A6 road comes under local control

The A6 is being passed from central to local government.

A major road running through two Midland counties will pass to local control from 20 September.

The A6 will appear less prominently in atlases and on signs, and should attract fewer long-distance drivers.

It will be de-trunked in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and run by the two county councils instead of the Highways Agency.

The downgraded section runs from the M1 , through Leicester and Market Harborough, to the A14 at Kettering.

The councils will take on responsibility for the safety, maintenance and improvement of the road.

Longest road

It means decisions about signs, speed limits and bypasses will be made at county hall level, and not Whitehall.

The A6 runs from St Albans to Carlisle, and is one of the longest roads in the country.

Long sections of the M1 in the south and Midlands, and M6 in the north west, shadow the route of the A6.

Graham Broome, assistant route manager for the A6, said: "The detrunking orders were published in January 2001 and October 2002 and we have been working closely with local authorities to ensure the changeover is as smooth as possible."