A491 road

A491
Route information
Length	12 mi (19 km)
Major junctions
South end	Lydiate Ash 52.3788°N 2.0473°W/52.3788; -2.0473(A491 road (southern end))
Major intersections	M5J4 A38 A456 A4036 A458 A451 A461 A449
North end	Wall Heath 52.5083°N 2.1721°W/52.5083; -2.1721(A491 road (northern end))
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Stourbridge
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

TheA491is anA road in Zone 4 of the Great Britain numbering scheme.

History

The road north ofOldswinfordforms part of an ancient road, probably ofAnglo-Saxonorigin, joining theburhsofWorcesterandStafford.The crossing of theRiver Stourwas probably theswine-ford that gave rise to the placenamesKingswinfordand Oldswinford, and later to the nameStourbridge.

The road fromWordsley Greento the Market House in Stourbidge and so to Bromsgrove wasturnpikedin 1753. The same act also dealt with several other roads from that Market House, as well as the road from Birmingham throughHalesowenand Hagley toBlakedownPool, but that was managed by separate trustees from 1773.Its continuation north of Wordsley Green, throughWolverhampton,and Stafford toStone,much of it now part ofA449 roadwas turnpiked by theWolverhamptonTurnpike Act of 1760.

In the original 1922 road numberings, A491 was assigned to theShrewsbury,Welshpool,MallwydandCemmaes Roadroute, now part of the A458 and A470. The route between Wall Heath and Bromsgrove was assigned the A449 number.

Route

The dual carriageway near Fairfield, Worcestershire

Lydiate Ash – Stourbridge

Starting at junction 4 of the M5, the road heads West on a single carriageway alignment, meeting the B4091 at a roundabout, then becoming a dual carriageway. There are local accesses for the villages ofBelbroughton,Clent,RomsleyandHoly Cross.Following a roundabout inHagleythe A491 is concurrent with theA456for a short period before heading north towardsStourbridge.AtPedmoretheA4036leaves at a roundabout towardsDudley.The former northern section of the A450 (now B4187) from Worcester joins from the left. The A491 then continues to join the Stourbridge ring road. The one-way ring road forms part of the A491 and is concurrent with the A458 and forms the starting point of the A451 to Kidderminster.

Stourbridge – Wall Heath

The original route of the A491 resumes on the northern side of the Stourbridge ring road. This final section is entirely single carriageway, apart from a short distance between the staggered junction with theA461,in an urban environment causing major delays. The road passes throughAmblecote,WordsleyandKingswinford,passing numerous traffic light controlled junctions including those with theA4101andB4175,before terminating on theA449at a roundabout just north ofWall Heath.

Former routes

Bypasses and realignments

• Holy Cross, Clent(Now bypassed by a dual carriageway to the North). A cutting through Button Hill, in Holy Cross—through which the road used to pass–was finished in 1834. It was built by men from Lye and Stourbridge during a local recession as a form ofpoor relief.
• Stourbridge Town Centre (Traffic now uses the ring road)

Downgrading

• Fairfield – Finstall (Part of this route is now B4091, A448 and unclassified)

External links

Media related toA491 road (England)at Wikimedia Commons

• SABRE Roads by 10 – A491