Transport in Leeds - Roads

Roads

Leeds is the focus of the regional primary road network which includes A58, A61, A62, A63, A64 and A65 roads. It is also a principal hub of the national motorway network, with the M1 and M62 intersecting in the south east of the city and the A1(M) running along its eastern border. The M1 joins the A1(M) in east Leeds, creating a semi-orbital motorway consisting of the M62, M1 and A1(M) motorways around the south and east of the city. The M621 carries high volumes of traffic quickly in and out of central Leeds from the M62 and M1.

The Inner Ring Road largely carries through traffic across the city, whereas the City Centre Loop distributes local traffic around the city centre. The City Centre Loop that has been formed by using a number of existing streets to create a one way loop around the city centre. This acts as a local access thoroughfare for city centre traffic, allowing the core centre to be heavily pedestrianised and largely traffic-free.

Inner Ring Road

In the 1960s Leeds set about the most ambitious inner ring road plan of any British city. The road is designated as a motorway, and describes a semicircle round the western, northern and eastern parts of the city centre. The road is elevated at its western and eastern ends but in cutting and tunnel to the north. This enabled a long stretch to be hidden underground, reducing the scar it makes in the city's fabric (as has been a problem in many other cities, for example Birmingham and Leicester). Pedestrians may walk over it into the city centre, completely unaware of its presence. This gave Leeds City Council the idea to promote the city with the slogan Motorway City of the Seventies. The inner ring road is made up of the A58(M) and the A64(M). The road begins as the A58(M), at the Armley Gyratory and ends as the A64(M) at Quarry Hill (the number changes as the A58 forks off to the north at Clay Pit Lane).

The A64(M) continues east as graded dual carriageway with a mix of grade separated and traffic light controlled junctions. The Inner Ring Road junctions off and heads southwards towards the East Bank. Here, it meets the East Leeds Link Road, which provides fast connections to the M1 northbound. It continues over the River Aire as a high quality dual carriageway on a flyover, meeting the M621 at Junction 4. The M621 completes the southern flank of the Inner Ring Road, linking up to the A643 which joins back to the Armley Gyratory.