A6/Bedford - Kettering
| A6 | ||||||||||
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| From: | Bedford (TL038508) | |||||||||
| To: | Burton Latimer (SP896761) | |||||||||
| Meets: | A5141, A5028, A5001, B645, A45, B5348, B571, A510, A14, A6003 | |||||||||
| Highway Authorities | ||||||||||
Bedford Council • Northamptonshire Council | ||||||||||
| Counties | ||||||||||
Bedfordshire • Northamptonshire | ||||||||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||||||||
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After leaving Bedford, the A6 soon passes Clapham. Until 2002 the A6 ran through Clapham, but a bypass was built. This opened on 12 December 2002 and is called Paula Radcliffe Way. The bypass is built to dual-carriageway standard and includes two grade-separated junctions. The bypass crosses the Great Ouse twice, on Paula Radcliffe Way Bridge 1 and Paula Radcliffe Way Bridge 2.
At the end of the Clapham bypass, the road becomes single-carriageway again and rejoins its original alignment for a short distance. The A6 meets only unclassified roads through this section by way of give-way junctions and one roundabout.
After about ten miles, the A6 bypasses Rushden and Higham Ferrrers. This bypass opened on 14 August 2003. Up to the second A5028 roundabout (junction with John Clark Way), the bypass is single-carriageway. From here the road is dual-carriageway until the end of the bypass although there is a flat roundabout midway through the dual-carriageway part. Here the A6 meets the B645. The bypass ends at a roundabout with the A45 and A5028.
The A6 then crosses the River Nene, on the impressive Irthlingborough Viaduct, after which it passes Irthlingborough itself, then runs through the village of Finedon where it meets the A510.
A few miles later, the A6 bypasses Burton Latimer. This is a single-carriageway bypass (although with a short section of D1 at a junction with unclassified roads) and opened in the 90s.
