A15 road

The A15 is a major road in England. It runs north from Peterborough via Market Deeping, Bourne, Sleaford and Lincoln before disappearing at its junction with the M180 near Scawby. The road re-emerges ten miles east, and continues north past Barton-upon-Humber and over the Humber Bridge before terminating at Hessle near Kingston-upon-Hull.

Related Topics:
Road - England - Peterborough - Market Deeping - Bourne - Sleaford - Lincoln - M180 - Scawby - Barton-upon-Humber - Humber Bridge - Hessle - Kingston-upon-Hull

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It is Peterborough's main connecting road from the south to the A1(M), joining near Stilton, at Norman Cross, though this short stretch is only single carriageway and has many sets of traffic lights and speed cameras.The old A15 route heading out of Peterborough is known as Lincoln Road. Going north, the £7m four mile Market Deeping bypass was built in the summer of 1998; Bourne is about to be partially-bypassed (on the south-west) after many years of traffic queues. There is a roundabout with the east-west A52. Sleaford and Silk Willoughby until around 1991 were on the A15, which slowed traffic down chronically as the traffic went through Sleaford's shopping area and across a level crossing on a difficult corner. On the route to Lincoln, the road goes near to two RAF bases - RAF Digby, which is used for communications and not aircraft, and across the end of the runway of RAF Waddington, which has AWACS and Nimrod aircraft. Through Lincoln, traffic takes a hilly route, and a new eastern bypass to the A158/A46 junction has been announced.

Related Topics:
A1(M) - Stilton - Norman Cross - A52 - Level crossing - RAF Digby - RAF Waddington - AWACS - Nimrod

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North of Lincoln, the A15 follows the Roman road, Ermine Street past the Lincolnshire Showground and Riseholme College of Agriculture, now part of the University of Lincoln. The road used to be straight, but with RAF Scampton becoming a base for V bombers in the 1950s, the runway had to be extended and the road now has a curved diversion. Overtaking is difficult as the road, although straight, is undulating. It passes close to Kirton in Lindsey, home of an RAF base much used in World War II, with the communications pylon still visible. From here, the A15 used to go through Hibaldstow and Brigg. Hibaldstow has an airfield now used for parachuting competitions by Target Skysports, and was a wartime fighter airfield as well. The five-mile £7m Brigg and Redbourne bypass was added in December 1989 which follows the old Ermine Street in North Lincolnshire further than previously, with a much flatter, wider and safer road, to join the M180 at junction 4, near Scunthorpe. This was the upgraded route of an unclassfied road.

Related Topics:
Roman road - Ermine Street - University of Lincoln - RAF Scampton - V bomber - Kirton in Lindsey - World War II - Brigg - North Lincolnshire - M180 - Scunthorpe

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The route of the A15 now becomes part of the three-laned M180, which was opened on September 2nd 1977. The A15 section along Ermine Street was planned to be opened at the same time, but it had to wait twelve years. This five mile section of motorway never ever sees hold ups. The build up of traffic to Grimsby prompted calls for the Brigg bypass for many years, but the Flixborough explosion of 1974 made it more of an emergency. At junction 5, the A15 reforms at the dual-grade roundabout, and continues north as an excellent dual carriageway which carries about as little traffic as the M180. The M180 drops to two lanes under this roundabout and continues to Grimsby and Immingham as the A180, which has a logbook of many drivers falling asleep over its hypnotic concrete surface.

Related Topics:
Flixborough explosion - Grimsby - Immingham - Hypnotic - Concrete

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The A15 towards the Humber Bridge, goes directly across the runways of the former RAF Bomber Command airfield at Elsham Wolds. The former route of the A15, pre-1978, is now called B1206, and ends at New Holland, where the A15 formerly connected with the Humber Ferry. The £5.6m six-mile Brigg Bypass to Barton-upon-Humber Bypass (up to where the B1218 crosses) section opened in June 1978. The £2m one-mile Barton-upon-Humber Bypass to Humber Bridge (A1077 interchange) section opened in September 1978, although some maps show this being open before the southern section to the M180. When this whole section opened in 1978, there was no longer any access to the B1218. In the early 1990s, a new interchange was added with the B1206 (the former A15). The section across the Humber was opened on the 17th of July 1981, by the Queen, and was the worlds longest single span bridge until 1997. The tolls are north of the bridge.

Related Topics:
RAF Bomber Command - Queen

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According to the AA, the route is 95 miles long, and should take 2 1/4 hours. Norman Cross - Bourne takes 33 minutes, Bourne to Lincoln takes 46 minutes and Lincoln to the Humber Bridge takes 54 minutes.

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