Roads in the United Kingdom in the context of "Birmingham Inner Ring Road"

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⭐ Core Definition: Roads in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a well developed and extensive network of roads totalling about 262,300 miles (422,100 km). Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) symbol. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by speed limiters. A unified numbering system is in place for Great Britain, whilst in Northern Ireland, there is no available explanation for the allocation of road numbers.

The earliest specifically engineered roads were built during the prehistoric British Iron Age. The road network was expanded during the Roman occupation. Some of these roads still remain to this day. New roads were added in the Middle Ages and from the 17th century onwards. Whilst control has been transferred between local and central bodies, current management and development of the road network is shared between local authorities, the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and National Highways in England. Certain aspects of the legal framework remain under the control of the United Kingdom parliament.

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👉 Roads in the United Kingdom in the context of Birmingham Inner Ring Road

Queensway, in Birmingham, England, most often refers to the Queensway Tunnel, a 1,798 feet (548 m) long road tunnel in the centre of the city. The tunnel forms part of the designated A38, which locally is a major carriageway that cuts through Birmingham city centre. "Queensway" as a suffix is also the name of several other roads and circuses in the city (such as Smallbrook Queensway); all these roads including the tunnel collectively made up what was once called the Inner Ring Road, an orbital dual carriageway which has now been dismantled.

The old Inner Ring Road, which was also referred to as the "Queensway" and designated as the A4400 road, was completed and opened in 1971. Described as an "urban motorway" (although it was not officially designated as a motorway), it featured largely grade separated junctions and most of them allowed vehicles staying on the road to pass over or under those using the junction. Pedestrians were kept physically separate from vehicular traffic and used subways to cross the ring road. Although seen as revolutionary when first opened, the 'Concrete Collar', as it became known, was viewed by council planners as an impenetrable barrier for the expansion of the city centre. By the 1990s, changes were made to the road as the council sought to improve pedestrian links, and vehicular movements were increasingly shifted out to the Middleway. The Inner Ring Road was effectively dismantled in the early 2000s, with many of its roads having been rebuilt and downgraded to surface-level streets, resulting in them resembling city streets far more. The Queensway Tunnel and St Chad's Tunnel, as well as the Lancaster Circus and Suffolk Street flyovers, are remaining relics of the ring road and make up most of the present A38 carriageway in this area.

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Roads in the United Kingdom in the context of Staines-upon-Thames

Staines-upon-Thames, commonly known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around 17 miles (28 kilometres) west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Staines is close to Heathrow Airport and is linked to the national motorway network by the M25 and M3. The town is part of the Greater London Built-up Area.

The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Paleolithic and, during the Neolithic, there was a causewayed enclosure on Staines Moor. The first bridge across the Thames at Staines is thought to have been built by the Romans and there was a settlement in the area around the modern High Street by the end of the 1st century CE. Throughout the Middle Ages, Staines was primarily an agricultural settlement and was held by Westminster Abbey. The first surviving record of a market is from 1218, but one may have taken place near St Mary's Church in the Anglo-Saxon period.

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