A417 road

A417 road
The A417 Brockworth bypass with Gloucester in the distance
Route information
Length:	96.9 mi[1] (155.9 km)
Major junctions
Southeast end:	Streatley, Berkshire 51°31′31″N 1°08′57″W / 51.5253°N 1.1493°W
	[[Image:Motorway Left.svg|[ |x30px|link=]] M5 motorway [[Image:Motorway Left.svg|[ |x30px|link=]] M50 motorway A329 road A338 road A419 road A420 road A361 road A429 road A435 road A436 road A46 road A38 road A40 road A449 road A438 road A4103 road A465 road A49 road
Northwest end:	Hope Under Dinmore 52°10′26″N 2°42′55″W / 52.1738°N 2.7153°W
Location
Primary destinations:	Cirencester Gloucester Wantage
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

The A417 is a main road in England running from Streatley, Berkshire to Hope under Dinmore, Herefordshire. It is best known for its section between Cirencester and Gloucester where it has primary status and forms part of the link between the major settlements of Swindon and Gloucester.

History

When the A417 was first designated in 1922, it ran only from Streatley to Cirencester.^[2] In 1935 it was extended to Gloucester, on the former route of the A419, and on to Ledbury and Hope under Dinmore.

There have been numerous upgrades and bypasses, particularly on the primary section. At Faringdon, its traditional route over Folly Hill and down through the market place has been blocked by the more recent development of the A420 and has been diverted to the south. The Birdlip bypass, opened in 1988, avoided a very steep (16%) gradient as the road descended the Cotswold Edge escarpment to Brockworth.

Route

Streatley - Gloucester (M5)

It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place (around King Alfred's statue and thence to Faringdon, via Stanford in the Vale. It leads on to Lechlade, where it crosses the River Thames. It then runs past the Cotswold Water Park, through Fairford to Cirencester and thence to Gloucester.

From the start of the Cirencester bypass to Gloucester, the A417 forms part of a major new dual-carriageway route (A419/A417) connecting the M4 (junction 15) with the M5 at Gloucester (junction 11A). At the A429 roundabout on the older Cirencester bypass, the A417 follows the A429 north for 0.5 miles (0.80 km), then resumes when it joins the newer bypass (which is also the A417). The 6-mile (9.7 km) Cirencester & Stratton Bypass opened on 9 December 1997. This route carries traffic between the ports of the south coast and the industrial Midlands. The 4-mile (6.4 km) dual-carriageway North of Stratton to Nettleton Improvement opened on 16 January 1998. The roundabout at the end of this section often has congestion during peak hours.

The 2-mile (3.2 km) £2.4m single-carriageway Birdlip bypass opened in December 1988. This point, before the Air Balloon roundabout, has a grand vista of the Severn Valley. After the roundabout and the Air Balloon pub, the road turns sharply and there is a steep gradient. This is a bottleneck at peak times, and there are plans for a dual-carriageway section here. These plans were listed within a roads expansion programme pledged during the government's 2014 Autumn Statement for delivery during the coming 5-8 years.^[3] A very rough googlemap of the 3 options proposed can be found here.

The 3-mile (4.8 km) £36m Brockworth Bypass opened in December 1995, and included the new junction 11a of the M5.

Gloucester (M5) - Hope under Dinmore

Through Gloucester, the road overlaps the A40 Gloucester northern bypass, and from the end of this bypass at a roundabout the road goes north-west through the village of Maisemore, past Hartpury College, then through the village of Hartpury. The A417 then passes through the twin villages of Corse and Staunton. It crosses the M50 Ross Spur motorway at junction 2, then meets the Ledbury bypass, where the road noticeably widens out, and has many large roundabouts. Between Gloucester and Ledbury there are many changes of speed limit. From Ledbury, it goes west, overlapping the A438, then at a set of traffic lights known as the Trumpet Crossroad, the A417 goes north-west along a more high-hedged, narrow road. It meets the A49 at a wide junction at Hope under Dinmore just south of Leominster.

Junctions

A417 (T)
Northbound exits	Junction	Southbound exits
Ross A40, Ledbury (A417), Chepstow (A48) Cheltenham A40, Tewkesbury, Bristol (M5)	Elm Bridge Court	Start of A417 (T)
Gloucester (A38)	Corinium Avenue Roundabout	Gloucester (A38)
Local routes	Zoons Court Roundabout	Local routes
The MIDLANDS M5	M5 J11A	No exit or access
The SOUTH WEST Bristol (M5), Gloucester Business Park Exit only		The SOUTH WEST Bristol (M5)
Cheltenham, Stroud A46	Primrose Vale	Cheltenham, Stroud A46
Stow on the Wold A436, Oxford (A40), Cheltenham (East) (A435)	Air Balloon Roundabout	Stow on the Wold A436, Oxford (A40)
Cowley, Caudle Green, Brimpsfield	Cowley Roundabout	Cowley, Caudle Green, Brimpsfield
Syde, Winstone, Elkstone	Winstone Junction	Syde, Winstone, Elkstone
Daglingworth, Bagendon, Perrott's Brook	Daglingworth Junction	Stratton, Daglingworth, Bagendon, Perrott's Brook
Cirencester, Stow A429, Burford (B4425)	Cirencester North Interchange	Cirencester, Stow A429, Lechdale (A417)
Start of A417 (T)	Cirencester South Interchange	Access only
Cirencester Industrial Area, Stroud A419 Exit only		Road becomes A419 (T) to Swindon
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

• British road numbering scheme

References

1. "Driving directions to A417". Google Maps. Google, Inc. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
2. 1922 road list
3. "Major roads investment in the south west". Gov.uk. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

Coordinates: 51°44′47″N 1°58′51″W / 51.74627°N 1.98097°W