The A37 is a major road in south west England.
Route
It runs north from the A35 at Dorchester in Dorset into Somerset through Yeovil and Shepton Mallet before terminating at the Three Lamps junction with the A4 in central Bristol. The road is entirely single carriageway, except in the Yeovil and Bristol built-up areas, at Ilchester (where it multiplexes with the A303), and north of Dorchester.
Fosse Way
From the Podimore roundabout northeast of Ilchester to Shepton Mallet the route traces that of the Fosse Way.
The road today
The road is subject to a stream of speed restrictions where it winds through a number of small villages. These parts of the road can be dangerous, especially where wide vehicles pass on sections where buildings are close to the road.
History
1922 road classification
The original A37 in 1922 started in Fortuneswell, Isle of Portland, however, the section to Dorchester was soon renumbered A354, presumably to create a link between the major port of Weymouth and the A30 at Salisbury, from where the route would continue to London. Such a route has now been superseded by the M27 and M3.
One of the worst accident spots on the A37 was the A371 junction just south of Shepton Mallet. The junction was always very busy and suffered long traffic queues due to the nature of the road. The junction was also a point where traffic would converge or pass through from multiple locations, this was further exacerbated by the A361 Glastonbury junction which backed right onto the first junction. This muddled configuration resulted in numerous road traffic accidents, many of which were fatal.
After a long campaign for the junction to be replaced, a roundabout was constructed in 1999 significantly improving road safety and traffic flow. There have been few other construction schemes on the road in recent decades.
In recent years most of the overtaking lanes, provided on steep stretches just south of Bristol, have been blocked out with chevrons.
Future
A potential extension of the Avon Ring Road (A4174) from the Hicks Gate Roundabout between Keynsham and Bristol to the A37 south of Whitchurch would provide a direct link to the M32 and M4 north of Bristol.[2]
Junction list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset | Winterbourne Market–Bradford Peverell–Dorchester boundary | 0.0 | 0.0 |     A35 / A352 south / B3150 / Bridport Road to A354 / A31 – Honiton, Poole, Weymouth, Blandford, Ringwood, Dorchester, Winterbourne Abbas, Bridport, Winterbourne Monkton, Puddletown, Wareham, Martinstown | Southern terminus; southern terminus of A352 concurrency |
| Charminster | 1.6 | 2.6 | A352 north (North Street) – Charminster, Cerne Abbas, Sherborne | Northern terminus of A352 concurrency | |
| Frampton | 4.6 | 7.4 |  A356 north-west (Dorchester Road) – Crewkerne, Frampton, Maiden Newton | South-eastern terminus of A356 | |
| Somerset | Yeovil | 18.9 | 30.4 |    A30 west to M5 / A303 – Chard, Crewkerne, Exeter, Taunton | Only A30, Chard, and Crewkerne signed southbound; southern terminus of A30 concurrency |
| 19.3 | 31.1 | Lysander Road (A3088 west) / Brunswick Street to M5 / A303 – Taunton, Exeter, Chard, Crewkerne, Montacute, Stoke-sub-Hamdon | Montacute and Stoke-sub-Hamdon signed westbound only; eastern terminus of A3088 | ||
| 19.9 | 32.0 | A30 east (Reckleford) / Park Road – Town centre, Sherborne | Eastern terminus of A30 concurrency | ||
| 20.1 | 32.3 |  A359 north (Mudford Road) / Preston Road – Frome, Odcombe, Montacute, Queen Camel, Marston Magna, Mudford | Southern terminus of A359 | ||
| Ilchester | 24.7– 25.4 | 39.8– 40.9 |  A303 south-west to M5 / A358 – Exeter, Taunton | To M5 signed northbound only, To A358 southbound only | |
| Yeovilton | 27.4 | 44.1 |  A303 north-east / A372 north-west / Podimore Road to B3151 – London, Andover, Langport, Wincanton, Sparkford, Podimore, Street, Somerton, Yeovilton | Yeovilton signed southbound only; northern terminus of A303 concurrency; south-eastern terminus of A372 | |
| Pilton–Doulting–Shepton Mallet boundary | 39.4 | 63.4 |  A361 south (East Compton Road) – Glastonbury, Taunton, Pilton | Southern terminus of A361 concurrency | |
| Shepton Mallet | 39.5 | 63.6 |  A371 south-east to A303 / B3081 – Castle Cary, Evercreech | Southern terminus of A371 concurrency | |
| 40.0– 40.7 | 64.4– 65.5 | A361 north / A371 north-west – Frome, Shepton Mallet, Wells | Northern terminus of A361 / A371 concurrency | ||
| Ashwick | 42.9 | 69.0 |  A367 north (Bath Road) – Radstock, Oakhill, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Bath | Only Bath signed southbound only; southern terminus of A367 | |
| Ston Easton | 48.6 | 78.2 |  A39 south-west – Wells | Southern terminus of A39 concurrency | |
| Farrington Gurney | 49.1 | 79.0 |  A362 east – Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Frome | Western terminus of A362 | |
| High Littleton | 50.0 | 80.5 | A39 north-east (Wells Road) to B3355 – Bath, High Littleton, Hallatrow, Paulton | Northern terminus of A39 concurrency | |
| Chelwood | 53.5 | 86.1 |  A368 – Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Chelwood, Marksbury, Keynsham, Bishop Sutton | ||
| Bristol | 59.0 | 95.0 |      A4174 (Airport Road / Wootton Park) to M5 / M32 / M4 / A38 / A4 – Bath, Taunton, Avonmouth, Bristol Airport, Brislington, St Philip's Marsh, Hartcliffe, Bishopsworth | Only Bath, Taunton, and Avonmouth signed southbound | |
| 60.4 | 97.2 | A4 west – City centre, Knowle, Totterdown | Northern terminus; no access to A4 east or from A4 west | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ a b "Monkeys Jump Roundabout, Poundbury, Dorchester DT2 9DL, UK to Higham Street Green, Higham St, Bristol BS4 2BJ, UK". Google Maps. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "The new ring road and suburb that will change Bristol forever". 19 November 2018.
External links
A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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