A453 | |
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Heavy traffic on the A453 in Clifton, Nottingham
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Birmingham-Tamworth | |
Length: | 12.4 mi (20.0 km) |
southwest end: | 52°31′00″N 1°54′05″W / 52.5168°N 1.9013°W |
Major junctions: |
A34 road A452 road A5127 road A38 road A5 road A51 road |
northeast end: | 52°37′44″N 1°42′18″W / 52.6290°N 1.7050°W |
Castle Donington-Nottingham | |
Length: | 16.4 mi (26.4 km) |
southwest end: | 52°47′52″N 1°22′12″W / 52.7977°N 1.3700°W |
Major junctions: |
A42 road J23a & 24 → M1 motorway A50 road A6 road A52 road |
northeast end: | 52°56′43″N 1°09′12″W / 52.9453°N 1.1532°W |
Road network | |
The A453 road was formerly the main trunk road connecting the English cities of Nottingham and Birmingham. However, the middle section of this mainly single-carriageway road has largely been downgraded to B roads or unclassified roads following the construction of the parallel M42-A42 link around 1990. The M42 was originally meant to pass further north than it does, and to join the M1 at Sandiacre in Derbyshire. The M42/A42 does not enter Derbyshire, but instead joins the M1 closer to the A453 junction at Kegworth. The A42 shadows the former A453 from Appleby Magna to Castle Donington. The road historically connected the East Midlands with the West Midlands.
The southern stretch of the existing A453 runs as a non-trunk route from the A34 in north Birmingham under the M6 motorway to the A452 road, and on through Sutton Coldfield. It starts at the point where the A34 crosses the Chase Line at Perry Barr railway station. On the right hand side is Birmingham City University and the road passes through Witton. As Aldridge Road it becomes a dual carriageway and crosses the River Tame. To the left is Perry Park, and it passes under the M6, becoming College Road. It crosses the Tame Valley Canal, and there is a left turn for the dual-carriageway Kingstanding Road (B4138) in Perry, the former Roman road Ryknild Street. In Upper Witton there is a roundabout and Perry Barr fire station is on the left next to Perry Common library, with The College High School on the right, and there are a crossroads and roundabout, with left turns for Kingstanding, and the road passes through Perry Common. On the right is St Mary's College, Oscott, a Roman Catholic seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the road meets Chester Road (A452) at a crossroads.