A449 road

UK road routebox
road= A449
length-mi= 104
length-km= 167.4
direction= North-South
start= Stafford
destinations= Wolverhampton
Kidderminster
Worcester
Ross-on-Wye
end= Newport
construction-date=
completion-date=
junctions= Junction 24
ukroadsmall|34
ukroadsmall|5
ukroadsmall|460
ukroadsmall|457
ukroadsmall|458
ukroadsmall|451
ukroadsmall|456
ukroadsmall|448
ukroadsmall|38
ukroadsmall|4440
ukroadsmall|417
ukroadsmall|40
ukroadsmall|472

The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire.

The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the trunk route from the English Midlands to South Wales, avoiding the Severn Bridge

Route

tafford - Wolverhampton

The A449 starts on the A34 in Stafford, heading southwards out of the town to meet the M6 at junction 13. Between here and Gailey, Staffordshire the road is single carriageway passing through Penkridge. At a roundabout with the A5 the road becomes dual carriageway, forming part of the link between the M54 and M6 North. The road crosses the M54 before entering the urban area of Wolverhampton and meeting the Ring Road.

Wolverhampton - Worcester

The road resumes on the southern side of the Ring Road, serving the south western suburbs before hitting rural Staffordshire, skirting the edge of Dudley and Stourbridge and meeting the A458 at Stourton. The road becomes urban again while passing to the east of Kidderminster, forming a natural bypass for the town. Between Hartlebury and Claines the A449 is once again dual carriageway, but many safety improvements have left the road with a single lane each way and 50 miles per hour speed restriction. North of Worcester, a spur road of the same number heads towards the M5 junction 6, while the main route continues to Worcester, concurrent with the A38.

Worcester - Ross on Wye

South of Worcester, the A449 crosses the A4440 ring road at a roundabout near Powick. The road skirts the slopes of the Malvern Hills, through the town of Great Malvern. Heading into Herefordshire, Ledbury is passed next and the road becomes quite twisty on its approach to Ross on Wye. Between Ross on Wye and Raglan the A449 is concurrent with the A40.

Raglan - Newport

At Raglan the A449 resumes at a grade separated junction and is now dual carriageway all the way to its terminus on the M4 at the Coldra Interchange in Newport.

Former Routes

* The original routing of the road was from Stafford - Wolverhampton - Stourbridge - Bromsgrove
* The villages of Hartlebury and Ombersley have been bypassed
* Part of Ledbury is now bypassed
* Between Raglan and Newport the A449 used to run along a now mostly unclassified road to the west, terminating at junction 25 of the M4

External links

* [http://www.road-to-nowhere.co.uk/route-guides/A449/ Road to Nowhere: A449]