 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "A45 road" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byBirmingham City Council,Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council,Coventry City Council,Warwickshire County Council,West Northamptonshire Council,North Northamptonshire Council,National Highways | ||||
| Length | 75.2 mi[1] (121.0 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  A4540 inBirmingham | |||
| Major intersections |  M42 inBirmingham A46 nearCoventry M45 nearDunchurch A5 nearWeedon Bec M1 nearUpper Heyford A43 nearNorthampton A6 inHigham Ferrers | |||
| East end |   A14 /A605 inThrapston | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | West Midlands,Warwickshire,Northamptonshire | |||
| Primary destinations | Birmingham,Birmingham Airport,Coventry,Northampton,Wellingborough | |||
| Road network | ||||
| ||||
TheA45 is a major road in England. It runs east fromBirmingham past theNational Exhibition Centre and theM42, then bypassesCoventry andRugby, where it briefly merges with theM45 until it continues toDaventry. It then heads toNorthampton andWellingborough before running north ofRushden andHigham Ferrers and terminating at its junction with theA14 inThrapston.
Prior to the construction of theM6 motorway, it was the main route from the Midlands toIpswich and to theHaven ports. When theA1-M1 link road section of the current A14 opened in 1994, most of the A45 to the east of Cambridge was re-designated as the A14 and some sections to the west were downgraded to B-roads (including the B645 betweenHigham Ferrers andSt Neots).
The original (1923) route of the A45 wasBirmingham toIpswich. The road was extended toFelixstowe in 1935, replacing the A139. Around the same time, the A45 was rerouted around the south ofCoventry when the city's southern bypass was completed ).
Initially, the A45 passed throughIpswich toFelixstowe; when the Ipswich bypass was completed in 1985, the road was diverted to pass over theOrwell Bridge which opened in 1982.
A bypass for the village ofEltisley was built in 1972, along with a bypass on the B1040 road. The 3-mile (4.8 km) £8 millionSt Neots bypass opened in December 1985 on what was then the A45.
When the new A14 link road between the A1 nearHuntingdon and the M1 (at its junction with theM6) was opened to traffic in the mid-1990s, theCambridge toFelixstowe stretch of the A45 was re-designated as the A14 (and many of the villages the route went through were bypassed) and theSt Neots toCambridge section became part of an extendedA428. The route throughFelixstowe at the end of the A14 is now theA154.[2]
The road starts on theA4540 Birmingham Ring Road, bypassingSmall Heath and crossing the B4145. It passes over theRiver Cole and meets theA4040 at agrade-separated junction at theSwan Shopping Centre inYardley. It meets the B425 at traffic lights inSheldon, then enters theborough of Solihull. The section of the A45 from Birmingham city centre to the M45 is all dual carriageway — urban dual carriageway with traffic lights untilBirmingham Airport, then rural grade-separated between the airport andCoventry. The Bickenhill Junction (grade-separated) intersects with the B4438, a dual carriageway access road for the airport,N.E.C. andBirmingham International railway station. In December 2024 the new A4545 opened, replacing part of the southern section of the B4438, providing an alternative direct link to theM42. There is another grade-separated junction with theM42 junction 6 (three level grade separation with roundabout). On this junction, there is also access to theNational Motorcycle Museum. The road meets theA452 atStonebridge at a grade separated junction and passes over theRiver Blythe where the road briefly entersWarwickshire.Meriden is bypassed to the north. TheHeart of England Way passes under the road, and the road enters the borough of Coventry.
The A45 becomes an urban road and skirts the south side of Coventry, crossing the A4114 near Allesley Park, the B4101 at Tile Hill,West Coast Main Line,A429 and B4113. Beyond here the road takes a more rural nature, with a grade-separated junction with theA46 and theA444 (three level roundabout with underpass for the A46 and the A444, and an overpass for the A45). Between here and the next junction, the A45 runs concurrent with the A46. The Tollbar End roundabout was one of the busiest in the Midlands. It had exits for the A46 north / Coventry Eastern Bypass,Coventry Airport and B4110. In early 2017, the Tollbar End roundabout was upgraded and the junction is now a roundabout interchange with an underpass for the A46. Crossing theRiver Avon, the road re-enters Warwickshire. TheA423 exits to the south-east at a (grade-separated) forked junction near the formerPeugeot factory. TheA445 crosses at a roundabout nearRyton on Dunsmore, followed by the War Memorial Roundabout with the B4455Fosse Way. ThisPortland stone memorialobelisk on the roundabout just north ofStretton-on-Dunsmore commemoratesKing George V's review of the29th Division before they were sent toGallipoli.[3] There is a further grade-separated junction with the A4071 and B4453 towardsRugby. The final roundabout on this section is the start of theM45 and the B4429. For 2 miles (3.2 km), the A45 runs concurrent with the M45 until a fairly new junction beyondDunchurch. The B4429 carried the A45 until the new junction was built.
Heading towardsDaventry, the road issingle carriageway. The road passes two prisons:HMP Onley andHMP Rye Hill. AfterWilloughby, the road entersNorthamptonshire, where it crosses theOxford Canal andGrand Union Canal nearBraunston. TheJurassic Way crosses the road here. The road enters Daventry and briefly runs concurrent with the A425 heading toLeamington Spa, then heads south-east on the Daventry bypass, here called the Stefen Way. The road meets the B4038 at a roundabout where the A425 exits. The road heads west pastDodford and then bypassesWeedon Bec, crossing theWest Coast Main Line andGrand Union Canal and then meets theA5 at a roundabout constructed as part of the Daventry Development Link Road realignment which opened on 15 November 2018.[4][5] This road also bypassesFlore, before meeting the grade-separatedM1 Junction 16, briefly running concurrent with the M1.
The A45 resumes at M1 Junction 15 as a dual carriageway, heading around the south side of Northampton. It then meets the older route (made of sections of the A5076 and A4500) at the A45 /A508 grade-separated junction, near Northampton High School. It then crosses theRiver Nene and Nene Way, and after that, there is a large grade-separated junction with theA428 and the A5095). This section is concurrent with theA43, which exits at a grade-separated junction nearWeston Favell. The grade-separated junction with the end of the A5076 is also the exit forBilling Aquadrome. The road has a grade-separated junction with the B573 nearEarls Barton. The road then meets theWellingborough bypass (A509) at a roundabout, although there is a segregated turn lane for westbound traffic wishing to continue on the A45. It runs concurrently with theA509 to the grade-separated junction near the bridge over theRiver Nene, where theA509 exits south nearIrchester Country Park. East of Wellingborough, the road crosses theMidland Main Line. There is a grade-separated junction for the A5001 intoRushden and the route runs alongside the River Nene, offering a second turning toRushden at a roundabout with the A5001 again; at this second junction, the original route to the A1 has been reclassified the B645. At the roundabout with theA6 nearHigham Ferrers, it starts the follow the former route of theA605. The section of dual carriageway from the M1 now ends at the next roundabout and the route from there is now single carriageway. This is the start of theRaunds bypass. The next roundabout is with the B663. The route bypassesRingstead and the A45 finishes at a grade-separated junction with the A14 (roundabout with overpass for the A14) nearThrapston.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Jct | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Midlands | Birmingham | 0.0 | 0.0 |    A4540 / B4128 to Coventry Road /M5 /M6 /A38(M) –Small Heath | Western terminus | |
| 2.8– 3.1 | 4.5– 5.0 |  A4040 –Acocks Green,Yardley | Grade-separated junction | |||
| Bickenhill | 7.0– 7.6 | 11.3– 12.2 |  B4438 –Solihull,Hampton,Bickenhill,Catherine-de-Barnes | Grade-separated junction | ||
| Bickenhill–Hampton in Arden boundary | 7.8– 8.3 | 12.6– 13.4 |  M42 toM6 /M1 /M40 /M5 –Solihull,Lichfield | Grade-separated junction; destinations signed westbound only; M42 junction 6 | ||
| 8.7– 9.3 | 14.0– 15.0 |  A452 –Brownhills,Leamington A452 toA4177 –Brownhills,Warwick,Chelmsley Wood,Coleshill,Balsall Common,Kenilworth | Grade-separated junction; Leamington signed eastbound only, To A4177 and other destinations signed westbound only | |||
| Great Packington–Meriden boundary | 9.9– 10.6 | 15.9– 17.1 | To B4102 –Fillongley,Maxstoke,Meriden | Grade-separated junction; To B4102 and Fillongley signed eastbound only | ||
| Coventry | 14.1– 14.5 | 22.7– 23.3 |  A4114 south-east –Coventry | North-western terminus of A4114 | ||
| 17.4 | 28.0 |  A429 (Kenilworth Road) –City centre,Earlsdon,Kenilworth | ||||
| 18.8– 19.3 | 30.3– 31.1 |  A46 south toA444 north /A452 /M40 /A4114 –Leamington,Warwick,Banbury,Coventry,Kenilworth,Whitley | Grade-separated junction; A444, to A114 and Coventry signed westbound only, Banbury and Kenilworth eastbound only; western terminus of A46 concurrency | |||
| 19.6– 19.9 | 31.5– 32.0 | Coventry Airport | Grade-separated junction; no eastbound exit | |||
| 20.1– 20.6 | 32.3– 33.2 |  A46 north toM6 /M69 –Leicester,Coventry (north & east)B4110 (London Road) –Willenhall | Eastern terminus of A46 concurrency | |||
| Warwickshire | Ryton-on-Dunsmore | 20.9– 21.1 | 33.6– 34.0 |  A423 south –Southam | Grade-separated junction; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; northern terminus of A423 | |
| 22.5 | 36.2 |  A445 south (Leamington Road) / Wolston Lane toA423 –Southam,Wolston | Northern terminus of A445 | |||
| Thurlaston | 26.5 | 42.6 |  A4071 north-east to B4453 –Rugby,Princethorpe | Grade-separated junction; To B4453 and Princethorpe signed westbound only | ||
| 27.4 | 44.1 | B4429 (Coventry Road) –Dunchurch,Thurlaston | Information signed eastbound only; western terminus of M45 concurrency; western terminus of M45 | |||
| Dunchurch | 28.9– 29.4 | 46.5– 47.3 | M45 east toM1 south –London,Northampton B4429 –Dunchurch,Southam,Banbury | No access from A45 west to M45 east or from M45 west to A45 east; Southam and Banbury signed westbound only; eastern terminus of M45 concurrency | ||
| Northamptonshire | Daventry | 35.4 | 57.0 |  A361 north (Drayton Way) toM1 north /M6 –Kilsby | Western terminus of A361 concurrency | |
| 36.0 | 57.9 | Braunston Way (A4256 east) –Town centre,Drayton | Western terminus of A4256 | |||
| 36.8 | 59.2 |  A425 west / Browns Road –Leamington,Staverton,Southam | Western terminus of A425 concurrency | |||
| 37.4– 37.6 | 60.2– 60.5 | A361 south –Banbury,Banby | Grade-separated junction; eastern terminus of A361 concurrency | |||
| 38.4 | 61.8 | South Way (A425 east) / London Road (B4038) /M1 /M5 /A361 –Town centre | To M1 and M5 signed eastbound only; eastern terminus of A425 concurrency | |||
| Dodford–Weedon Bec boundary | 41.8 | 67.3 | A5 (Watling Street) toM40 –Hinckley,Nuneaton,Milton Keynes,Oxford,Weedon | To M40 and Oxford signed eastbound only, Weedon westbound only | ||
| Upper Heyford | 45.1 | 72.6 | M1 north toM6 –The North,Birmingham,Coventry,Leicester A4500 east –Northampton | Coventry signed eastbound only; western terminus of M1 concurrency; western terminus of A4500; M1 junction 16 | ||
| Hunsbury Meadows–Rothersthorpe boundary | 48.4– 48.9 | 77.9– 78.7 | A43 south toM40 –Oxford,Northampton (west) | Northampton signed westbound only; western terminus of A43 concurrency; M1 junction 15A | ||
| Milton Malsor–Grange Park boundary | 50.9– 51.2 | 81.9– 82.4 | M1 south –London,Milton Keynes A508 south / Saxon Avenue –Stony Stratford,Grange Park | Eastern terminus of M1 concurrency; western terminus of A508 concurrency; M1 junction 15 | ||
| Grange Park | 51.6– 51.9 | 83.0– 83.5 | Grange Park | Grade-separated junction; westbound exit and entrance | ||
| Wootton–East Hunsbury boundary | 52.1– 52.4 | 83.8– 84.3 | Collingtree Park,East Hunsbury,Wootton | Grade-separated junction; no westbound entrance | ||
| Northampton | 53.1– 53.4 | 85.5– 85.9 | Town centre (A508 north),Sixfields,Hunsbury,Hardingstone | Grade-separated junction; Town centre signed eastbound only; eastern terminus of A508 concurrency | ||
| Hardingstone–Northampton boundary | 54.0– 54.7 | 86.9– 88.0 | Brackmills | Grade-separated junction | ||
| Northampton | 54.6– 55.1 | 87.9– 88.7 |  A428 –Town centre,Bedford,Brafield,Abington | Grade-separated junction | ||
| 56.4– 56.9 | 90.8– 91.6 | A43 north toA508 –Kettering,Market Harborough,Billing,Weston Favell | Grade-separated junction; eastern terminus of A43 concurrency | |||
| Billing–Northampton boundary | 57.7– 58.2 | 92.9– 93.7 | Cogenhoe,Billing | Grade-separated junction | ||
| Earls Barton | 60.0– 60.5 | 96.6– 97.4 | 10 | Earls Barton,Grendon,Castle Ashby,Whiston | Earls Barton signed eastbound only, Whiston westbound only | |
| Earls Barton–Great Doddington boundary | 61.8 | 99.5 | 11 | B573 –Great Doddington,Earls Barton | ||
| Great Doddington–Wellingborough boundary | 63.1 | 101.5 |   A509 north (Wilby Way) / Bourton Way toA6003 –Kettering,Wellingborough (west),Corby,Wilby | Western terminus of A509 concurrency | ||
| Wellingborough | 64.1– 64.4 | 103.2– 103.6 | 14 | A509 south –Wellingborough,Milton Keynes,Newport Pagnell,Little Irchester,Great Doddington | Little Irchester and Great Doddington signed westbound only; eastern terminus of A509 concurrency | |
| Irchester–Rushden boundary | 66.4 | 106.9 | 16 |  A5001 east –Rushden,Irchester | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Rushden | 67.5 | 108.6 | 17 | A5001 east / B645 (Northampton Road) –Rushden,Higham Ferrers | Roundabout; western terminus of A5001 | |
| Higham Ferrers | 69.1 | 111.2 |  A6 /A5028 south (Station Road) toA43 –Kettering,Corby,Bedford,Higham Ferrers,Finedon,Irthlingborough,Rushden | Northern terminus of A5028 | ||
| Thrapston | 75.2 | 121.0 | A14 –Kettering,Huntingdon,CambridgeA605 east –Peterborough,Thrapston,Titchmarsh,Oundle | Eastern terminus; southern terminus of A605; A14 junction 13 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
| City centre streets | |
|---|---|
| City centre squares | |
| Suburban streets | |
| A roads | |
| Motorways | |
| Defunct | |
