B4156
B4156 | ||||||||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||||||||
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From: | The Scotlands (SJ934017) | |||||||||
To: | Great Wyrley (SJ989076) | |||||||||
Via: | Essington | |||||||||
Distance: | 6.1 miles (9.8 km) | |||||||||
Meets: | A460, B4484, A462, A34 | |||||||||
Primary Destinations | ||||||||||
Highway Authorities | ||||||||||
Traditional Counties | ||||||||||
Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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The B4156 is a locally important B-road in the Wolverhampton area that is in two parts, pretty much serving two separate functions.
The first section acts as a radial route from The Scotlands, Wolverhampton, both to the Wednesfield suburbs to the east, and to the village of Essington beyond, passing through the village on a dog-leg course past all the usual village features - pub, church and school, meeting the Class III road C114 at a mini-roundabout at the northern edge of the village. It then crosses over the middle of the junction between the M6 and M54 with no connection to either motorway before ending on the A462.
After heading north on the A462 for what seems to be an age, although it's only just over a mile, the second half of the road suddenly appears. This section acts as access between the ever-growing commuter village of Cheslyn Hay and the outside world. Starting at a roundabout junction, the road heads east into the village before displaying a slightly strange feature for a rural B-road: it splits into two, with each half being a one-way street (with the westbound road being the original route of the B4156) acting as a ring around the western part of the village before meeting back up again to pass through a narrow street generally featuring large numbers of parked cars, causing delays at peak times. It then heads under the railway bridge carrying the line between Walsall and Cannock and heads into the conjoined village of Great Wyrley, where the remainder of the road features (in common with seemingly every other road in that village) speed bumps before the road terminates on the A34.
History
The original 1922 List describes the B4156 as being junction with A462 - Cheslyn Hay - Great Wyrley showing that the Wolverhampton - Essington - A462 section was added later, despite the long multiplex with that road in the centre of the full route. The extension had been added between 1926 and 1932.