page_title: A605 road
section_title: History and improvements
hierarchical_section_title: A605 road / History and improvements
caption_attribution_description: English: This westerly view shows the 3 lane section of the Elton Bypass from Bullock Road bridge 25/7/07. B.W.Hughes
context_page_description: The A605 road is a main road in the English counties of Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.
context_section_description: The road used to start at the A6 just north of Higham Ferrers and run to Thrapston and Peterborough, following the line of the Roman Road between Irchester and Durobrivae (Wansford). The road split in two just before the A6 with one branch joining the A6 by the Irthlingborough Viaduct and the other at the top of the hill as the A6 enters Higham Ferrers. The later branch survives as a local access but the former has been returned to field.
  In the early 1980s, development of the route from Northampton to Thrapston saw the building of a new section of the A605 mostly on line between Chown's Mill roundabout and the Stanwick roundabout. This was later dualled. A year later the Stanwick and Raunds Bypass was opened with land for dualling which, as of 2018, has not been carried out, despite the development of a several large distribution centres off the Raunds roundabout hugely increasing HGV traffic. In the mid-1980s, the Ringstead and Denford Bypass was constructed from the Raunds roundabout to a grade separated interchange at Thrapston with the A14. With the completion of the route, the Chowns Mill roundabout to Thrapston roundabout section of the A605 was renumbered the A45 and the A45 to the east of Higham Ferrers was renumbered A4500. Thrapston is now the terminus of the A45 and the start of the A605.
  Just before the A14 was built, a short section of the A605 was built bypassing Thrapston to the east to the A604 (as it was then known). This section began approximately 0.25 miles (400 m) northeast of Thrapston and terminated at a new roundabout on the A604, now merely an access to Thrapston industrial estate. The Thrapston Eastern Bypass was opened a few years later running northeast from this roundabout to a new junction with the old A605, just south of the Titchmarsh turn. Excavation of a Roman way station on the site of the junction proved disappointing, with no significant finds. The junction at the northeast end of Thrapston was converted to a roundabout around 2005. A bend was also eased between Titchmarsh turn and Thorpe Waterville. Around 2000 the A605 was widened between Thorpe Waterville and a new Lilford roundabout was constructed. An original milestone was unearthed and set on the side of the north east exit.
  The road was improved from Barnwell turn to a new roundabout northeast of Oundle as the Oundle Bypass. This used the alignment of the former BR Northampton to Peterborough railway and crosses the River Nene twice in quick succession. The road was opened on 12 December 1985 by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and is commemorated by a plinth and brass plaque at the roundabout. A minor alignment change took place beyond here through the hamlet of Elmington. Beyond Elmington a curve was eased as the road climbed out of the valley and a new straightened section was constructed to a new roundabout for Warmington. The old road enters the garage just south of the roundabout. The Warmington Bypass was one of the last improvements on the A605 and was completed in 1996, including a section to the county boundary. The old road south of Warmington roundabout is now a garage access and the old road into Warmington can be seen on the right a short distance after the roundabout.
  The Elton Bypass takes the A605 onto a new more southerly route to join the A1(M) at its northern terminus at Junction 17. This route then overlaps the A1 for 1 mile (1.6 km) to Alwalton where it regains its original route, heading northeast through Orton towards Peterborough. The bypassed section from Elton to Orton suffered from poor alignment and is now the B671 and a C road. The Elton Bypass climbs two hills and benefits from crawler lanes on both sections from both east and west.
  East of the A1 the route approaching Peterborough has, in effect, become a local distributor as traffic for the A605 onward to Whittlesey/March etc. will use the parallel A1139 Peterborough Southern Bypass from Junction 17 on the A1(M). There are four new roundabouts between Alwalton and Orton. A diversion cuts a sharp corner between the third and fourth roundab
caption: The A605 climbs two hills just west of the A1(M) with crawler lanes in both directions
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