A595 road
Encyclopedia
The A595 is a primary route in Cumbria
, in northern England
that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven
, and goes close to Workington
, Cockermouth
and Wigton
. It passes Sellafield
and Ravenglass
before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness
by-pass, in southern Cumbria, where it joins the A590
trunk road. The road is mostly single carriageway
, apart from in central Carlisle, where it passes the castle
as a busy dual carriageway
road named Castle Way, and prior to that as Bridge Street and Church Street, where it passes close to the McVitie's
or Carr's
biscuit
factory. The Lillyhall bypass is also dual carriageway.
The road in the Whitehaven
area was laid out in the 1930s and the A595 was designated a trunk route in 1946. It was detrunked in 1998, apart from an 18 miles (29 km) section between Little Clifton and Calderbridge. This section represents the route from Sellafield
to the A66.
At Dove Ford in Grizebeck the road passes through a farmyard.
and Tullie House. Prior to the construction of Castle Way, the road was split in 2 at this section. It then continues over Caldew Bridge to a thoroughfare called Caldewgate, before arriving at a roundabout close the McVitie's
factory in the city centre. It then follows the route of Wigton Road through the district of Morton, before reaching the outer boundary of Carlisle. At this point it passes the proposed start point of the Carlisle Northern Development Route, where construction work commenced in 2009. This route will be the A689. A further roundabout was constructed in 2011 around 1 mile south of Carlisle in anticpation of increased traffic for a nearby garden centre development.
The route continues in a south-westerly direction until it reaches a roundabout on the outskirts of Thursby
at a junction with A596. The roads previously met in the centre of the village of Thursby, before the construction of the Thursby bypass in the 1980s. The A595 runs largely parallel to A596, before the A596 terminates in Workington.
The road then continues in a southerly direction, passing close to the town of Wigton
. A staggered crossroads at the section provides access to Wigton
and also the B5305 towards Penrith
. The twin transmitters of Caldbeck
and Sandale are visible close to this section of the road.
The next section follows a meandering path through several hamlets, before reaching the village of Bothel
, where the A591 from Keswick
terminates. The road then passes the site of the former Moota motel. This section of the route is notable for the two long straight sections, which are fairly rare on the A595. The road once again meanders until the roundabout junction with the A594
road from Cockermouth
to Maryport
. It then passes over the River Derwent via Papcastle Bridge before turning west and becoming the part of the A66 until Little Clifton. During the 2009 Cumbrian floods, the Papcastle bridge was briefly closed, essentially splitting West Cumbria in two. With bridge collapses and damage on the nearby A596, and a road closure on the A591, the only passable route to anywhere north of the River Derwent was via the A66
and M6
to Carlisle - a diversion of over 90 miles (144.8 km).
At this point the road turns towards Lillyhall, passing through Lillyhall Industrial Estate and joining the Distington
bypass, constructed in 2008. This section of road is notable as it is the only section of national speed limit dual carriageway along the whole length of the road. The end of the dual carriageway section is a roundabout junction near Lowca
rejoining the original A595 road. It is then a short journey along the coast to the edge of Whitehaven
.
passing the suburbs of The Highlands, Hill Crest and Hensingham
. It forms the Hensingham
bypass at this section, constructed in the 1980s to ease the passage of construction traffic to Sellafield
through a particularly narrow and busy section of the road. It then passes close to West Cumberland Hospital
and West Lakes Science & Technology Park. There is a campaign to build a bypass from the recently built Distington
Bypass to this part of the A595 to ease congestion in the Whitehaven
area.
After this, the road the passes near to Moor Row
and through the centre of Bigrigg, before heading downhill to Egremont
. The northbound side of the road here was upgraded in the 1980s to provide an extra uphill lane for overtaking due to the steep gradient. At the bottom of the hill the roundabout forms a junction with the B5086 which gives access to Cleator Moor
and eventually Cockermouth
.
The A595 the forms the Egremont
bypass. This bypass was built in the early 90s as a result of an investment by BNFL
in local infrastructure following the siting of the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield
. Prior to the bypass, the A595 originally passed right through the middle of town of Egremont. Once past the village of Thornhill, you can then see the sprawling Sellafield
nuclear site. Twin cooling towers previously dominated the skyline here. However, they were demolished in 2007.
The road then passes Beckermet
and Calder Bridge, junctions here give access to the Sellafield
site. It keeps moving south into a sparsely populated area of Cumbria. It passes just inside the Lake District National Park
boundary and near the village of Ravenglass
. Moving back out of the national park, it passes through Waberthwaite and Bootle
and round the foot of Black Combe
.
At Silecroft the road has a TOTSO (turn off to stay on) junction with the A5093, close to the town of Millom
. The road then carries on south to the Duddon Bridge, which previously marked the southern boundary of the historic county of Cumberland
. The road later forms the Broughton-in-Furness
bypass, before turning north to join the old A595, then once again turning sharply south. The A5092 then branches off the road to connect with the A590. This route also provides a short-cut for traffic heading towards the M6
.
The road finally passes through Kirkby-in-Furness
and Askam-in-Furness before terminating 1.8 miles (2.9 km) further south at a roundabout junction with the A590 on the Dalton-in-Furness
bypass.
The last section of the road is particularly narrow and even passes through a farmyard.
Bypass it had only one small section of dual carriageway. The southern section of the road around New Mill does not have a secondary route. When this section is closed due to an accident or roadworks, the detour routes are via Wrynose and Hardknott mountain passes for cars, and via the M6 J40 for HGVs, the latter being a detour of 120 miles (193.1 km). The poor safety record of the road is highlighted by signs erected on the route stating "1245 casualties in 5 years".
of Carlisle, which would replace the existing A595 through the city (Wigton Road, Church Street, Bridge Street and Castle Way) and reduce congestion on the city's roads. The new road would be of single carriageway standard, with a number of roundabout
junctions, as well as a new bridge over the River Eden
. The route would begin near Newby West (to the west of the city), before meeting the B5307 (the road to Abbeytown
). Shortly afterwards it would cross over the River Eden, and curve round to the north of the Kingstown Industrial Estate, and terminate at Junction 44 of the M6 motorway
.
The development of the route has suffered several setbacks. In August 2008 a discovery of a great crested newt
colony led to a delay in the start of the project. In February 2009 a potentially important Stone Age
find was discovered during surveying work. The most serious problem to face the development was the near collapse of the bank providing the funds under a private finance initiative
. Belgian bank Dexia
was involved in a £5 billion bailout during the Credit Crunch
. A consortium of banks later stepped into to provide the funding, and construction is currently underway.
at Lillyhall to a new junction created close to the A595 junction for Lowca. The new road replaces a winding, narrow section of the A595 which passed through the village of Distington. Prior to this project the A595 was considered for de-trunking, meaning the scheme would have become the responsibility of Cumbria County Council. However, it was not de-trunked, and has instead been listed in the government's Targeted Programme of Improvements.
MP Jamie Reed
and Cumbria
County Council leader Stewart Young have been pressing the UK government for an eastern relief road to take the A595 away from a bottleneck through the town of Whitehaven
. The proposed route would connect with recent Parton to Lillyhall bypass, it would then pass to the east of the town, past the newly proposed replacement for West Cumberland Hospital, then finally passing West Lakes Science & Technology Park before joining the current A595 south of Whitehaven
. Plans are being drawn up as part of the Energy Coast masterplan to regenerate West Cumbria.
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, in northern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that starts in Carlisle, passes through Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
, and goes close to Workington
Workington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
, Cockermouth
Cockermouth
-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
and Wigton
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
. It passes Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
and Ravenglass
Ravenglass
Ravenglass is a small coastal village and natural harbour in Cumbria, England. It is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park...
before ending at the Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness is a small town of 8,394 people, north east of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, England.-History:Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, written as "Daltune" as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. Historically, it was the capital of Furness...
by-pass, in southern Cumbria, where it joins the A590
A590 road
The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Vickerstown on Walney Island. The road is a mixture of dual carriageway and single carriageway,...
trunk road. The road is mostly single carriageway
Single carriageway
A single carriageway is a road with 1, 2 or more lanes arranged within a single carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. Two-lane road or two-lane highway are single carriageway with one lane for each direction...
, apart from in central Carlisle, where it passes the castle
Carlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle is situated in Carlisle, in the English county of Cumbria, near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. The castle is over 900 years old and has been the scene of many historical episodes in British history. Given the proximity of Carlisle to the border between England and Scotland, it...
as a busy dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
road named Castle Way, and prior to that as Bridge Street and Church Street, where it passes close to the McVitie's
McVitie's
McVitie's is a snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The firm moved to various sites in the city before completing the St...
or Carr's
Carr's
Carr's is the name of foodstuff and agricultural brands historically derived from founder Jonathan Dodgson Carr but now owned and marketed by more than one separate company. In 1831, Carr formed a small bakery and biscuit factory in the English city of Carlisle; he received a royal warrant in 1841...
biscuit
Biscuit
A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....
factory. The Lillyhall bypass is also dual carriageway.
The road in the Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
area was laid out in the 1930s and the A595 was designated a trunk route in 1946. It was detrunked in 1998, apart from an 18 miles (29 km) section between Little Clifton and Calderbridge. This section represents the route from Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
to the A66.
At Dove Ford in Grizebeck the road passes through a farmyard.
Northern section
The 85 miles (136.8 km) long A595 is also known as the Cumbrian Coast Road despite much of the road following in an inland route. Starting at the Hardwicke Circus roundabout junction with the A7 in Carlisle, it forms a short section of dual carriageway known as Castle Way. This section passes Carlisle CastleCarlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle is situated in Carlisle, in the English county of Cumbria, near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. The castle is over 900 years old and has been the scene of many historical episodes in British history. Given the proximity of Carlisle to the border between England and Scotland, it...
and Tullie House. Prior to the construction of Castle Way, the road was split in 2 at this section. It then continues over Caldew Bridge to a thoroughfare called Caldewgate, before arriving at a roundabout close the McVitie's
McVitie's
McVitie's is a snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The firm moved to various sites in the city before completing the St...
factory in the city centre. It then follows the route of Wigton Road through the district of Morton, before reaching the outer boundary of Carlisle. At this point it passes the proposed start point of the Carlisle Northern Development Route, where construction work commenced in 2009. This route will be the A689. A further roundabout was constructed in 2011 around 1 mile south of Carlisle in anticpation of increased traffic for a nearby garden centre development.
The route continues in a south-westerly direction until it reaches a roundabout on the outskirts of Thursby
Thursby
Thursby is a village near Carlisle in north-western England. West of Thursby is the church of St Andrews, built in 1846. It was not the first church on the site; one existed since the 6th century....
at a junction with A596. The roads previously met in the centre of the village of Thursby, before the construction of the Thursby bypass in the 1980s. The A595 runs largely parallel to A596, before the A596 terminates in Workington.
The road then continues in a southerly direction, passing close to the town of Wigton
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
. A staggered crossroads at the section provides access to Wigton
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
and also the B5305 towards Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
. The twin transmitters of Caldbeck
Caldbeck
Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland, the village had 714 inhabitants according to the census of 2001. It lies on the northern edge of the Lake District. The nearest town is Wigton, 6 miles north east of the village...
and Sandale are visible close to this section of the road.
The next section follows a meandering path through several hamlets, before reaching the village of Bothel
Bothel, Cumbria
Bothel is a small village in Cumbria, North-western England. It is situated just off the main A595 road, eighteen miles from Carlisle and seven miles from Cockermouth. The village is in the civil parish of Bothel and Threapland just outside the boundary of the Lake District National Park...
, where the A591 from Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
terminates. The road then passes the site of the former Moota motel. This section of the route is notable for the two long straight sections, which are fairly rare on the A595. The road once again meanders until the roundabout junction with the A594
A594 road (Cumbria)
The A594 is a main road in Cumbria, that runs between the A596 in Maryport and the A595 on the outskirts of Cockermouth. Its total length is around .Curiously, the inner ring road in Leicester is also numbered as the A594....
road from Cockermouth
Cockermouth
-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
to Maryport
Maryport
Maryport is a town and civil parish within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is located on the A596 road north of Workington, and is the southernmost town on the Solway Firth. Maryport railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. The town is in...
. It then passes over the River Derwent via Papcastle Bridge before turning west and becoming the part of the A66 until Little Clifton. During the 2009 Cumbrian floods, the Papcastle bridge was briefly closed, essentially splitting West Cumbria in two. With bridge collapses and damage on the nearby A596, and a road closure on the A591, the only passable route to anywhere north of the River Derwent was via the A66
A66 road
The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria...
and M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
to Carlisle - a diversion of over 90 miles (144.8 km).
At this point the road turns towards Lillyhall, passing through Lillyhall Industrial Estate and joining the Distington
Distington
Distington is a large village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, south of Workington and north-northeast of Whitehaven.Historically a part of Cumberland, the civil parish includes the nearby settlements of Common End, Gilgarran and Pica...
bypass, constructed in 2008. This section of road is notable as it is the only section of national speed limit dual carriageway along the whole length of the road. The end of the dual carriageway section is a roundabout junction near Lowca
Lowca
Lowca is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria. It was formerly a mining area but is now noted for its wind farm.In 1800, brothers Adam, Thomas and Crosby Heslop, formerly associated with the ironworks at Seaton near Workington established an iron foundry and engineering...
rejoining the original A595 road. It is then a short journey along the coast to the edge of Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
.
Southern section
The road passes through Loop Road North & Loop Road South in WhitehavenWhitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
passing the suburbs of The Highlands, Hill Crest and Hensingham
Hensingham
Hensingham is a suburb of the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven.The village is located to the south-east of Whitehaven on the A595 road, close to the Mirehouse housing estate and Moresby Parks. It has a Spar convenience store and several pubs – including The Distressed Sailors, The Lowther Arms,...
. It forms the Hensingham
Hensingham
Hensingham is a suburb of the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven.The village is located to the south-east of Whitehaven on the A595 road, close to the Mirehouse housing estate and Moresby Parks. It has a Spar convenience store and several pubs – including The Distressed Sailors, The Lowther Arms,...
bypass at this section, constructed in the 1980s to ease the passage of construction traffic to Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
through a particularly narrow and busy section of the road. It then passes close to West Cumberland Hospital
West Cumberland Hospital
West Cumberland Hospital is a hospital in Hensingham, a suburb of Whitehaven in Cumbria.Under the management of the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, they serve 34,000 residents in north Cumbria....
and West Lakes Science & Technology Park. There is a campaign to build a bypass from the recently built Distington
Distington
Distington is a large village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, south of Workington and north-northeast of Whitehaven.Historically a part of Cumberland, the civil parish includes the nearby settlements of Common End, Gilgarran and Pica...
Bypass to this part of the A595 to ease congestion in the Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
area.
After this, the road the passes near to Moor Row
Moor Row
Moor Row is a village situated in North West England. It is in Cumbria and is located on a minor road off the A595 road south of Whitehaven.Moor Row is a residential community situated between Whitehaven and Egremont on Cumbria's coastal plain...
and through the centre of Bigrigg, before heading downhill to Egremont
Egremont, Cumbria
Egremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
. The northbound side of the road here was upgraded in the 1980s to provide an extra uphill lane for overtaking due to the steep gradient. At the bottom of the hill the roundabout forms a junction with the B5086 which gives access to Cleator Moor
Cleator Moor
Cleator Moor is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria and within the boundaries of the traditional county of Cumberland....
and eventually Cockermouth
Cockermouth
-History:The Romans created a fort at Derventio, now the adjoining village of Papcastle, to protect the river crossing, which had become located on a major route for troops heading towards Hadrian's Wall....
.
The A595 the forms the Egremont
Egremont, Cumbria
Egremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
bypass. This bypass was built in the early 90s as a result of an investment by BNFL
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
in local infrastructure following the siting of the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
. Prior to the bypass, the A595 originally passed right through the middle of town of Egremont. Once past the village of Thornhill, you can then see the sprawling Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
nuclear site. Twin cooling towers previously dominated the skyline here. However, they were demolished in 2007.
The road then passes Beckermet
Beckermet
Beckermet is a village, civil parish and post town in the English county of Cumbria, located near the coast between Egremont and Seascale. Historically within Cumberland, it is served by Braystones railway station and is less than a mile west of the A595 road...
and Calder Bridge, junctions here give access to the Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
site. It keeps moving south into a sparsely populated area of Cumbria. It passes just inside the Lake District National Park
Lake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Parks and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District....
boundary and near the village of Ravenglass
Ravenglass
Ravenglass is a small coastal village and natural harbour in Cumbria, England. It is the only coastal town within the Lake District National Park...
. Moving back out of the national park, it passes through Waberthwaite and Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
and round the foot of Black Combe
Black Combe
Black Combe is a fell in the south-west corner of the Lake District National Park, just four miles from the Irish Sea. It lies near the west coast of Cumbria in the borough of Copeland and more specifically, an area known as South Copeland...
.
At Silecroft the road has a TOTSO (turn off to stay on) junction with the A5093, close to the town of Millom
Millom
Millom is a town and civil parish on the estuary of the River Duddon in the southwest of Cumbria, England. The name is Cumbrian dialect for "At the mills". The town is accessible both by rail and an A class road...
. The road then carries on south to the Duddon Bridge, which previously marked the southern boundary of the historic county of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
. The road later forms the Broughton-in-Furness
Broughton-in-Furness
Broughton in Furness is a small town on the southern boundary of England's Lake District National Park. It is located in the Furness region of Cumbria, which was part of Lancashire before 1974...
bypass, before turning north to join the old A595, then once again turning sharply south. The A5092 then branches off the road to connect with the A590. This route also provides a short-cut for traffic heading towards the M6
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
.
The road finally passes through Kirkby-in-Furness
Kirkby-in-Furness
Kirkby-in-Furness is a village in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. It is about 5 km south of Broughton in Furness and 8 km northwest of Ulverston. It is one of the largest villages on the peninsula's north-western coast, looking out over the Duddon estuary and the mountains of the...
and Askam-in-Furness before terminating 1.8 miles (2.9 km) further south at a roundabout junction with the A590 on the Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness is a small town of 8,394 people, north east of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, England.-History:Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, written as "Daltune" as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. Historically, it was the capital of Furness...
bypass.
The last section of the road is particularly narrow and even passes through a farmyard.
Safety
The road, along with the A66, is considered to be the most dangerous road in Cumbria. There are several accident blackspots along the length of the road. One of the most notable is a stretch known as Moota, which is regularly the scene of fatal accidents. The northern section was formerly a trunk road, but until the recent completion of the DistingtonDistington
Distington is a large village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, south of Workington and north-northeast of Whitehaven.Historically a part of Cumberland, the civil parish includes the nearby settlements of Common End, Gilgarran and Pica...
Bypass it had only one small section of dual carriageway. The southern section of the road around New Mill does not have a secondary route. When this section is closed due to an accident or roadworks, the detour routes are via Wrynose and Hardknott mountain passes for cars, and via the M6 J40 for HGVs, the latter being a detour of 120 miles (193.1 km). The poor safety record of the road is highlighted by signs erected on the route stating "1245 casualties in 5 years".
Carlisle Northern Development Route (A689)
The Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) is a proposed 4 miles (6.4 km) long north-western bypassBypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
of Carlisle, which would replace the existing A595 through the city (Wigton Road, Church Street, Bridge Street and Castle Way) and reduce congestion on the city's roads. The new road would be of single carriageway standard, with a number of roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
junctions, as well as a new bridge over the River Eden
River Eden, Cumbria
The River Eden is a river that flows through Cumbria, England on its way to the Solway Firth.-Course of river:The Eden rises in Black Fell Moss, Mallerstang, on the high ground between High Seat, Yorkshire Dales and Hugh Seat. Here it forms the boundary between the counties of Cumbria and North...
. The route would begin near Newby West (to the west of the city), before meeting the B5307 (the road to Abbeytown
Abbeytown
Abbeytown, also known as Holme Abbey, is a village in Cumbria, England. It was built around the former Cistercian Holmcultram Abbey, the nave of the church of which now serves the parish as St. Mary's Church...
). Shortly afterwards it would cross over the River Eden, and curve round to the north of the Kingstown Industrial Estate, and terminate at Junction 44 of the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
.
The development of the route has suffered several setbacks. In August 2008 a discovery of a great crested newt
Great Crested Newt
The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
colony led to a delay in the start of the project. In February 2009 a potentially important Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
find was discovered during surveying work. The most serious problem to face the development was the near collapse of the bank providing the funds under a private finance initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
. Belgian bank Dexia
Dexia
Dexia N.V./S.A., also referred to as the Dexia Group, is a Belgian-French financial institution active in public finance, providing retail and commercial banking services to individuals and SMEs, asset management, and insurance...
was involved in a £5 billion bailout during the Credit Crunch
Credit crunch
A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...
. A consortium of banks later stepped into to provide the funding, and construction is currently underway.
Parton to Lillyhall improvements
The Parton to Lillyhall bypass was opened on December 2008 after a period of 18 months construction. The road runs from the junction with the A596 roadA596 road
The A596 is a primary route in Cumbria, in northern England, that runs between Thursby and Workington. For its entirety the A596 parallels the A595, and meets the A595 at both ends. The A596 begins its course at a roundabout junction with the A595 at Thursby, before continuing past the towns of...
at Lillyhall to a new junction created close to the A595 junction for Lowca. The new road replaces a winding, narrow section of the A595 which passed through the village of Distington. Prior to this project the A595 was considered for de-trunking, meaning the scheme would have become the responsibility of Cumbria County Council. However, it was not de-trunked, and has instead been listed in the government's Targeted Programme of Improvements.
Whitehaven Eastern Relief Road
CopelandCopeland (UK Parliament constituency)
Copeland is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
MP Jamie Reed
Jamie Reed
Jamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Copeland in Cumbria since 2005, replacing Copeland's long-serving former MP Jack Cunningham.-Early life:...
and Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
County Council leader Stewart Young have been pressing the UK government for an eastern relief road to take the A595 away from a bottleneck through the town of Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
. The proposed route would connect with recent Parton to Lillyhall bypass, it would then pass to the east of the town, past the newly proposed replacement for West Cumberland Hospital, then finally passing West Lakes Science & Technology Park before joining the current A595 south of Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
. Plans are being drawn up as part of the Energy Coast masterplan to regenerate West Cumbria.