A5076

This article is about the current A5076 in Northampton.
For the original A5076 in Penrith, see A5076 (Penrith).

The A5076 forms the Northampton outer ring road. In fact the road is in two unconnected sections, forming the north to east and the south to west sections of the ring road, with the east to south section presumably following the A45 and the remainder unclassified.

Route

Kingsthorpe - Great Billing

The northern half of the A5076 was originally numbered A4508 despite that number being out-of-zone (although it does link the A45 to the A508). The road was classified in the 1990s at the earliest and became the A5076 in the 2000s.

The A5076, Holly Lodge Drive, Kingsthorpe

The road starts at traffic lights on the A508 in the northern suburb of Kingsthorpe. It heads east along Holly Lodge Drive, which has the air of a New Town distributor. After a couple of roundabouts the road becomes D2 as it runs through an industrial estate, before narrowing again to continue along Talavera Way, where it seems that only the eastbound carriageway of a planned D2 has been built. Although we're running through the suburbs again this road seems quite rural and few buildings can be seen.

We cross the A43 at a large roundabout, where we also meet the A5123 from the town centre. There's now more of the same until we turn right at the second roundabout onto Great Billing Way, which is more useful as a local route. There are still no buildings lining the road but several residential roads do turn off the A5076. We head south through Great Billing, crossing the A4500 (former A45) en route and presently reach a roundabout GSJ on the A45.

The northern half of the A5076 ends here; to reach the road again we have to turn right and follow the A45 for nearly 5 miles, past a couple of turns for Northampton town centre and crossing the River Nene.

Hardingstone - Upton

The A5076 regains its number at the Queen Eleanor Interchange where the A508 is also met. Our route now follows the original A45 Northampton southern bypass. However, in the 2000s the A45 was rerouted along part of the A508 to reach the M1 at J15 and the A5076 gained part of the section vacated. The GSJ here has not been altered, with priorities always favouring motorway-bound traffic.

Upton Way

We head west from Hardingstone, now as a primary dual-carriageway. However, this half of the southern bypass wasn't built to the same quality as the other half, so we have to stop every so often for a roundabout. The A5123 (former A43) meets us at the first roundabout and then we're the dominant number in a multiplex that continues west along Danes Camp Way. At the second roundabout the multiplex ends, with the A5123 heading left and the A5076 right (ahead is unclassified). We now head north along Upton Way, crossing the River Nene immediately. There are a couple more roundabouts as we skirt the suburb of Upton before ending at a roundabout on the A4500, the original A45.

The road ahead is unclassified. If we follow it we zigzag through the northern suburbs and cross the A428. Presently we reach traffic lights on the A508 in Kingsthorpe, about a mile to the south of the northern end of the A5076. Although this road is the signed route between the A4500 and A428 it is not signed through to the A508. This road is largely residential and has weight restrictions, perhaps explaining why it is not an official part of the ring road.