A145 Road

The A145 is an A road in the English county of Suffolk. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12 road. It is around in length and single carriageway throughout.

Route description

The A145 runs from close to the village of North Cove, just east of Worlingham and Beccles, bypassing both places before passing through a rural area on its route to the A12 at Blythburgh. Until 2018 it ran through the town before a relief road was opened passing around the southern edge of Beccles.Another step forward for relief road project
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2014-02-28.Carr J (2017
Work to begin this week on £7m Beccles Southern Relief Road
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2018-05-26.Carr J (2018
New £7m relief road finally opens – with potential to create 3,000 jobs
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-13.Beccles Southern Relief Road opens after 20-year campaign
BBC News, 2018-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-13. At the same time the route was re-designated, the route through the town becoming a 'B' road.Smith A (2018
Joy for campaigners as council agrees to take A-road away from town
''Beccles and Bungay Journal'', 2018-03-05. Retrieved 2018-05-26.

Beccles Relief Road section

Beginning as Copland Way, the A145 has its northernmost point at a roundabout with the A146 road between Worlingham and North Cove to the east of Beccles.''Landranger Sheet 134 – Norwich & the Broads'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 sheet, 2019-09-13.Google maps
Google, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-13. It runs southwards for around through farmland and an industrial area on the site of the World War II Ellough Airfield. The first section of the route was previously designated the B1127. It meets a roundabout on the south-eastern edge of the industrial area before turning to head west for along the southern edges of Worlingham and Beccles across farmland, bypassing the town. Along this section the road is crossed by Regional Cycle Route 31.Beccles cycle route map
, Suffolk County Council, September 2010. Retrieved 2014-03-02.

Prior to the opening of the Beccles Southern Relief road in October 2018, the road started on the northern edge Beccles at a roundabout junction with the A146. It passed through the town, splitting to form a one-way system before passing through an industrial area on the southern edge of the town.''Landranger Sheet 134 – Norwich & the Broads'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 sheet (2012 edition), 2012-11-28. Before the building of the Beccles northern bypass in the 1980s, the A145 began at the junction of London Road and Blyburgate, with the roads through the town centre being designated as the A146.Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile, Seventh Series, 1952-1961
available at the National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2014-03-02.

The road rejoins its previous route at a roundabout south of the town centre where it heads in a southerly direction.

Rural section

To the south of Beccles the A145 becomes a rural route. It runs through the parishes of Weston, Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield immediately to the south of the town. In Weston it passes the former Duke of Marlborough public houseWeston, Duke of Marlborough
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and close to the Grade II* listed Weston Hall, built in the late 16th century for John Rede,Weston Hall, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and the 12th century parish church of St Peter which can be seen from the road at the junction with Church Lane.Church of St Peter, Weston
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-02-28. A small section of Willingham St Mary follows before the route reaches Shadingfield where it passes the Shadingfield Fox public house, the village hall and a water tower. The village is linear and extends for around ; at its southern edge the road passes the Grade I listed medieval church of St John the BaptistChurch of St John the Baptist, Shadingfield
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01. and Hill Farmhouse, dating from the 16th century and Grade II* listed.Hill Farmhouse, Shadingfield
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01.

South of Shadingfield the A145 passes through the parish of Brampton with Stoven. The village of Brampton is dispersed across a wide area either side of the road. At Brampton crossroads it passes the former Dog public house which closed in 1999 and is now a guesthouse.Brampton, Dog
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. The crossroads were the site of the original Brampton Primary School and a post office, both of which are now private residences. A cast iron milestone stands at the crossroads alongside the village sign. Dating from 1822, the milestone was discovered and restored in 2010 before being replaced. It indicates that Beccles is 5 miles to the north, Great Yarmouth 19 miles and Norwich 23 miles and that the crossroads are 104 miles from London.Lost Suffolk milestone rediscovered
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2014-02-28. A number of similar milestones can be seen along the road in this section.Milestones in Suffolk
Milestonesweb. Retrieved 2014-03-01. From the crossroads Station Road to the west leads to Brampton railway station, some away, whilst Southwold Road runs eastward, passing Brampton Primary School before heading towards Stoven and Wangford.

The A145 passes the Grade I listed Brampton church, dedicated to St Peter and with a 15th-century tower,Church of St Peter, Brampton with Stoven
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2014-03-01. before turning sharply and reaching a junction with the B1124 Halesworth road. It continues into the parish of Sotherton, passing the former Cross Bows Inn alongside the road,Sotherton, Cross Bows
Suffolk CAMRA. Retrieved 2014-02-28. and then into Wangford with Henham where it passes along the western edge of Henham Park, the site of the Latitude festival, a major music and arts festival held annually in July, and the Grand Henham Steam Rally, held in September. The park was the site of Henham Hall, originally a Tudor house dating from the early 16th century. The original building burned down in 1773 and was replaced with a Georgian mansion in 1790. This was pulled down in 1953. An archaeological dig of the site featured in the ''Time Team'' television programme in January 2013.Henham Park
Dig report, Time Team, Channel 4. Retrieved 2014-02-28.

The road then runs into the parish of Blythburgh where a junction with the B1123 at Bulcamp leads towards Halesworth. The Battle of Bulcamp occurred here in 653 or 654 AD between the forces of Anna of East Anglia and Penda of Mercia. Anna, the King of East Anglia, was defeated and killed along with his son Jurmin. Both are believed to have been buried at Blythburgh Priory.S. E. Kelly, 'Anna (d. 654?)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 201
accessed 2014-03-08.
/ref>Warner, Peter (1996) ''The Origins of Suffolk'', Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. The main A12 road is reached at the southern end of the A145, around north of the village of Blythburgh,''Landranger Sheet 156 – Saxmundham, Aldeburgh & Southwold'', Ordnance Survey 1:50 000 map sheet, 2008-08-27. at a junction overlooking the estuary of the River Blyth.

Road safety

The A145 is generally straight and has no record of significant safety issues. It has generally been rated as medium or low–medium risk in European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) surveys.Norfolk's most dangerous road routes revealed
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Simple Measures Save Lives
, Road Safety Foundation, May 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Measuring to Manage – Tracking the safety of Britain's major road network
, Road Safety Foundation, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02. There were 8 fatalities associated with road traffic accidents along its length between 1999 and 2010.Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010
BBC news website. Data extracted for incidents on the A145 in Waveney District. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Accidents have occurred at Henham Park,Family mourn after road death
''Ipswich Star'', 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2014-03-02. BramptonBrampton: Man dies after fatal collision in Suffolk village
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2014-03-02. and Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield.Woman priest dies after collision
BBC news website, 2006-03-23. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Ex-teacher and priest killed in crash
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Cyclist critical after crash on Willingham road
BBC news website, 2011-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Shadingfield: Emergency services attend serious crash on the A145 London Road
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2014-03-02. The road is limited to 30 miles per hour for a distance of around in Shadingfield and either side of Brampton crossroads. On the approach to the A12 at Blythburgh a speed limit of 40 mph is applied. Suffolk Constabulary operate mobile speed cameras on the road to enforce speed limits.Safecam
Suffolk Constabulary. Retrieved 2014-03-02. An off-road cycle lane and footpath is in use alongside the section made up of the Beccles Southern Relief Road, with street lighting on the roundabouts at each end of this stretch. Outside of this there is limited street lighting in place along the road.

The Latitude Festival attracts a significant amount of road traffic and delays around the site at Henham and the junction of the A145 with the A12 are common over the festival weekend.Latitude: Travellers to festival can expect a long wait on A12
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2013-07-20 Retrieved 2014-03-02. The A145 and other approach roads are generally subject to temporary speed limits, diversions, no stopping orders and one way systems to ease traffic flow.Henham: Bid to ease traffic congestion around Latitude Festival site
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2014-03-02.LATITUDE PREVIEW: Guide to avoiding the heavy traffic at Latitude 2012
, ''Norwich Evening News'', 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2014-03-02.Latitude: Traffic restrictions put in place on A12 and A145 to keep festival traffic moving
''Ipswich Star'', 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2014-03-02. Organisers have attempted to encourage festival goers to use cycle or bus transport to minimise congestion.Latitude traffic and travel arrangements
Festivals for All, 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2014-03-02.

References

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Roads in England
Roads in Suffolk