A44 road

UK road routebox
road= A44
length-mi=
length-km=
direction= East - West
start= Oxford
destinations=Worcester
Leominster
Hereford
Rhayader
Llangurig
end= Aberystwyth
construction-date=
completion-date=
junctions= ukroadsmall|40
ukroadsmall|34
ukroadsmall|429
ukroadsmall|46
ukroadsmall|422
ukroadsmall|38
ukroadsmall|49
ukroadsmall|483
ukroadsmall|470
ukroadsmall|487

The A44 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Oxford in southern England to Aberystwyth in west Wales.

History

The original (1923) route of the A44 was Chipping Norton to Aberystwyth. No changes were made to the route of the A44 in the early years. After the second world war, the section between Rhayader and Llangurig was renumbered A470, as part of the creation of a through route between Cardiff and North Wales. The A44 was extended to Oxford in the 1990s, replacing part of the A34 when the M40 motorway was completed.

Circa 2004 a Bypass was constructed around Wyre Piddle, as a result the A44 was rerouted down the A4538 between Evesham and Worcester and therefore no longer goes down Pershore High Street. The old route is now known as the B4084.

Route

Oxford - Evesham

The road begins at a roundabout junction with the A40 road on the northern outskirts of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It has a grade separated junction with the A34 road (leading to the M40 motorway and Winchester). From here, the road runs north-west, and has a two-mile section of dual carriageway close to the village of Kidlington. It continues through Woodstock and Chipping Norton, where it meets the A3400 road to Stratford-upon-Avon. It then crosses the border into the county of Gloucestershire where it meets the A429 road at a junction in Moreton in Marsh. The road then crosses into Worcestershire and bypasses the town of Broadway. It joins the route of the A46 road near Evesham, then bypasses the town, re-emerging to the north.

Evesham - Leominster

Continuing in a north-westerly direction, the road passes the town of Pershore, and later meets the A422 road and A4538 road at a junction where the road turns left. It meets the A4440 road to the east of Worcester prior to travelling through the centre of the city. It meets the A4440 again to the west of the city before crossing into Herefordshire and through the town of Bromyard. At Leominster it meets the A49 road

Leominster - Aberystwyth

in the centre of the town.

Former Routes

Bypasses and Realignments

* Evesham (The route used to go through the centre of the town, now runs to the North)
* Evesham - Worcester (The route used to run on a road to the South)

External links

* [http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/f99/44.shtml SABRE page on the A44]