 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 22.4 mi (36.0 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Banbury | |||
| Major intersections |  A361 A422 A425 A426 A445A45 | |||
| North end | NearCoventry | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Road network | ||||
| ||||
TheA423 road is aprimaryA road in England in two sections. The main section leads from centralBanbury to theA45 nearCoventry.
It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estate, then just north of Banbury it crosses over theM40, from there it passes close to severalWarwickshire villages until it becomes part of theSoutham by-pass, it then goes throughLong Itchington andMarton before merging with theA45 nearRyton.
The other section of the A423 is part of theOxford Ring Road between theA34Hinksey Hill interchange and theA4142/A4074 Heyford Hill roundabout, a distance of 1.4 miles (2.3 km). The section, carrying 50,000 vehicles per day, includes a bridge over theCherwell Valley railway line andHinksey Stream. The bridge is in need of replacement which is expected to cost £90 million with work starting in 2023 and completion in 2026.[1] The replacement will include work for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme, abus lane and improvements in pedestrian and cyclist facilities.[2]
Its original route when first classified in 1922 was fromTamworth inStaffordshire toOxford,[3] terminating at Two Gates on the old A5. The road north continued as the A51. In the 1930s the route was extended from Oxford toMaidenhead inBerkshire, over parts of the former routes of theA42 andA415. A curious feature of the route was a 3-mile (4.8 km) gap betweenBenson, Oxfordshire and a point 1.2 miles (1.9 km) north west ofNuffield, which resulted from the construction ofRAF Benson across the line of the road. The detour thoughCrowmarsh Gifford was designated the B479 andA4130 rather than A423.
The last section of the Oxford Ring Road was completed in 1965, and the A423 was rerouted away from the centre of Oxford to form part of the ring road. From 1971 to 1990 the A423 joined the thenA423(M) motorway at Maidenhead.[citation needed]
On the completion of theM42 motorway in the early 1980s, the phase of the A423 between Tamworth and Coventry became the A51 (to the A47 junction), B4098 between the A47 and Keresley and A4170 into Coventry. Subsequently, the A51 was curtailed at Kingsbury with the B4098 extending along the A4170 into Coventry City Centre.
The final downgrading came in 1990 when theM40 motorway betweenOxford andBirmingham was completed. The remainder of the route south of Banbury was renumbered to become parts of theA4260,A4074 andA4130, except for the part of the Oxford Ring Road between theA34Hinksey Hill interchange and theA4142/A4074 Heyford Hill roundabout. On this stretch of road, heading eastbound, drivers will notice the distance sign showing the name A423 and its original final destination of Maidenhead. Traffic for Maidenhead is now directed onto the A40/ M40 via High Wycombe.
52°13′25″N1°23′16″W / 52.22363°N 1.3878°W /52.22363; -1.3878
