The A509 is a short A-class road (around long) for north–south journeys in south central England, forming the route from

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

to the A5 in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

, via M1 junction 14. From north to south, the road begins at Wicksteed Park in the outskirts of

. It then crosses the A14 (where it becomes a

primary route Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

) and goes through Isham and Great Harrowden. After this it goes on to form the

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a market town in the North Northamptonshire, Unitary Authority area, England, from London and from Northampton, north of the River Nene. Originally named "Wendelingburgh" (the stronghold of Wændel's people), the Anglo ...

western bypass before leaving Northamptonshire to cross into the

City of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Regions of England, Regio ...

(and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

). From there, it crosses the A428 at a roundabout and cuts through the centre of Olney. South of Olney the road passes Emberton, meeting the A422 just north-east of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

, where the routes multiplex to form the Newport Pagnell eastern bypass. South of Newport Pagnell, the routes diverge at a roundabout with the A509 turning south and the A422 continuing westbound. Here the A509 is a single carriageway once more until it crosses the M1 at junction 14, where it enters the Milton Keynes urban area. Continuing westwards from here, the road once more becomes a dual carriageway, running for a further past the edge of

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in ...

(the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of the city), to link up finally with the A5. Through Milton Keynes, the road is additionally known as the grid road H5 Portway.

Proposed Isham bypass

The A509 Isham Bypass is a proposal by

North Northamptonshire Council North Northamptonshire Council is the local authority for North Northamptonshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the funct ...

to improve transport links between Kettering and Wellingborough, to improve access from Wellingborough to the A14, and to remove 'through traffic' from Isham village. A bid for Major Road Network funding was submitted to the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

(DfT)in March 2020, with a Strategic Outline Business Case in December 2020. In October 2021, £1.9million of funding from the DfT was secured towards the next stages of developing the proposals for the bypass. A planning application for the bypass was due to be submitted in July 2023.

References

Roads in England Transport in Northamptonshire Transport in Buckinghamshire Roads in Milton Keynes Roads forming part of the Milton Keynes grid road system {{England-road-stub