A655

Castleford level crossing

The A655 is an urban A-road east of Wakefield.

We begin our drive in Castleford. Logic would have us start at a roundabout just south of the River Aire, where the A656 crosses it on its way towards Garforth. However, we actually commence at the next roundabout west on the A6032 towards Methley.

There's a short gentle climb through town including a very brief bit of D2 as we pass the bus station, then a roundabout and a level crossing, before we continue towards Whitwood and a roundabout junction with the current A639 Castleford bypass.

We go straight on, down a slight hill and through a couple of sets of lights before arriving at Junction 31 of the M62. The A655 used to go straight though Normanton on its way to Wakefield, but it was bypassed in the late 1990s. We therefore pass underneath the motorway and find ourselves climbing again on a section of roundabout-infested D2, which was extensively widened when the bypass was built (this part of it used to be a narrow S2). Industrial Units have sprouted up along both sides of this road in recent years too.

We get to another roundabout and turn right onto the new-build section of the bypass. This part is a wide S2, but as we leave the industrial estate behind the speed limit rises to 50 mph. We encounter another roundabout where the B6133 leaves to our left towards Featherstone and at the other side we enter a section of S2+1. The bypass finishes at the next roundabout, where we pick up the original course of the road, but the limit falls to 40 mph and the road narrows to S2 again. The speed limit becomes 60 mph as we cross the remarkably rural Heath Common, before our route finishes at a signalized T-Junction with the A638 at Agbrigg, a mile out of Wakefield.