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 The A37 north of Pensford | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 60.4 mi [1] (97.2 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   A35 / A352 near Dorchester 50°42′43″N2°28′23″W / 50.712°N 2.473°W | |||
 A30 in Yeovil
Contents
 A4174 in Bristol | ||||
| North end |  A4 in Bristol 51°26′38″N2°34′41″W / 51.444°N 2.578°W | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Counties | Dorset, Somerset | |||
| Primary destinations | Bristol Shepton Mallet Yeovil Dorchester | |||
| Road network | ||||
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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.
From the Podimore roundabout northeast of Ilchester to Shepton Mallet the route traces that of the Fosse Way.
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.
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 Such a route has now been superseded by the M27 and M3.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.
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]
| 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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Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England, some 16 miles southwest of Bath, 18 miles south of Bristol and five miles east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council was based there. The Mendip Hills lie to the north and the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the route of the Fosse Way, the main Roman road between north-east and south-west England. There is evidence of Roman settlement. Its listed buildings include a medieval parish church. Shepton Mallet Prison was England's oldest, but closed in March 2013. The medieval wool trade gave way to trades such as brewing in the 18th century. It remains noted for cider production. It is the closest town to the Glastonbury Festival and nearby the Royal Bath and West of England Society showground.
The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis (Bath), Corinium (Cirencester), and Ratae Corieltauvorum (Leicester).
The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a primary A road throughout its length, passing through five counties.
The A4 is a major road in England from Central London to Avonmouth via Heathrow Airport, Reading, Bath and Bristol. It is historically known as the Bath Road with newer sections including the Great West Road and Portway. The road was once the main route from London to Bath, Bristol and the west of England and formed, after the A40, the second main western artery from London.
The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2021) was 49,698. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, 126 miles (203 km) west of London, 41.8 miles (67.3 km) south of Bristol, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Sherborne and 27.6 miles (44.4 km) east of Taunton. The aircraft and defence industries which developed in the 20th century made it a target for bombing in the Second World War; they are still major employers. Yeovil Country Park, which includes Ninesprings, is one of several open spaces with educational, cultural and sporting facilities. Religious sites include the 14th-century Church of St John the Baptist. The town is on the A30 and A37 roads and has two railway stations.
The A45 is a major road in England. It runs east from Birmingham past the National Exhibition Centre and the M42, then bypasses Coventry and Rugby, where it briefly merges with the M45 until it continues to Daventry. It then heads to Northampton and Wellingborough before running north of Rushden and Higham Ferrers and terminating at its junction with the A14 in Thrapston.
Stratton is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Frome valley about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Dorchester. The parish includes the hamlets of Grimstone, Ash Hill and Wrackleford which, like the village, lie on or near the A37 trunk road. Ash Hill is a small estate east of the village near the railway. Wrackleford is a group of houses further east and centred about Wrackleford House and including Higher Wrackleford and Lower Wrackleford. In addition there are a number of isolated farms and houses including a few in an area called Langford near the Sydling Water in the north-west part of the parish.
The A64 is a major road in North and West Yorkshire, England, which links Leeds, York and Scarborough. The A64 starts as the A64(M) ring road motorway in Leeds, then towards York it becomes a high-quality dual carriageway until it is east of the city, where it becomes a single carriageway for most of its route to Scarborough.
Dorchester West railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Dorchester in Dorset, England. The station is managed by Great Western Railway. The station is located on the Heart of Wessex Line between Castle Cary and Weymouth, 161.63 miles from the zero point at London Paddington, and is at the southern end of a single track section from Maiden Newton. The line becomes double at the station and remains so to just before nearby Dorchester Junction, where the line joins the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.
Castle Cary railway station is on the Reading to Taunton line 115.25 miles (185.48 km) south west of London Paddington and the Bristol to Weymouth line 47.75 miles (77 km) south of Bristol Temple Meads. The two routes share tracks between Westbury and Castle Cary stations and are both operated by Great Western Railway, which also manages the station. The station is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the market town of Castle Cary and 5 miles (8 km) south of Shepton Mallet in a largely rural area of Somerset, England.
The A4174 is a major ring road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of the city. When it was first conceived it was planned to circle the whole of Bristol, and is commonly referred to as the "Avon Ring Road", or less accurately the "Bristol Ring Road", on road signs. The road does not circle the whole city, instead covering roughly half of the route. It is broken in part where it is concurrent with the A4.
Witham (Somerset) railway station was a station serving the Somerset village of Witham Friary and was located on the Frome to Yeovil section of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway that opened in 1856.
The A370 is a primary road in England running from the A4 Bath Road, near Bristol Temple Meads railway station to Weston-super-Mare before continuing to the village of East Brent in Somerset. A more direct route from Bristol to East Brent is the A38.
The A371 is a primary road in England running from Wincanton to Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, through Shepton Mallet, Croscombe, Wells, Westbury-sub-Mendip, Rodney Stoke, Draycott, Cheddar, Axbridge, Winscombe, Banwell and Weston-super-Mare.
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, running between Yatton and Witham. It was opened in parts: the first section connecting Shepton Mallet to Witham, later extended to Wells, was built by the East Somerset Railway from 1858. Later the Bristol and Exeter Railway built their branch line from Yatton to Wells, but the two lines were prevented for a time from joining up. Eventually the gap was closed, and the line became a simple through line, operated by the Great Western Railway.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.
Dorset is a county in South West England. The county is largely rural and therefore does not have a dense transport network, and is one of the few English counties without a motorway. Owing to its position on the English Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes have led to the decline of its ports.
The earliest known infrastructure for transport in Somerset is a series of wooden trackways laid across the Somerset Levels, an area of low-lying marshy ground. To the west of this district lies the Bristol Channel, while the other boundaries of the county of Somerset are along chains of hills that were once exploited for their mineral deposits. These natural features have all influenced the evolution of the transport network. Roads and railways either followed the hills, or needed causeways to cross the Levels. Harbours were developed, rivers improved, and linked to sources of traffic by canals. Railways were constructed throughout the area, influenced by the needs of the city of Bristol, which lies just to the north of Somerset, and to link the ports of the far south-west with the rest of England.
Road building was central to planning policy for much of the 20th century in Bristol, England. The planned road network evolved over time but at its core was a network of concentric ring roads and high-capacity radial roads.
A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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