 | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) | Kidlington (A423) to south of A420 Botley Interchange (adjacent to Stanley Close). Opened on 22 November 1961. Cost £1.5 million. It included the 850 foot long Wolvercote Viaduct with 12 spans crossing the A40, Oxford Canal and a railway line. Note – north of Peartree Interchange was originally A43 and this section was renumbered later as A4260. | |
| Oxford Ring Road Southern Bypass dualling, North Hinksey | Berkshire | 0.6 miles (1 km) | Short extension from Stanley Close to Harcourt Hill turn. Between December 1963 and September 1966 OS 1 inch maps | ||
| Oxford Ring Road Southern Bypass dualling, North Hinksey to Hinksey Hill Interchange | Berkshire | 1973 | 1.6 miles (2.6 km) | The final section of A34 Oxford Bypass to be dualled of 1.5 miles between South of Harcourt Hill turn, North Hinksey and Hinksey Hill Interchange was expected to be completed by Christmas 1973 per a report by the 5 October 1973 Reading Evening Post (of the Abingdon Bypass opening). | |
| Abingdon Bypass Stage 1 | Berkshire | 1973 | 8.3 miles (13.3 km) | From Oxford Southern Bypass (Hinksey Hill Interchange) to a temporary junction with Steventon Road south of Drayton (now B4017). It was to be opened on 4 September 1973 by David Smith, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Contract cost £4.4 million. It was 6 months ahead of schedule due to taking advantage of dry spells since work began in January 1972. Abingdon Mayor Councillor Peter Merritt fulfilled his promise of buying the 250 workers of the Amey-Fairclough consortium contractors a pint if the road was opened before the Michaelmass Fair. | |
| Abingdon Bypass Stage 2: Steventon, Rowstock and Chilton Bypass | Berkshire | 1977 | 5.9 miles (9.5 km) | Steventon Road south of Drayton (now B4017) to just south of Chilton. Opened on 16 November 1977 by Lord Porchester, Chairman of South East Planning Council. Completed 5 months ahead of schedule. Contractor Sir Alfred McAlpine (Southern) Ltd., outturn works cost £10.7 million. | |
| Gore Hill, Chilton – East Ilsley | Berkshire | 1986 | 2.6 miles (4.2 km) | Opened in December 1986 per TRL334 although a Reading Evening Post report on 22 January 1987 said that it was completed but still awaited opening. It included the Bury Lane interchange. | |
| East Ilsley Bypass | Berkshire | 1966 | 1.2 miles (1.9 km) | Opened at the end of August 1966. | |
| East Ilsley - Beedon | Berkshire | 1972 | 1.2 miles (1.9 km) | From just south of East Ilsley Bypass to Ashridge Farm, north of Beedon. On May 1972 OS Quarter inch map, under construction on March 1971 map so may have opened in 1971. | |
| Beedon and Worlds End Bypass | Berkshire | 1979 | 2.5 miles (4 km) | Ashridge Farm, north of Beedon to M4 Chieveley Interchange was opened on 14 September 1979 by Lieut-Col. Richard Watt, Chairman of Berkshire County Council. It took trade away from Don's Transport Cafe in the village, described as the only traditional transport cafe between Southampton and the Midlands. The original contractor, Mears Construction Ltd. stopped trading due to debts and Edmund Nuttall completed the work. Outturn works cost £3.2 million. | |
| Chieveley Interchange Underpass | Berkshire | 2004 | 1.8 miles (2.9 km) | Opened 12 August 2004 northbound and 14 August 2004 southbound. Contractor was Costain Ltd., design by Mott MacDonald, contract cost £38.5 million. It removed the last at grade interchange on the A34 from M40, north of Oxford, to M3 at Winchester, | |
| Newbury M4 Link Road | Berkshire | 1975 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | Chieveley Interchange to Western Avenue, Newbury. Described on 22 July 1975 as shortly to open. Also known as Donnington Link although it was the Donnington Bypass. The section south of Donnington Interchange was renumbered A339 when Newbury Bypass opened in 1998. | |
| Newbury Inner Relief Road | Berkshire | 1965 | 1 miles (1.6 km) | Stage 2 - the North-South section from A4 Western Avenue to St John's Road (the existing St John's Road was used to regain the A34 southbound). There are newspaper reports about the road in November 1965 and it first appears on the 1966 OS Route Planning map. Renumbered A339 when Newbury Bypass opened in 1998. | |
| Newbury North/South Relief Road Extension | Berkshire | 1979 | 0.9 miles (1.4 km) | St John's Road/ Queens Road to Newtown Road (Monks Lane junction). Opened 11 April 1979 (apart from the roundabout access to St John's Road which opened in July 1979). Outturn works cost £2.7 million. Renumbered A339 when Newbury Bypass opened in 1998. | |
| Newbury Bypass | Berkshire • Hampshire | 1998 | 8.4 miles (13.5 km) | The project had been subject to environmental protest and so was opened secretly under the cover of night on 17 November 1998. Contractor was Costain with consultant Mott MacDonald. The original project value was £74 million but this had increased to an outturn cost in excess of £100 million due to security costs of £30 million. The protests led to a long list of environmental measures incorporated at a late stage. | |
| Whitway Bypass | Hampshire | 1989 | 4 miles (6.4 km) | Tot Hill (just south of interchange) to 0.85 mile north of Litchfield church. Opened on 8 February 1989 by Lord Carnarvon of nearby Highclere Castle. Cost £6.5 million. | |
| Litchfield and Whitchurch Bypass Dualling | Hampshire | 1980 | 6 miles (9.7 km) | The bypass had been completed in 1976 as single carriageway but with provision for dualling later. This was completed in November 1980 per the Policy for Roads in England: 1981 Report. Outturn works cost £3.4 million. It included a further 0.5 mile of dualling to the north of the original bypass. | |
| Tufton | Hampshire | 1966 | 0.6 miles (1 km) | A short section of dualling south of Tufton (below Whitchurch) was shown on the 1966 OS Quarter inch map. It may have opened in late 1965. | |
| Tufton to Bullington Cross | Hampshire | 1968 | 2.3 miles (3.7 km) | From 0.6 mile south of Tufton. Shown on November 1968 Quarter inch map and mentioned in an accident report in Reading Evening Post on 13 May 1968. The 1967 Quarter inch map has not seen so it may have been dualled in 1967. | |
| Sutton Scotney and South Wonston Bypass | Hampshire | 1981 | 5 miles (8 km) | A303 Bullington Cross to 0.2 mile north of Three Maids Hill, Winchester Bypass. Opened on 14 October 1981 by Kenneth Clarke, Under-Secretary of State for Transport. | |
| Winchester Bypass King's Worthy Northern Link | Hampshire | 1969 | 2.5 miles (4 km) | 0.2 mile north of Three Maids Hill Interchange to A33 Winnall Interchange. Opened on 20 August 1969. | |
| Southern End of A34 |
