SECRET HISTORY OF OUR A ROADS

And why all Midland routes start with 4 or 5... except for two

- JAMIE BRASSINGTON News Reporter

A-ROADS form an integral part of our road network, criss-crossing the nation from A to B.

In the West Midlands, we have a number of major A-roads carrying traffic through our towns and cities.

Usually, A-roads feature a numeri-cal value between one and four digits, in addition to a normal name too.

For example, in the Black Country, there is the A4123, better known as the Birmingham New Road, running through the boroughs of Wolver-hampton and Dudley (the A4123 actually runs between Wolverhamp-ton and Harborne under multiple names).

While numbers on A-roads may appear like mumbo jumbo and gob-bledegook, there is actual order to the numbering.

In the UK, A-roads are divided into nine numbering zones.

Zones one to six all stem out from London in a clockwise fashion, while zones seven, eight and nine are located in Scotland.

Great Britain is divided into nine zones based on the nine principle A-roads coming out of London and Edinburgh.

The Al to A6 start in London and are ordered clockwise, while the A7, A8 and A9 started in Edinburgh.