The A642 is an A-road

Great Britain road numbering scheme

The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Great Britain. Each road is given a single letter, which represents the road's category, and a subsequent number, with a length of between 1 and 4 digits. Originally introduced to arrange...

 in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, 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...

 which runs from Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

 to the A64

A64 road

The A64 is a road in North and West Yorkshire, England which links Leeds, York and Scarborough. The A64 starts as the A64 ring road motorway in Leeds and then is a dual carriageway for the rest of its route, except parts of the road from Malton to Scarborough.The road approximates a section of the...

 near Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

. It connects with the M1

M1 motorway

The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

, M62

M62 motorway

The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...

 and A63

A63 road

The A63 is a major road in Yorkshire, England between Leeds and Hull.-Leeds – Howden:The route out to Selby is shadowed by the Leeds-Selby railway....

.

The road begins at Waterloo 2 miles (3 km) east of the town centre before going on via Lepton, Grange Moor

Grange Moor

Grange Moor is a village between Huddersfield and Wakefield in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. The village is represented on Kirkburton Parish council and is in the Kirkburton ward of Kirklees Council....

, Middlestown

Middlestown

Middlestown is a small village in West Yorkshire, England, in the civil parish of Sitlington. The villages of Middlestown, Netherton, Overton and Midgley are built around and overlook the Coxley Valley....

, Horbury

Horbury

-Demography:In 2008 Horbury had a largely white population compared with Yorkshire and the Humber.-Population change:The population of Horbury in 2001 was 10,002-Transport:...

(where it is the horbury bypass) into Wakefield City Centre

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

.

The road then goes onwards via Stanley

Stanley, West Yorkshire

Stanley is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is about north-east of Wakefield city centre.Stanley was an Urban District in the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to 1974, being made up the four electoral wards of Lake Lock, Outwood, Stanley and Wrenthorpe...

, M62 Motorway

M62 motorway

The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...

 (Junction 30), Oulton

Oulton, West Yorkshire

Oulton is a village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, between Leeds and Wakefield. It is at the junction of the A639 and A642 roads. Though now adjoining the village of Woodlesford, it was once quite separate...

, Swillington

Swillington

Swillington is a small village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is located east of the River Aire and surrounded by streams including Fleakingley Beck. As of 2001, Swillington had a population of about 3,530.Swillington used to be a...

, Garforth

Garforth

Garforth is a town within the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, in West Yorkshire, England. The 2001 Census lists 23,892 residents in the Garforth and Swillington ward - 80.57% of which are homeowners, 20% more than the average for Leeds. Garforth itself has 15,394 of those people...

 through before meeting the M1 Motorway

M1 motorway

The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

 at Junction 47.

It also connects with the A656 (Jct 47), A639 (Oulton), B6135, A61

A61 road

The A61 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Derby to Thirsk in North Yorkshire. From Derby, it heads north via Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, Harrogate and Ripon...

 (Wakefield City Centre), B6475, B6128 (Horbury), B6117 (Horbury Bridge), A637 and B6118 (Grange Moor) and B6433 (Lepton) roads.