A59 road

The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseyside at the M53 motorway to Yorkshire, passing through three counties and connecting to various major motorways. The road is a combination of historical routes combined with contemporary roads and a mixture of dual and single carriageway. Some sections of the A59 in Yorkshire closely follow the routes of Roman roads, some dating back to the Middle Ages as salt roads, whilst much of the A59 in Merseyside follows Victorian routes which are largely unchanged to the present day. Numerous bypasses have been constructed throughout the 20th century, one of the earliest being the Maghull bypass in the early 1930s, particularly where traffic through towns was congested. Portions of the route through Lancashire were proposed to be upgraded to motorway standard during the mid-20th century, latterly being downgraded to significant improvements then ultimately withdrawn from consideration. Sections of the road have previously been noted as being amongst the most dangerous in the country, particularly in Yorkshire, despite continued efforts to improve road safety. The A59 starts in Wallasey at the northern end of the M53 motorway and heading through the Kingsway Tunnel. In the centre of Liverpool, a separate spur heads north from the roundabout junction at the entrance of the Queensway Tunnel, joining the main route at Scotland Road in Vauxhall. It continues north through Kirkdale and Walton, passing Aintree Racecourse and Ormskirk Road (forming the boundary between Aintree and Netherton), before reaching Switch Island junction where it meets the A5036, M57 motorway and the M58 motorway. From Switch Island, the A59 travels through Maghull and Lydiate, into Lancashire through Aughton and thence to Ormskirk, roughly parallel to the Merseyrail Northern Line path.