View source for A690 road

{{Short description|Road in north east England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox road
| country = ENG
| type = A
| route = 690
| length_mi = 22.2
| image = A690 through Houghton-le-Spring - geograph.org.uk - 2583962.jpg
| image_notes = A690 Houghton Cut
| direction_a = East
| terminus_a = [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]]
| direction_b = West
| terminus_b = [[Crook, County Durham|Crook]]
| junction = * {{jct|country=GBR|A|1231}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|183}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|19}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|1052}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|182}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|AM|1}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|181}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|691}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|1052}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|167}}
* {{jct|country=GBR|A|689}}
| destinations = [[Sunderland]], [[Durham, England|Durham]]
| previous_type = A
| next_type = A
| previous_route = 689
| next_route = 691
}}

The '''A690''' is a road in [[North East England]], running from [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] in the east through [[Durham, England|Durham]] to [[Crook, County Durham|Crook]].

==Route==
===Sunderland section===
Throughout the Sunderland section it is known as either ''Durham Road'' or ''New Durham Road'', and is one of the major routes in and out of the city. A [[single carriageway]] section runs from the city centre to a large [[roundabout]] at the Barnes. The road then climbs a steep hill toward High Barnes, alongside the Bede site of the [[Sunderland College]] before becoming [[dual carriageway]]. Beyond a set of [[traffic light]]s at the ''Prospect Hotel'', the road remains dual carriageway, but the inside lane is a 'no car lane'. (In early 2009 the ''Prospect Hotel'' was demolished to make way for a new Lidl store.) The road then climbs another hill, becoming single carriageway, with the [[Farringdon, Sunderland|Farringdon]] estate to the east and the [[Thorney Close]] estate to the west. A down hill stretch leads into the [[Herrington|East Herrington]] and then on toward the [[A19 road|A19]] fly-over. Just after the A19 intersection, the road once again becomes a dual carriageway with a speed limit of {{convert|50|mph}}. Within the first mile after the A19, the road comes to a notoriously bad intersection - which is frequented by a speed camera van on the Eastbound carriageway just outside the [[Evans Halshaw]]. The road then runs through [[Houghton-le-Spring]], via a locally famous transport feature named ''Houghton Cut''. This huge cut through the hillside was reputedly built with the forced labour of Napoleonic prisoners of war. The road then runs out of the [[City of Sunderland]] boundary and on toward the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lanagan |first1=P. |title=Houghton-le-Spring street guides: Durham Road |url=http://www.houghtonlespring.org.uk/houses/durham_road_street_directory.pdf |website=houghtonlespring.org.uk |publisher=Houghton Heritage Society |access-date=1 April 2021 |date=2014}}</ref>

===Houghton Cut===
[[File:A690 at Houghton-le-Spring - geograph.org.uk - 314083.jpg|thumb|left|Houghton Cut]]
The Houghton Cut "carries the A690 over the steep and prominent [[Magnesian Limestone]] [[escarpment]] at [[Houghton-le-Spring|Houghton]]". In 1815, [[Napoleonic Wars|French prisoners of war]] blasted this cut deeper than it already was, to improve the road to Sunderland's port. It was blasted again for the same reason in the 1930s, and "the Germans are said to have helped by bombing it". From 1968 to 1970 it was widened again.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simpson |first1=David |title=Houghton-le-Spring: Houghton Cut and Houghton Hall |url=https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/houghton-le-spring/ |website=englandsnortheast.co.uk |publisher=England's North East |access-date=1 April 2021 |date=2017}}</ref>

===Durham section===
<gallery class="center">
Durham Entrance - geograph.org.uk - 726882.jpg|The A690 enters Durham
Durham Dawn - geograph.org.uk - 368139.jpg|A690 in Durham
Looking down on the A690 at Durham - geograph.org.uk - 991681.jpg|Looking down the A690 at Durham
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}

{{GeoGroupTemplate}}
{{GB A road zone 6}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:6-0690}}
[[Category:Transport in the City of Sunderland]]
[[Category:Roads in England]]
[[Category:Transport in County Durham]]
[[Category:Transport in Tyne and Wear]]


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