B5490

Stanley Matthews Way, Stoke on Trent

The B5490, a short link road in Stoke-on-Trent, is one of those "I never knew that was classified" roads. Indeed, up until a few years ago it could not have existed given that the road it travels along had not been built. Primarily, it exists to provide a back way into Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium, passing a retail park en route.

The B5490 came into being with two events in the 1990s: the closing of Hem Heath Colliery and the opening of the football stadium. The road therefore travels from the stadium across the site of the colliery, aiding redevelopment, to the pre-existing A5035. Indeed, describing roadside features is difficult owing to continuing redevelopment, or lack of it. It has the same street name for its entire length: Stanley Matthews Way.

The route starts on the A50 one junction east of the A500, virtually adjacent to the stadium, and heads south. It crosses two roundabouts in fairly quick succession and continues along a fairly nondescript road passing a number of warehouses. Indeed, a set of traffic lights about half way along this section breaks the monotony. Afterwards, the road bends left then right and reaches a roundabout, from where a housing estate (also built on the site of Hem Heath Colliery) can be reached. The B5490 ends a few hundred yards later, at a light-controlled T-junction with the A5035.