A6109
| A6109 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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| From: | Sheffield (SK357881) | |||
| To: | Rotherham (SK412932) | |||
| Via: | Brightside | |||
| Distance: | 5.1 miles (8.2 km) | |||
| Meets: | A61, A6135, A6178, B6080, B6083, A6102, M1, A631, A629 | |||
| Former Number(s): | B6081 | |||
| Highway Authorities | ||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||
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Route
The A6109 forms one of the direct routes between Sheffield and Rotherham. Originally numbered B6081 it gained its present number in the late 1920s.
Section 1: Inner Ring Road to Hawke Street
Beginning with a section built in 2008, the A6109 feeds from the A61 Inner Ring Road into Savile Street, which was improved in 1996 as Stage 3 of the £33m Don Valley Link. The first major junction is the Sutherland Street Gyratory, where the A6178 Attercliffe Road (former A57 Trunk Road) also meets a surprisingly busy B6080 Sutherland Street. The A6178 splits into two dual-lane one-way streets from here, owing to the rising cost of the whole regeneration scheme: the compulsory purchase of businesses was felt to be inappropriate.
With the road merging back into a standard dual carriageway at Brightside Lane, we reach a narrow section under the Sheffield to Rotherham mainline, which was to have been improved with a full dual carriageway, but costs of line possession proved to be too much and officially killed Stage 7 in favour of the Tinsley Spine Road that served the then-proposed city airport. Brightside Lane becomes pretty much a standard urban dual carriageway from here to Hawke Street where it meets the A6102 at a signal-controlled roundabout.
Don Valley Link was officially opened by Conservative MP Cecil Parkinson, former Secretary of State for Transport (1989-1990), and was named after local Labour MP Fred Mulley, the former Minister for Transport (1974-1975).
Section 2: Hawke Street to Meadowhall Roundabout
The A6109 forms an important link from here to the M1, albeit as a very poor-quality single carriageway with sharp bends and a low bridge. The road is liable to flooding and suffered extensive damage in the 2007 floods, when many cars were damaged beyond repair and retaining structures were washed away. Merging into Meadowhall Road, the road continues to form a key motorway link for Sheffield, but also forms the northern perimeter road of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre and is the main access point for the busy transport interchange there.
Some minor improvements were made when the shopping centre opened; however, the presence of the mainline railway and the tight geometry of the ramp up to Meadowhall Roundabout made the provision of more substantial improvements difficult on cost grounds. The ramp up to Meadowhall Roundabout, part of J34 of the M1, was constructed at the same time as the motorway in 1968.
Section 3: Meadowhall Roundabout to New Wortley Road
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Meadowbank Road was created in stages, with the western end being built at the same time as the M1 and the north-eastern end being constructed in the mid 1970s. Planning permission was granted on 11 November 1971. The original scheme envisaged a dual carriageway and housing was cleared to allow sufficient room for a wider road; however, when responsibility for it was taken over by the newly established South Yorkshire County Council in 1974 the design was revised to encompass a wide single carriageway only. The A6109 finally ends at a roundabout junction with the A629 New Wortley Road but it originally ran along Ferham Road into Rotherham town centre to end on the A629 College Road by the station.
Opening dates
| Date | Section | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Brightside Lane | Don Valley Link Stage 2 |
| 1996 | Saville Street/Fred Mulley Road | Don Valley Link Stage 3 |
