The Development of the Arransian Expressway Network
4. 1974-1990
In 1976 the oil crisis had eased a little and the Rostron government restarted construction of the A61 Kilburn-Holborough Expressway, which was completed in 1979. This looks relatively ordinary on the map, but in fact the section bypassing Holborough to the north passes through difficult terrain, and includes a massive cutting and gradients of 1 in 16, which are the steepest on the Expressway network, and are signed as steep hills. There are, however, no crawler lanes for lorries. The alignment at the northern end clearly suggests future extension in the direction of Aydon, Sorbie and the A5, but this remains unbuilt over 25 years later. This road is notable in being crossed at one point by an overhead coal-hopper cableway, and in running through some of the most unrelentingly grim industrial landscapes in the whole of Sabrantia.
No further schemes were given the go-ahead before the 1977 election, and indeed the government were seriously considering whether, in the light of the oil crisis, a less roads-based transport policy was desirable. However, in November 1976 the non-driving Eileen Donaldson was replaced as Minister of Transport by Bill Johnston (1919-87), who had connections with the road haulage industry, and was more favourably inclined towards road construction.
The Liberal leader, Martin Fogarty (1926-2002), had been Minister of Transport in the 1960s, and chose to make road construction and Labour’s supposed betrayal of motorists a key theme in the 1977 election campaign. However, Fogarty was widely perceived as a dull, wooden public speaker and contrasted badly with the avuncular, reassuring Rostron. This election was notable for the Liberals holding a substantial lead in the first round of voting, but Labour coming through to take a narrow victory at the second ballot, with an overall majority of only 2.
During Rostron’s third term of office, a number of further schemes were given the green light, but to nowhere near the extent of 1965-99. Petersburgh-Stainton was finally begun in 1977, and completed in Spring 1982, thus at last establishing a continuous Expressway link from Danby to Hebburn. The towns of Pelforth and Thornholme breathed a profound sigh of relief. This section, with its long straights, uneven gradients and bends of similar curvature, gives the impression of having been designed by a novice, and contrasts badly with the stretches to the north and south, and particularly with the A2 to the border. It is now being completely remodelled as part of the project to widen the entire A1 to 3 lanes.
Then, in 1978, Johnston leapfrogged some of the existing schemes in the pipeline by approving the upgrade of the A1 between Danby and Headlam via Barfleet. This was a very congested stretch serving many industrial sites alongside the Esk. It was also completed in 1982, although the stretch from the A31 junction south to Headlam is in fact a dual-carriageway all-purpose road. This runs through dull, flat countryside with many industrial and warehousing developments.
The final approval under Labour was the A31 Esk Suspension Bridge and its associated connections, signed off in December 1980. This costly project was arguably something of a poisoned chalice for the succeeding government, as it was clear by this time that Labour was trailing badly in the opinion polls and likely to go down to electoral defeat. It is described in more detail in Major Bridges of Arransia. The A31 Expressway is notable for having a three-level stack junction at each end where it meets the A3 and A1, beyond which in each case the A31 dwindles to a single-carriageway road – although on the east side it is at least a three-lane road and there are plans for an ultimate upgrade to Expressway standard. The Esk Bridge was opened in 1986, an impressively rapid pace of construction considering the scale of the project.
By 1981, Fogarty had been replaced as Liberal leader by the younger and more charismatic Adam Sinclair (b 1932), who succeeded in winning a clear but not overwhelming election victory. Sinclair, a former Marine Commando officer, promised decisive action to improve Arransia’s economic performance, in contrast to what he described as the drift, fudge and procrastination of the Rostron years. Fogarty was happy to resume the position of Minister of Transport, and 1981 saw the largest ever announcement of new Expressway schemes in Arransia.
The Partney Bypass section of the A3, approved in principle back in the 1960s, finally got the go-ahead and opened in 1984, in plenty of time to link up with the western end of the A31. Also approved was an Expressway bypass for Ellerdine on the A7, which had originally been planned as three-lane all-purpose road. This opened in 1985, and is a high-quality stretch of road over 20 miles long, but unfortunately suffered, as it still does, from the A7 into Danby still being single-carriageway, much of it only two-lane.
Most important were three schemes along the A5 between the Brunswick border and Hebburn, which so far had scarcely benefited from any modern road improvements, beyond a few three-lane stretches. Although an industrial area, this part of Arransia contained a number of the Liberals’ safest seats, and the MP for Lucker, Lorna Bradshaw (b 1949), elected in 1977, had been particularly vocal in pressing for a bypass for the chronically congested town. Indeed, the bypass of Lucker and Piercebridge was the first to open, in late 1984, and impressively quick piece of construction considering that it included a sizeable concrete viaduct over the Don west of Lucker, with a central span 350 feet wide and 75 feet above high water level to allow shipping to pass up the river.
Next followed the section between a point west of Pentrich, and Hebburn. It should be pointed out that the main line of the A5 had always run to the south of Pentrich, so this was essentially an upgrade rather than the bypass it appears to be on the map. This opened to the west bank of the Tean in 1985, and across the Tean into Hebburn the following year, crossing another concrete viaduct, this time with a central span of 490x94 feet, and with a more prominent arched profile than the one at Lucker. This, incidentally, became the first section of Expressway to take an entirely new number, the A565, and the first to have a three-digit number, as the official main line of the A5 continued to cross the Tean at Gosforth and run through the south of Hebburn. This bridge has become something of an embarrassment, as it was intended to link up with an urban expressway in Hebburn running close to the east bank of the Tean, which was cancelled by the city council in 1987 and has never been revived. The result is that the Expressway crosses the bridge and then via an impressive trumpet junction (which is derestricted) joins Strand Road, a four-lane, 30 mph surface street. There is even a tortuous hill up to the city-centre tunnel.
The final A5 project was the link bypassing Howick and running to the Brunswick border, opened in 1988. This included a 1060-foot suspension bridge over the Burn, which is the longest non-tolled span in Arransia. It has blocky concrete towers of a much less elegant design than the Esk and Don suspension bridges. Howick is Arransia’s fourth-largest port and ships of up to 75,000 tons can navigate the river to the city (although the very largest ones cannot turn round). Like the Hebburn bridge, this scheme took pressure off the city’s transporter bridge, which now serves almost entirely local traffic.
The drawback with these three A5 schemes was that they did not link up, so between Owmby and Pentrich there remains a somewhat dangerous stretch of mostly rural three-lane road, while the route between Howick and Piercebridge continues to pass through the sizeable town of Sorbie. Much of Sorbie is a planned town with very wide streets, unusual in Arransia, and the A5 is notable for the fact that it retains four lanes and a 40 mph speed limit right through the town, although it passes close to the centre and is lined with shops for about 400 yards. The shops do have their own parallel service roads. Work is now underway on the Sorbie Bypass section, due to be completed in 2007, while Owmby-Pentrich is high on the priority list.
A further project approved by the Sinclair administration in 1984 was the A25 Danby northern link, opened in 1987. The A25 had always run west of Danby between the A1 and A3, but this upgraded the northern section from the A1 to A2 to two-lane Expressway standard, and the onward continuation to the A3 to three lanes with an alternating 2+1 lane layout. The extension of the A25 to become a full Expressway ring road of Danby was mooted at this time but is still no further off coming to fruition. The A25/A2 junction added a further three-level stack junction to the Arransian expressway network. The lorry-choked three-lane link to the A3 is widely regarded as one of Arransia’s most inadequate roads and the go-ahead for upgrade to what will probably be a dual three-lane Expressway is expected in 2006.
The divisive and debilitating coal crisis between 1985 and 1987 not surprisingly put new road approvals on the back burner, and only one Expressway scheme was given the go-ahead under the Macrae/Methuen government, the A60 Stainton northern bypass. This, which includes some major cuttings and embankments, was completed in 1991 and provided a long overdue west-to-east diversionary route for the city, taking pressure off the famous “Throughpass”.
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