and the
Leeds Inner Ring Road), in
Sheepscar,
Leeds. Heading south, the road begins as single carriageway from Thirsk which bypasses Ripon on a stretch of road opened in 1996 at a cost of £16 million, and travels towards Harrogate, eventually passing through Harrogate town centre. Here, the road divides into two major one-way streets which enclose the town centre and run along
The Stray, a stretch of grassland in Harrogate. As Leeds Road, it then passes through the southern suburbs of Harrogate before meeting the A658 near the village of
Pannal. The A61 continues through
Harewood before approaching the north's
metropolis, where a sudden urban fringe approaches. As the road enters Leeds and crosses the
A6120 outer ring road, the road becomes Scott Hall Road, a main dual carriageway (or Trunk Road) and artery for north Leeds. There are sections of
guided bus route using kerb guidance near
Potternewton. Here, the A61 rises slightly, and a panoramic view of Leeds skyline is revealed. The descent into Leeds is quick and the road soon turns into a multi-lane road, as it approaches
Sheepscar Interchange. Fast-flowing traffic is directed onto the A61, although some traffic is directed off the A61 to avoid Leeds City Centre as it routes around the back of
Quarry House. The A61 meets it shortly after, as it shares the city centre loop for a short distance. After crossing the river, the road splits again before taking traffic out to the motorways. The road then continues out of
Leeds towards
Wakefield and
Barnsley. South of Barnsley it crosses the
M1 at Junction 36 then heads towards
Sheffield. Between the M1 at Junction 36 and the Westwood roundabout intersection with the
A616, the road is designated as a
trunk road under the responsibility of
National Highways. The A61 travels into Sheffield through
Grenoside and
Hillsborough, passing next to the Sheffield Wednesday
football stadium as Penistone Road. It continues down to Shalesmoor and at this point it forms a major artery into the
City Centre from the north, becoming the
Sheffield Inner Ring Road (which is labelled as A61 all the way around). It meets the
A57 twice; at
Park Square and Brookhill roundabout. At Junction 4 (Bramall Lane) of the Sheffield Inner Ring Road, is a spur road the A621 – Bramall Lane, this road takes you past the western side of Sheffield United's
stadium and back onto the A61 as Queens Road. The A621 is used as a shortcut, instead of continuing on the Sheffield Inner Ring Road to Junction 3 (Granville Square), where it meets Queens Road further north. The A61 then continues through
Heeley as
Chesterfield Road and climbs up to
Norton and onto Bowshaw roundabout. Between Sheffield and Chesterfield it is a
dual carriageway, avoids
Dronfield and
Unstone as the eponymous by-pass. The road used to go through Chesterfield town centre, passing by the famous
crooked spire, but was heavily congested. This was alleviated by the construction of the Chesterfield bypass in the 1980s on the alignment of the former
Great Central Railway. The road reverts to single carriageway south of Chesterfield, passing through
Clay Cross and
Alfreton. South of Alfreton, the A61 merges with the dual carriageway
A38, but the old A61 continues as the B6179 through
Swanwick and
Denby, meeting the
A38 again just north of the city. The A61 road continues towards the city centre along
Sir Frank Whittle Road until it finally ends at the junction with the
A52 near to the headquarters of
Derbyshire County Cricket Club. ==Road safety==