A43 road (England)
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The A43 is a primary route in the English
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
and northern South East England, that runs from the
M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-r ...
near
Ardley Ardley is an English toponym and may refer to: Places * Ardley Cove, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Ardley Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Ardley, Alberta, Canada * Ardley, Oxfordshire, UK ** Ardley Castle ** Ardley railway stati ...
in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
to Stamford in Lincolnshire. Through Northamptonshire it bypasses the towns of
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, Kettering and Corby which are the three principal destinations on the A43 route. The A43 also links to the M1 motorway. The section of the road between the M40 and M1 is designated a trunk road, managed and maintained by National Highways. The remainder of the route is the responsibility of local authorities.


Route of road


M40 to M1

The A43 starts at M40 junction 10 (the location of
Cherwell Valley Services Cherwell Valley services is a motorway service station on the M40 motorway at Stoke Lyne, near Bicester, in Oxfordshire, England. In August 2011 it was rated as 3 stars by quality assessors at Visit England; however, it is unknown whether this ...
) which is widely regarded as being one of the worst motorway junctions in the country despite improvements made in the early 2000s. There are often long tailbacks at the junction, even at off-peak times. Following the junction with the M40, the A43 first meets a roundabout with the B4100 for traffic headed north-west for the village of
Aynho Aynho (, formerly spelt ''Aynhoe'') is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, on the edge of the Cherwell valley south-east of the north Oxfordshire town of Banbury and southwest of Brackley. Along with its neighbour C ...
or south for the town of Bicester. Continuing north, the A43 passes many
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
and Northamptonshire rural villages and towns before meeting the A421 which spurs towards
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...
and later,
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
. The stretch of A43 through south Northamptonshire was upgraded to
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
standard between the M1 and Towcester in 1991 and through to the M40 in the early 2000s. This was primarily to provide a link from the M1 to the M40 and also to
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, home of the British Grand Prix. During the Grand Prix the A43 is closed to through traffic between Brackley and Towcester. The town of Brackley was bypassed in 1987. Just south of Brackley, drivers will approach a traffic island which spurs off in one direction for the
A422 The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...
(for the M40 at Banbury and the
A423 The A423 road is a primary A road in England in two sections. The main section leads from central Banbury to the A45 near Coventry. Route It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estat ...
for motorists heading for Warwickshire) or the other direction which continues as the A43 into Northamptonshire. The
A422 The A422 is an "A" road for east–west journeys in south central England, connecting the county towns of Bedford and Worcester by way of Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon. For most of its length, it is a narrow sin ...
is met once again to the east of Brackley, allowing motorists an additional route into
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
. Two miles north of Brackley, the B4525 (a B classified route for traffic from South Northamptonshire to reach the M40 at Banbury) joins the A43. From here, the A43 leaves the
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
borders and continues in a north-easterly direction towards Silverstone, where the road joins the A413 at a
grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
junction. Later, the A43 bypasses Towcester, where it meets the A5 ( Roman Watling Street) at a
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
created when the road was built from Towcester in 1991. This roundabout was dangerously unsuited to the traffic volumes but was upgraded with traffic light controls during the first half of 2015. A flyover may need to be installed when the expansion of Towcester begins in 2018–2022.Responses to Towcester Town Transport Strategy Consultation 24/09/2012 - 02/11/2012 Accessed 13 June 2014
Continuing towards
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, it by-passes Blisworth and Milton Malsor villages, before reaching the M1 at junction 15A, at Rothersthorpe services. This stretch has four dangerous crossover junctions - one from Towcester via Old Towcester Road, two from
Tiffield Tiffield is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, north of Towcester between the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road to its west and the A43 road (Great Britain), A43 road to its east. The village's name origin is dubious. It ha ...
and one from Blisworth, unlike the rest of the route from the M40 where the junctions are either fully graded, as at Silverstone, or have roundabouts.


M1 to Corby

From M1 junction 15a the A43 runs concurrently southbound on the M1 to junction 15. It then follows the A45 Nene Valley Way up to the Lumbertubs Way Interchange. From here it splits from the A45 and continues via dual carriageway where it meets the Round Spinney roundabout. North of Northampton, it rejoins the old course of the A43 and passes through Moulton. A new 1.6 km dual carriageway
bypass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...
is currently being constructed which will link the Round Spinney roundabout with the existing road just north of the Moulton roundabout, which is due for completion in Spring 2018. Following this, the road has a straight, rural stretch before reaching a roundabout at Broughton. After bypassing Broughton, it continues towards Kettering. It overlaps the A14 at its Junction 8, to bypass Kettering. At Junction 7 the A43 re-emerges on a new dual carriageway bypass. The old route of the A43 through Kettering town centre is still intact. After bypassing Kettering, the road previously travelled through the historic village of Geddington. The old road is still regularly used, possibly due to poor signage or lack of SatNav updates. A new bypass, called the Corby Link Road, opened in 2014, from Barford Bridge on the A6003 to the A43 west of
Stanion Stanion is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. At the time of 2001 census, the parish's population was 873 people, increasing to 1,252 at the 2011 Census. There is a Church of England primary school. History Stanio ...
.''Interserve win £24m contract to build the new A43 Corby link road for Northamptonshire County Council'' Construction Index 25 June 2012 accessed 18 September 2012
/ref> Continuing from here, it passes the Euro-Hub site at Corby, and then it passes Corby and reaches several roundabouts.


Corby to Stamford

After bypassing Corby and Weldon, it heads out on a rural stretch, past Deene Park, and then bypassing Bulwick, the only village on this stretch. It passes some splendid woodland, and then heads towards Duddington. Bypassing Duddington, it meets the A47. After it passes through Collyweston and
Easton-on-the-Hill Easton on the Hill is a village and civil parish at the north eastern tip of North Northamptonshire, England. The village had a population at the 2011 census was 1,015. The village, sited on the A43 road, is compact in form, with the older part ...
. Then it meets the A1, before continuing towards Stamford. Previously, the A43 stopped at a junction with the Old A1 ( Great North Road) in Stamford, but now that Stamford is bypassed, the A43 continues over the
River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market ...
, until it reaches the A1175.


History of the road number

The original (1923) route of the A43 was from the A42 (later the A34) at Kidlington to Stamford. After completion of the
Oxford Ring Road The Oxford Ring Road circles the city of Oxford, England. It is a dual carriageway ring road for most of its length apart from a short section between Woodstock Road and Banbury Road in the north of the city. The severe restrictions on traffic ...
, the southern terminus was changed to the Pear Tree Roundabout between Kidlington and Oxford. When the M40 was opened in 1991 the road from the Pear Tree Roundabout to Weston-on-the-Green was renumbered A34, and the stretch through
Middleton Stoney Middleton Stoney is a village and civil parish about west of Bicester, Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 331. The parish measures about north–south and about east–west, and in 1959 its area was . Its eas ...
between the A34 and junction 10 of the M40 was downgraded to the B430.


External links


Chris's British Roads Directory - Bad Junctions - M40/A43SABRE Roads route description


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0043 Roads in England Transport in Lincolnshire Transport in Northamptonshire Roads in Oxfordshire