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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 55.1 mi (88.7 km) | |||
| History | 1920s (Constructed) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| North end |  A6 atBuxton53°15′33″N1°54′24″W / 53.259216°N 1.906576°W /53.259216; -1.906576 (A53, northern terminus) | |||
| Major intersections |  A54 A41 | |||
| South end |  A49 A5112 A5124 atShrewsbury52°44′48″N2°43′03″W / 52.746671°N 2.717386°W /52.746671; -2.717386 (A53, northern terminus) | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Leek Stoke-on-Trent Newcastle-under-Lyme | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA53 is aprimary route in the English Midlands, that runs fromBuxton inDerbyshire toShrewsbury inShropshire.
The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off theA6 road, before meeting theA515 road at aroundabout. Out of the town, it has a junction with theA54 road (toCongleton) before continuing in a south-westerly direction. It crosses the border into the county ofStaffordshire, and after leaving thePeak District travels through the town ofLeek. It meets theA523 road (toMacclesfield) and theA520 road (toStone). It crosses theCaldon Canal and travels through theStoke-on-Trent conurbation, includingHanley andNewcastle-under-Lyme, where it meets a number of major routes such as theA50 road (toDerby), theA500 "D-Road," the Winchester-SalfordA34 and theA525 road (toWhitchurch). It crosses theM6 motorway and goes through the village ofAshley. It crosses the border into Shropshire, andbypasses the town ofMarket Drayton, and passes theMüller factory. It meets theA41 road (toWolverhampton) at a roundabout, then meets theA442 road (toTelford). It goes through the village ofShawbury, before it terminates at its junction with theA49 road, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Shrewsbury town centre atBattlefield. The 1.9 km section to the south-west of Shawbury was bypassed in the 1950s - the original A53 road runs adjacent to Shawbury Heath and is now an unclassified country lane.
The road is single carriageway apart from a 1-mile (1.6 km) section ofdual carriageway between the A500 and Stoke-on-Trent City Centre (Hanley).
The A53 has been reported as a high risk road for several years. According to a report done by the Road Safety Foundation for the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP), the A53 is one of the most dangerous roads in the UK.[1]
In June 2008, a 12-mile (19 km) stretch of the A53 between Leek and Buxton was named as the most dangerous road in the West Midlands.[2][3] This single carriageway stretch had fourteen fatal and serious injury collisions between 2003 and 2005, and was rated as red—the second highest risk band—in theEuroRAP report publish by the Road Safety Foundation. The challenging character of this section of road makes it attractive tomotorcyclists.
Roads in Zone 5 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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