A6009

This article is about the current A6009 in Mansfield.
For the original route in the Worksop area, see A6009 (Budby - Worksop).

Route

The A6009 is a circular route, avoiding the main business district of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. It has a 40 mph limit throughout, and is a mixture of single- and dual-carriageway road. It should not be confused with "The Mansfield Circuit", which is a one-way system that lies inside the Inner Ring Road.

Mansfield Inner Ring Road

Starting at the southern end of the A6009, at the junction with the A60 Portland Street, we have three choices: left for a shopping park, straight on for the clockwise loop, or right for the anticlockwise route. This description takes us on a clockwise tour of the A6009.

The Banana Bridge over the A6009

The first thing encountered as we head along a modern D2 road is two large bridges ahead. The first, a footbridge known locally as "The Banana Bridge" owing to its shape, connects two shopping parks and was built in 2001. The second bridge takes the Robin Hood railway line over the road. Indeed, Mansfield station is situated on top of the bridge. Following the road further, we come to a set of traffic lights. A right turn goes to the bus station, built in the 1970s and scheduled for redevelopment; the left turn marks the start of the mighty A38, whose far end is in Bodmin, Cornwall!

The A6009 continues straight on as a D2, through two more sets of lights, before becoming S4. Another two sets of lights provide turnings for the Ladybrook estate, shortly before we arrive at a T-junction with Chesterfield Road South. Our road turns right; the left-hand turn is the A6191 (formerly the A617), leading towards Chesterfield and the M1 north.

Now running southeastward along Chesterfield Road South, the A6009 is initially a D2, reducing to S2 after the exit for the Tesco superstore, and then – once past the West Nottinghamshire College's central campus – becoming a D2 once again. The section from here to the A60 (north) junction is fairly new, replacing a narrow one-way system and part of the infamous "circuit".

The junction with the A60 and the B6033 – leading to Worksop and Clipstone respectively – is a fairly complicated setup, as they both merge into each other; however it is notable that traffic flows well here even at peak times. Once past this junction, the A6009 passes under the Robin Hood railway line again, and rounds a sharp curve to arrive at the eastern junction with the A6191.

The A6009 carries on, still as a D2. It passes another set of lights, for a short cut to the A60 south, before ending back at the point where we started, at the junction with the A60 proper. To carry on from here on the A6009, we must turn right, or else we will end up at a retail park and the entrance to Field Mill, home of Mansfield Town FC.

Numbering

There seems to be some debate as to whether the A6009 actually forms a complete loop. Although all maps claim the western section of the ring road to be the A6009, the eastern section is given that number on some maps but is marked as the A6191 and A60 on others. However, signage suggests that these roads pass along the ring road as the junior partner in a multiplex, although the A6009 number appears very rarely on the signs.