A41 road
The
A41 is a major
trunk road in
England,
United Kingdom that links
London and
Birkenhead. It passes through or near various towns and villages including
Watford,
Hemel Hempstead,
Aylesbury,
Warwick,
Solihull,
Birmingham,
Wolverhampton,
Whitchurch and
Chester.
It follows part of the line of the old
Roman road,
Akeman Street.
With the opening of the
M40 right through to its link up with the
M42 near Birmingham in the early
1990s, much of the route has been downgraded, and renumbered accordingly. The section between
Bicester and the M42 near Solihull no longer possesses this number as a result, being known as the A4141 and A4177 between Solihull and Warwick and the B4100 between Warwick and Bicester. Much of the route is an adequate alternative to the M40, except sections in
Oxfordshire at
Adderbury (where the road has a sharp turn at traffic lights) and in
Northamptonshire at
Aynho, where the road narrows.
The southern section begins near
Marble Arch in London, at the junction with
Oxford Street (
A40), near
Selfridges. The north-bound traffic uses Gloucester Place, and the south-bound uses
Baker Street. This is the route
National Express coaches use for entering and exiting London for the north (
M1). The road crosses
Marylebone Road close to
Madame Tussauds, Baker St tube station, and Marylebone railway station. Close to
Regents Park, the two directions begin as one road. The road passes near
Lords Cricket Ground and
Abbey Road Studios (
Abbey Road runs parallel to the A41). It passes through
Swiss Cottage, before becoming dual-carriageway on
Hendon Way. It intersects with the
North Circular Road near
Brent Cross shopping centre. The road passes through
Hendon and begins to run parallel with the
M1. From the junction with the A5150 (close to the
Metropolitan Police's police college and the
RAF Museum), it runs directly next to the M1. It multiplexes with the
A1 at
Five Ways Corner, which is also junction 2 of the M1, with the section known as
Watford Way. It passes through
Mill Hill, and separates with the A1 at a roundabout at
Apex Corner. It heads west, crossing the M1, the runs parallel to the
A5 near
Edgware. Near
Elstree, it meets the M1 at junction 4, then meets the A5 at a roundabout, where the A5 becomes the
A5183, near an
Esso petrol station,
Aldenham Reservoir and
Hilfield Park Reservoir. It runs next to the M1 and enters
Hertfordshire close to
Bushey. This section is known as
Elton Way, which ends at a roundabout with the B462 (for Aldenham) and near
Patchett's Equestrian Centre. The next section is dual-carriageway.
Running parallel to the M1, it intersects at junction 5, known as the
Berrygrove Interchange or
Aldenham Terminal, the original endpoint of the M1 pre-1967. The road passes over the
River Colne east and north of Watford as a
bypass, meeting the
A412 at Garston at a roundabout with a
Shell,
BP and
Sainsburys petrol stations as well as an
Asda. There is the
West Herts College (Leggatts Campus). The road passes the Watford
mosque and nearby
Leavesden Film Studios before meeting the £4.5m junction with the
A405 opened in April 1978. It crosses the
River Gade /
Grand Union Canal by a
dogleg known as Hunton Bridge and meets the
M25 at the
Hunton Bridge Interchange, also junction 19a. The old route through
Kings Langley is now the A4251.
North of the M25 the road is a near
motorway standard "A" road with all junctions
grade-separated via underpasses or flyovers, but curves and gradients a little steeper. There are no
hard shoulders but frequent
lay-bys. It climbs through the
Chiltern Hills and there are many scenic vistas of rolling hills and wooded valleys. A descent into the valley of the
River Bulbourne takes it across water meadows just outside
Hemel Hempstead at
Boxmoor. There are GSJ's with the A414, A4251 and A416. More striking open country is encountered north of here passing west of
Berkhamstead. It passes the National Film Archive. An impressive arched footbridge spans the road just near the summit before it passes just west of
Tring (for the
Ridgeway footpath) and descends the Chiltern
scarp into the
Vale of Aylesbury.
The
Tring bypass was built in
1973 as a motorway, the first section of the Watford-Tring Motorway
A41(M), although this section has been downgraded since July 6th 1987. The A41(M) was originally designed to run from
Tring via what is now
M25 junction 19a to
M1 junction 5. The Tring bypass ends with the border of
Hertfordshire.
The section to Tring was finally built in the early
1990s, although to a lower standard and only as far as
M25 junction 20. There were two sections - the seven-mile £23.9m
Berkhamsted bypass, opened September 1993 and five-mile £32.7m
Kings Langley bypass, opened August 1993. The road traverses the
Chiltern Hills.
On October 3rd
2003, this section was extended to the three-mile £25m
Aston Clinton Bypass, which was originally intended to be built at the same time as the two sections further south. The road goes straight through Aylesbury, which is a
bottleneck where it meets the
A413 and heads to Bicester, where it meets a low bridge of 14 feet,
The £5.7m two-mile first stage of the Bicester bypass opened in November 1990, with the two-mile £3.9m second stage (part of the A421 section to Wendlebury) opened in May 1993, and has many roundabouts. Since 1993, the road now heads south-west where it officially becomes part of the
M40 at junction 9, meeting with the
A34 (which also multiplexes with the M40 to Birmingham - to draw traffic off the previous routes). The former route went through
Warwick. From here to the M42, it is now the A4177 then the A4141, which are both excellent wide roads. At junction 5 of the M42, the A41 follows its old course. Further north, the road bypasses
Solihull and goes through the city centres of
Birmingham and
Wolverhampton.
Now as an A road, the road manifests from the junction (opened in November 1976) with the A4141 and M42 near
Berry Hall, and crosses the
River Blythe and bypasses
Solihull. The former route through Solihull is now the B4025 and B425, which passes
Solihull School. The A41 has a staggered junction with the B4102 (for Solihull and
Catherine-de-Barnes) near the
BUPA Parkway Hospital. At Lode Heath, there is crossroads with the B425 (for
Solihull Hospital) where the road is the
Seven Star Road. The A41 resumes the old route at another junction with the B425, becoming
Warwick Road, which is the name of the route all the way into Birmingham. At
Worlds End there is the
Shell Solihull garage on the left. Next is Ulverley Green and it passes the
BP Mereside garage on the right and passes under the
Chiltern Main Line (for
Leamington) near
Olton station,
Olton Library and
Olton Reservoir. At the junction with the B4514, there is a
Tesco petrol station and the road enters the borough of
Birmingham. The B4514 leads onto Olton Boulevard and can be used to bypass Acocks Green, although there is one section to be completed near Sparkhill. It passes Archbishop Ilsey RC School at
Acocks Green, then meets the B4146 and B4217 at a roundabout near a
Sainsburys. It meets the
A4040 ring road at a staggered junction and crosses the Birmingham -
Stratford Line near
Tyseley station and the
Birmingham Railway Museum. At
Sparkhill, it crosses the
River Cole and meets the B4145 at a roundabout near
Golden Hillock School. At
Sparkbrook, it meets the
A34 Stratford Road and there is a crossroads with the A4540 and B4126. The two main routes multiplex around central Birmingham and meet the
A4540 Middleway inner ring road. The former route of the A41 through inner Birmingham is now the B4100 heading past the
Digbeth National Express coach station, and passes near
St Chad's RC Cathedral. The A41 resumes at
Constitution Hill near
Snow Hill train station, passing through
Hockley where it meets the northern section of the A4540. There is a staggered junction with the A4040. At the
Hawthorns in
West Bromwich it enters the borough of
Sandwell. It meets the
M5 at junction 1, where it also meets the A4168. It bypasses West Bromwich on a dual-carriageway called the
Expressway. There is a roundabout with the A4041 and the former route follows the A4196 from a roundabout. The new route is called the
Black Country New Road, and crosses the
Midland Metro tram near Guns Village. There is a roundabout with the B4149 at Swan Village. From the roundabout with the A461 (for
Tipton) at Great Bridge, it multiplexes with the A461 (to
Wednesbury), crosses the
Tame Valley Canal, meets the A4037 at a roundabout and goes under the Midland Metro near
Wednesbury Parkway station. The A461 heads off to junction 9 of the
M6. The A41 follows the old route from the next roundabout and enters the borough of
Walsall. At the junction with the A4444 it crosses the
Walsall Canal. There are junctions with the A4098 (where the road enters the borough of Wolverhampton) and B4163. The road goes straight through the middle of
Bilston, where it meets the dual-carriageway
A463 Black Country Route at a busy roundabout. Close by is the
Bilston Central station, near
Morrisons. There is a junction with the B4484 (for the A454) near
The Crescent station. At Priestfield, it meets the B4162, and passes the
City of Wolverhampton College Wellington Road Campus (Bilston) near Priestfield station. From here, the Midland Metro runs down the centre of the road. There is a roundabout with the A4126 and the road passes under the Wolverhampton loop of the
West Coast Main Line at
Monmore Green, and crosses the
Birmingham Canal. It multiplexes with the A4150 Wolverhampton Ring Road, then passes
West Park Hospital and crosses the
Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. It passes through
Tettenhall, past
Tettenhall College.
It leaves the borough of Wolverhampton near
Wergs where it crosses the
River Penk. It passes
Wrottesley Hall, where there is a golf course. There is a junction with the A464 (for
Shifnal), and the road enters
Shropshire. It crosses the
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line on the
Albrighton bypass. The
Monarchs Way crosses and the road passes close to the RAF Museum at
Cosford (through the middle of the RAF base). There is the
M54 junction 3 and the road passes through Tong, and is crossed by the Monarchs Way. Close by to the east is one of the sites of the
V Festival at
Weston Park. The road meets the
A5 at a roundabout, which is on the border with
Staffordshire. At Weston Heath, there is a junction with the B5314. At the junction of the B4379, the road enters
Telford and Wrekin. Nearby is Woodcote Hall (now a nursing home). The five mile £6m
Newport bypass opened in early 1985. The former route went through Chetwynd Aston. Newport is home of the
Harper Adams agricultural college, at
Edgmond. The road meets the A518 (for
Telford) at a roundabout. There is another roundabout with the A518 for the eastern direction (which passes nearby Aqualate Park). There is a roundabout with the A519 and B5062 (for Whitchurch).
The road rejoins the old route and passes Chetwynd Park. It passes Standford Hall, crosses the
River Meese and goes through Standford Bridge, then re-enters
Shropshire. The £1.5m
Hinstock Bypass opened in late 1983. It passes through High Heath,
Shakeford, Crickmery which is near
Wistanswick. Nearby is
RAF Ternhill near Stoke Heath, a former wartime fighter base and a
HM Young Offender Institution. The road crosses the
River Tern, meets the
A53 at a roundabout with a
Total garage at
Ternhill. Close by at
Market Drayton next to the A53, is
Müller Dairy [
1], maker of popular
yoghurts. After Bletchley Manor, there is three miles of dual carriageway. At
Sandford, there is the B5065, Sandford Hall and Darliston. The road passes through Prees Higher Heath near a former airfield (RAF Tilstock), and meets the
A49 at a roundabout near Tilstock. The three-mile £13.7m
Whitchurch Bypass opened in July 1992, where the road meets the
A49.
The final stretch of the road leaves Shropshire and heads north through Cheshire passing various castles such as
Beeston and
Peckforton. Originally heading through Chester where the ancient Roman road ended, the road now bypasses the city. Running through the suburbs of
Ellesmere Port (where the road was downgraded for safety reasons in the early 1990s) it heads to the junction of the
M53 and
Merseyside border. At
Bebington, the road goes past the
Odeon cinema at
Spital. It goes through
Port Sunlight, then there is a dual-carriageway section on the
New Ferry and
Rock Ferry bypass. It passes an oil terminal and Green Lane train station. The road finally ends in Birkenhead just near the mouth of the
Queensway Tunnel which passes under the River Mersey and enters Liverpool to meet the start of the
A59. The A41 passes a junction with the A554 and A552 near the Birkenhead bus station. The end of the road offers spectacular views over the Mersey to Liverpool at Woodside Ferry Terminal, the home of
Ferry 'cross the Mersey.
*
British road numbering scheme*
Aston Clinton bypass opens.*
Aston Clinton page at the Highways Agency.*
Plans for the M41.*
A41 Aston Clinton at CBRD.
