A167 Road - A167(M)

A167(M)

The A167 continues through Gateshead across the Tyne Bridge into Newcastle upon Tyne, where it becomes the A167(M) Newcastle Central Motorway for a short distance. After the city centre it reverts to dual carriageway to its terminus at the Kenton Bar A1/A696 junction.

Originally the road was the A1(M), but changes to the route of the A1 have caused changes to the route number. When the A1 was re-routed through the Tyne Tunnel, it was renumbered as the A6127(M) - becoming one of only two four-digit, Axxxx(M) motorways, the other being the A6144(M) motorway. After the construction of the A1 western bypass, the Tyne Tunnel became the A19 and the A6127(M) became the A167(M).

The A167(M) is unusual in that it has a slip road leading from an unclassified road directly onto the right-hand ("fast") lane at Camden Street; a result of its two-tier construction. However as of late 2011 this slip road is closed. It also has other junctions where entry to and exit from the motorway is via the outside lane, which can lead to a lot of weaving and conflicting traffic movement. The A167(M) is subject to a 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) speed limit throughout.