A6076
| A6076 | |||||||||||||
| Location Map ( geo) | |||||||||||||
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| From: | Lanchester (NZ163480) | ||||||||||||
| To: | Sunniside (NZ207586) | ||||||||||||
| Via: | Stanley | ||||||||||||
| Distance: | 8 miles (12.9 km) | ||||||||||||
| Meets: | A691, A693, A692 | ||||||||||||
| Old route now: | B6168 | ||||||||||||
| Highway Authorities | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Counties | |||||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | |||||||||||||
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Route
The A6076 is a largely rural A-road in the north of County Durham
Lanchester - Annfield Plain
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The southern section of this road is a fairly dull drive, cutting the corner between the A691 and A693. We start in Lanchester and soon start climbing out of the valley with the help of a climbing lane. The most unusual thing about this is that while the bottom of the hill is NSL, towards the top we enter the 30 limit for the linear village of Maiden Law. Whilst the hill is quite long, its not exceptionally steep meaning that most lorries can achieve 30+ as they climb, forcing some harsh braking for drivers not used to the road.
After passing a crossroads, the development along the roadside dwindles, but all too soon we have reached the roundabout on the A693 which marks the end of this southern and original section of the A6076. However, it would have originally continued another couple of hundred metres or so into Annfield Plain on what is now the B6168.
Stanley - Sunniside
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After a long multiplex east along the A693, the A6076 reappears in Stanley - again its route has been changed slightly owing to the bypass. After turning off the A693 at a roundabout there's a short one-way section with northbound traffic running along Station Road and southbound traffic using the parallel Church Bank. The two directions meet again at a roundabout and the A6076 continues along Station Road. The railway line is now a footpath and the old bridge over the road has been replaced. We continue on after leaving town, running parallel to the preserved Tanfield Railway for much of this section. The road passes Andrews House station then bears left to run around Sunniside station, the northern edge of the preserved line. The A6076 ends just afterwards on the A692.
History
The 1922 route of the A6076 was from Lanchester north via Annfield Plain to Flint Hill, near Dipton, where it ended on the A692. In 1935, the section north of Annfield Plain was renumbered A6067 (since downgraded to B6168) and a formerly unclassified road between Stanley and Sunniside was upgraded to Class I status and became the northern section of the A6076.
