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 Map of the route of the A500 | ||||
 The northbound junction between the A500 and A50 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| History | Constructed began 1962 and finished 2006 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| From | Nantwich | |||
| Major intersections |  M6 A34 A50 A51 A52 A53 A519 A527 A531 A5020 A5271 | |||
| To | Clayton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Primary destinations | Stoke-on-Trent,Crewe | |||
| Road network | ||||
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TheA500 is a majorprimaryA road inStaffordshire andCheshire, England. It isdual carriageway for most of its length and connectsNantwich, junctions 16 and 15 of theM6 motorway with the city ofStoke-on-Trent. It is 19 miles (31 km) long.
The road was built to provide links between Stoke-on-Trent and the M6, before being extended to Nantwich. Construction has taken place over several stages, beginning in 1962, with the final section of the original route being completed similar to the original plans in 2006. As atrunk road, the section between junction 15 and 16 of the M6 is maintained by theHighways Agency[1] whilst the section past junction 16 is maintained byCheshire East council. In 2004, the road was stated as carrying 60,000 vehicles a day through Stoke.[2]
It is known locally as the "D-Road" or "Potteries D-Road",[3][4] after its configuration.[5] The originally planned route of the road joins junctions 15 and 16 of the M6 in a 'D' shape, and was represented in the logo used by the Corporation of Stoke when promoting the road.[6] D is also theRoman numeral representing the number 500, the number assigned to the completed road.
By the 1960s, traffic congestion was a major problem inStoke-on-Trent, and journeys across the area sometimes took hours. There was no connection from the newly constructed M6 to the city. Businesses in the area wanted an easier route to get their goods out of the area.[7]
As early as 1961 the route of the road scheme – already known as the "Potteries D Road" – was included in the Staffordshire Development Plan for planning purposes.[8]
The A500 was initially built from the M6 at junction 16 to theA34 road atTalke as part of the motorway construction,[9] opening in 1962.[10] At the southern end, a dual carriageway was constructed from junction 15 of the M6 to the A34 nearTrentham, given the number A5006,[9] and opened at the same time.[10] The northern section of the road was then subsequently extended from Talke to theA53 road. The final section from the A34 in the south to the A53 junction was built between 1974[2] and 1977.[7] The two middle junctions were to begrade separated, but due to financial constraints they were built asroundabouts.[11] Construction involved the destruction of streets and businesses within Stoke's town centre, as well as the excavation of amass grave of the victims of a 17th-centurycholeraepidemic.[11] This final section was named Queensway,[2] and on its completion the whole route became the A500.
The route remained unchanged until the 1980s when the Hanford Roundabout junction had aflyover built, as this was a majorbottleneck for both the A500 and A34. The 1977 section east of this junction had been built with provision for the bridge, but the section built as the A5006 required realignment for the new interchange. In the late 1980s the road was extended from Junction 16 close toWeston with connections provided to existing roads toKeele andCrewe. The A52, which at that time ran to Nantwich, was renumbered from Newcastle to Weston as a B road and the section from Weston to Nantwich was incorporated into the A500. In 1989 a bypass to the east of Nantwich was opened, extending the A500 from the south of Nantwich to its current northerly terminus with theA51.[12]
In 1993 a proposal was made to add the missing flyover and underpass close toStoke-on-Trent railway station, after an alternative plan had been rejected because of its cost.[13] A full review of the national roads programme resulted in the suspension of that scheme however.[2] In 1997 theA50 was rerouted through Stoke-on-Trent to meet the A500 at Sideway, where a new grade separated roundabout was constructed.
On the approach toHough was a narrow single lane bridge which was added to with aBailey bridge in 1993.[14] In September 2003, the Shavington bypass opened to reroute the road away from three villages on the former A52 section.[15] This was built to dual carriageway standards with provision for further junctions to new development sites.
Traffic continued to rise to the point where major congestion was experienced on the central section.[4] Work began on 16 February 2004 on theA500 Pathfinder Project to replace the final two roundabouts in Stoke with underpasses. The Highways Agency defined the pathfinder project as involving "a new form of contract and co-operative working methods to deliver a better value project, faster."[4] The project involved alterations to the path of theTrent and Mersey Canal andRiver Trent, along with new provisions for pedestrians. The work was carried out byEdmund Nuttall Limited and was planned to be completed in spring 2006. Following a number of delays[16] for which it was rumoured the construction company was being fined up to £100,000 a day for not keeping to schedule, the road opened on Tuesday 26 September 2006, with the southbound traffic in the morning and northbound traffic in the afternoon.[17] Several months of additional work was needed to finalise traffic light operations, gardens, and other miscellaneous tasks.
In February 2009, it was announced that the single carriageway Nantwich bypass would be re-numbered as theA51 in a bid to relieve the town centre of traffic.[18]
In 2015, the final 500m of the eastbound single carriageway between Weston and Junction 16 of the M6 was upgraded. This included resignalling works on the roundabout in order to relieve congestion at the roundabout.[19]
The road is the primary access route for traffic to and from almost all areas of Stoke-on-Trent. Starting to the east of Nantwich on the Nantwich bypass the dual carriagewayShavington bypass running north ofHough andShavington. Returning to the 1980s single carriageway extension route it continues east through acutting to the M6 at Junction 16 where it becomes a dual carriageway. Continuing through open countryside it passes under the A34 atTalke Pits, turns south before meeting theTunstall Western Bypass and enters the north of Stoke-on-Trent. Now continuing in anurban setting it runs between Newcastle and Burslem, passing through the middle of the formerWolstanton Colliery before running east of Stoke's town centre. Passing through the newest section in a cutting it emerges south of Stoke alongside the site of theVictoria Ground. Turning west it passes theBet365 Stadium before leaving the urban area at Hanford, south ofTrent Vale. It then runs through a cutting before meeting the M6 at junction 15.
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Roads in Zone 5 of theGreat Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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