The A174 is a major road in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It runs from the

A19 road The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in ...

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

, across South Teesside and down the

Yorkshire Coast The Yorkshire Coast runs from the River Tees, Tees estuary to the Humber estuary, on the east coast of England. The cliffs at Boulby are the highest on the east coast of England, rising to above the sea level. The North York Moors, North York ...

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

. The A174 is the coastal route between Teesside and Whitby; the alternative road, the A171, is described as being the moorland route.

Route description

The route starts at Thornaby Road with a junction on the A1044 road going eastwards towards the

. This section was single carriageway, but it was upgraded as part of the long-term plans for the area. After the junction with the A19, the route cuts across South Teesside taking an east/west cut past Normanby,

Ormesby Ormesby is a village and area split between the unitary authority areas of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. Demographics The Ormesby ward, including Overfields and Ormesby Hall, ...

and

Eston Eston is a former industrial town in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary area of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the outlying settlements of Grangetown, North Yorkshire, Grangetown, Normanby, Redcar and Clevel ...

to a junction with the A1053 road to Grangetown. It is here that it loses its Trunk Road status (this carries on up the A1053), but the dual carriageway A174 continues east towards

Yearby Yearby is a village in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located half a mile south of Kirkleatham on the B1269 road to Guisborough, close to Marske-by-the-Sea. History Historica ...

before becoming a single carriageway. The route of A1053 and A174, is the preferred route inwards and outwards to and from the A19 for traffic going to and from

Teesport Teesport is a large sea port located in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, Northern England. Owned by PD Ports, it is located approximately inland from the North Sea and east of Middle ...

. The road turns south at

New Marske New Marske is a village in North Yorkshire, England, a mile south-west of Marske-by-the-Sea on a hillside. It was originally a group of miners' terraced houses. Longbeck railway station links it to Saltburn, Middlesbrough and Darlington. Ne ...

before going in a generally south easterly direction towards

. The road south of

Sandsend Sandsend is a small fishing village, near to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Lythe. It is the birthplace of fishing magnate George Pyman. Originally two villages, Sandsend and East Row, the united San ...

was opened out providing a wider carriageway by cutting into the cliff on the west side. Spoil from this project was dumped into Rawthwaite Valley just to the north, infilling a large part of the valley. The road at Sandsend was strengthened in 2015 on account of the effect of the sea upon its base. Over £7 million was spent on the road to prevent future erosion issues. The section from

Hinderwell Hinderwell is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England which lies within the North York Moors National Park, about a mile from the coast on the A174 road between the towns of Loftus and Whitby. The 2011 UK census states Hinderw ...

through Sandsend along the coast to Whitby is a recommended drive by ''The Telegraph'', which states the road "sweeps down to Whitby".

Bypasses

In February 2001, a diversion was opened between Skelton-in-Cleveland and Brotton. The new road cost £14.5 million and work had begun in January 1996 and involved building on a 3,000 year old

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

fort. At the same time, the old A174 route through Saltburn-by-the-Sea, was downgraded form 'A' road status and money was spent on traffic calming measures. Proposals have been put forward to widen the road between Yearby and New Marske to dual carriageway status. The dual carriageway ends near Yearby and drivers have been caught speeding along the single carriageway stretch.

Safety

The trunk section of road between Thornaby and Lazenby is noted by the Highway Agency as being in the middle zone for casualties and accidents, with the short spur up to Grangetown (the A1053 road) being in the top zone for casualties and accidents. The roundabout between the A1053 and the A174 is also noted for being an accident blackspot.

References

Sources

External links

A174 on SABRE roads
{{DEFAULTSORT:1-0174 Roads in Yorkshire Transport in North Yorkshire