B1042
B1042 | |||||||
Location Map ( geo) | |||||||
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From: | Sandy (TL165490) | ||||||
To: | Wimpole Lodge (TL332489) | ||||||
Via: | Potton & Wrestlingworth | ||||||
Distance: | 11.5 miles (18.5 km) | ||||||
Meets: | A1, A603, B1040, A1198, A603 | ||||||
Former Number(s): | A603 | ||||||
Highway Authorities | |||||||
Traditional Counties | |||||||
Route outline (key) | |||||||
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The B1042 is the link between the A1 and A1198 (former A14).
Starting at a roundabout on the A1 Sandy bypass the road heads east into town, where it bears right at a roundabout then climbs to cross the East Coast Main Line above the station. The road then continues east across Sandy Warren, passing the RSPB HQ, to reach Potton, where there's a brief multiplex along the B1040.
After going through Wrestlingworth the road TOTSOs left at a crossroads before following a fairly straight route across the fields to end at a roundabout on the A1198 near the Wimpole Estate.
Originally, this road was numbered A603 explaining why the B1042 meets the A603 at both ends and seems to fill in the gap in that road's route. In fact, this section was downgraded to Class II status to persuade traffic to use the A428 instead.
The reason the number B1042 was chosen for the downgraded section of A603 is because it already existed in Sandy. The original route of the B1042 was along St Neots Road in Sandy, connecting the centre of town to the A1 heading north. When the B1042 was downgraded this original section became a spur and was then declassified in the 1990s.