page_title: A19 road
section_title: Thirsk-Billingham
hierarchical_section_title: A19 road / Route / Thirsk-Billingham
caption_attribution_description: English: The Tees Viaduct as it carries the A19 across the River Tees. The photograph is taken from the viewing hill in Maze Park nature reserve.
context_page_description: The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland northwards, the route was formerly the A108. In the past the route was known as the East of Snaith-York-Thirsk-Stockton-on-Tees-Sunderland Trunk Road. Most traffic joins the A19, heading for Teesside, from the A168 at Dishforth Interchange.
context_section_description: North of Thirsk, the A19 takes over from the A168 as the link from the A1 to Teesside and becomes a fast dual carriageway with mostly grade separated interchanges. The five-mile £4.4 million Thirsk bypass was opened on 5 September 1972 by Robin Turton, Baron Tranmire, the local MP (from 1929), with a flypast by four Royal Air Force Vickers Varsity aircraft - RAF Topcliffe is to the south-west of Thirsk. It passes North Kilvington, and the £0.3 million South of Knayton (at Swan Lane) to north of Thirsk bypass section opened in the early 1970s. It climbs slightly past the junction at Knayton near Borrowby and skirting the western edge of the North York Moors, meeting the A684 (for Northallerton) at Clack Lane End after passing through Leake and by the Haynes Arms. The Borrowby diversion opened in the late 1960s. The £1.1 million south of Clack Lane End to north end of Borrowby diversion opened in the early 1970s. The Cleveland Tontine to Clack Lane End improvement opened in the early 1970s. It drops towards the Cleveland Tontine at the junction with the A172 (for Stokesley and Guisborough). 1 mile (1.6 km) later, it passes the BP Exelby Services on both sides of the road. Eventually after passing the Crathorne/Yarm exit the road passes over the Leven viaduct towards Teesside. From the Crathorne bypass, the road leaves the old route to the east, with the old route now being the A67 then the A135 through Stockton. About 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Parkway Turn (A174) in Middlesbrough the road is raised slightly, overlooking Thornaby industrial estate and one of Europe's biggest housing estates known as Ingleby Barwick, giving clues that Teesside is imminent.
  At the Parkway the lighting columns appear then the road widens to three lanes, then at Acklam at the A1130 interchange it becomes four before two peel off for the A66 for Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. The Tees Bridge opened in 1975. Either side of the River Tees crossing, the Tees Viaduct, is a retail park - Teesside Park with a Morrisons to the south of the river and Portrack with an Asda on the Stockton side, with a mass of industry in the vicinity of the A66/A19 interchange. This interchange is one of the few 4-way free-flow interchanges in Britain not found on the motorway network, and is similar to a four-level stack interchange, but with a single loop ramp covering the A19 south to A66 west movement.  This road was improved in 1998 by widening from 2 to 3 & 4 lanes each way the 4-mile (6.4 km) section between the Parkway and Norton. Even in rush hour the road still flows quite well. The grade-separated 4-mile (6.4 km) £19 million Billingham Diversion was officially opened in February 1983, which diverted the traffic through a sub-standard section with roundabouts (Wolviston By-pass) built in the late 1960s.
  A surviving sign from the old A19 at Billingham Green, Billingham in December 2019.
caption: Tees Viaduct looking east towards Middlesbrough
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