A38 road

A38
A30 at Bodmin
Major intersections	M5 M50 M42 A38(M) M6 M6 Toll A6009 at Mansfield
Location
Country	Primary destinations	Bodmin Liskeard Plymouth Exeter Taunton Bridgwater Bristol Gloucester Worcester Bromsgrove Birmingham Lichfield Burton upon Trent Derby Mansfield
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← A39

The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.

The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is 292 miles (470 km) long, making it the longest two digit A road in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds–Exeter Trunk Road, when this description also included the A61. Before the opening of the M5 motorway in the 1960s and 1970s, the A38 formed the main "holiday route" from the Midlands to Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Considerable lengths of the road in the

The road widens to a three-lane dual carriageway for the Plympton bypass. This opened in 1971^[6] and was the first section of the Devon Expressway to be built on a new alignment, as well as being the first sizeable dual carriageway section of the route. Before Ivybridge, the route roughly parallels the original route, bypassing the village of Lee Mill which is now home to a large trading estate. The Ivybridge bypass opened in 1973 and the South Brent bypass in 1974, both on new alignments. The A38 passes Endsleigh Garden Centre, which used to have direct access from the dual carriageway, although since the early 2000s this has been closed and the garden centre is accessed from the Westover junction for Ivybridge. The route originally ended at the Marsh Mills roundabout, which when opened was the largest in Europe.^[14]

The section of the A38 between the A382 junction and

The Devon Expressway ends near the village of Kennford, south of Exeter, at the terminus of the M5. This initial section was opened in 1977, along with the remaining section of the M5, and is a three-lane dual carriageway. The village of Kennford is bypassed, on an alignment of a 1930s bypass, which was upgraded to a dual-carriageway in the 1960s and then widened to a dual three-lane road in 1975.^[15]

A junction to the south of Exeter represents a third meeting point of the A38 with the A30, from which point the A38 multiplexes with the M5 before re-emerging from junction 27 near Waterloo Cross, 21 miles (34 km) north of Exeter. From junction 27 the A38 heads north via Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater, Highbridge and Bristol. From Waterloo Cross to Birmingham, the road is paralleled by the M5, where the A38 has reverted to taking local traffic only.

From Bristol, it continues north via

It passes through Upper Catshill and meets the M5 at junction 4 (along with the A491 road) near Lydiate Ash. From here to Edgbaston, the road is mostly dual carriageway, single-lane sections having been replaced in the first decade of the 21st century (see history section, below). Following completion of the Selly Oak bypass, the A38 deviates from its original route and briefly multiplexes with the A4040 outer Ring Road before forming the new bypass which is controversially named New Fosse Way. (The old route is designated B384 having been briefly B38).

In the centre of Birmingham, a section of the road becomes the Aston Expressway

The West Midlands section of the A38 is one of the areas chosen by the

Birmingham to Mansfield

From Birmingham the road bypasses Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, before taking up the route of the Roman road, Ryknild Street,^[4] (also spelt Icknield or Rykneld), as far as Derby. At Wychnor, the road crosses the River Trent and enters the district of East Staffordshire. At Barton Turn, near the B5016 junction, the road runs right alongside the Cross Country Route for around 1 mile (1.6 km). This railway line follows the line of the A38 from Derby to Plymouth. From Alrewas to Burton, the path called The Way for the Millennium follows the northbound carriageway.

From Clay Mills, the road passes through the district of South Derbyshire, passing the grade separated junction with the A5132 for Willington. There is the Derby with Burton services at the Burnaston A50 interchange. The road enters the City of Derby borough 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of the Littleover interchange. For nearly 4 miles (6.4 km), the A38 forms part of Derby's outer ring road, including three roundabouts: Kingsway (or Grand Canyon) for the A5111; Markeaton for the A52; and Little Eaton (or Abbey Hill) for the A61 and B6179. The section of road between Kingsway roundabout to just north of Markeaton is urban in nature and thus subject to a 40 mph (64 km/h) speed limit.

Originally terminating in Derby at the junction of Babington Lane with St Peter's Street (formerly the

As a 1970s upgrade to the route of the

When first designated in 1922, the A38 ran from the centre of Plymouth to Derby.[16] It was later extended west from Plymouth on the former route of the A389 over the Torpoint Ferry to a junction with the A30 at Bodmin. When the Tamar Bridge was opened in 1961, the A38 was rerouted on the former line of the A374, through Tideford, over the new bridge and through Crownhill, joining the old route at Plympton. The old route of the A38, via Torpoint and the centre of Plymouth, was redesignated the A374.

The A38 was extended north from Derby to the M1 motorway and Mansfield in 1977, partly on the former line of the A615.

Cornwall

The Liskeard bypass, stretching for 6 miles (10 km) from the west of Liskeard to Trerulefoot, opened in June 1976.^[15] A public inquiry was held for the Dobwalls bypass in February 2005, which was expected to cost £32 million.^[17] The bottleneck was removed when the bypass, linking the existing Liskeard bypass to the current single carriageway section through the Glynn Valley opened in the Winter of 2008.^[18] A campaign to open this road was started by villagers in Dobwalls in 1930, but planning for building the road was not granted until 2006, the work starting on 15 November that year.^[19] Two bat bridges and one bat house were added as the road cut through existing bat flight lines.^[20][21] After opening the Dobwall bypass experienced problems with surface water. This led to lane closures in winter due to risk of ice. A major scheme to reconstruct a mile of the bypass started in September 2014 and is expected to last until May 2015. It is thought it will cost an extra £10.6 million.^[22][23]

In a separate improvement within the Glynn Valley, the

The A38 in Devon runs between Tamar Bridge outside Plymouth and junction 31 of the M5, where the motorway ends; this section is known as the Devon Expressway. It is mainly a two-lane dual carriageway which runs between Exeter and Plymouth serving as a continuation of the M5 motorway. It is a popular route for tourists travelling to Cornwall, though those wanting to use a continuous dual carriageway route to Cornwall can use the A30 rather than using the Devon Expressway before joining the less major roads over the border in Cornwall. It then runs concurrently with the M5 until junction 27, where it splits and enters Somerset independent but parallel to the M5.

During the mid-1960s, small sections of the route between Plymouth and Exeter were upgraded to dual carriageway, such as those at Dean Prior and Heathfield. This was followed by the construction of Plympton bypass in 1970–71, with the majority of realignment, such as the Ivybridge and Buckfastleigh bypasses, being completed during 1973–74. The route, now known as the Devon Expressway, was largely complete by 1975, with the final section between Kennford and the M5 opening in 1977, coinciding with the completion of the final section of the M5 around Exeter during the same year. Whilst many of the sections were newly constructed realignments, some sections such as the Ashburton and Kennford bypasses were upgraded from the original 1930s single carriageway bypasses.^[6] The Parkway, the section of dual carriageway through the suburbs of Plymouth between the Tamar Bridge and Marsh Mills, was constructed in 1983–84, along a route which had been reserved for this road since 1943. This was followed by the construction of a flyover over Marsh Mills roundabout in 1992, providing a non-stop route between the Plympton bypass and the Parkway.^[6]

The Plympton bypass opened in 1971,^[25] and was used for a stage in the 1974 Tour de France, with a 3.5 miles (5.6 km) stretch closed to traffic in order to allow the visit of the race to the United Kingdom.^[26][27]

The viaducts carrying the A38 over the River Plym, which after the construction of the Marsh Mills flyover became the Exeter bound sliproads, were built in 1969–1970 as part of the Plympton bypass. They were replaced in the 1990s due to suffering from

As with any major road, accidents are likely to occur; however due to the substandard design of some sections of the route between Exeter and Plymouth, the accident rate has been identified as being above the national average for the type of road.[30] A spate of accidents in April 2009^[31] heightened local awareness of the issue, with local MP Gary Streeter calling for a review of the road. A number of improvements have been made along the route in recent years, mainly being the replacement of worn-out road surfaces, such as those at Buckfastleigh and Ivybridge.^[32] These projects have also included the replacement of signage, and the reconstruction of exit/entry slips for side turnings, in a bid to make the road safer.

Presently, the route between Plymouth and the end of M5 is all dual carriageway, and branded the Devon Expressway, being the primary route that links Plymouth to the rest of the country.

Beyond the end of the M5, the road runs concurrently with and as the M5 until junction 27. The original route between Exeter and junction 27 of the M5 (Waterloo Cross) was downgraded to become the B3181 when the M5 was opened in 1977

Somerset

From Junction 27 of the M5 to

The centre of Bridgwater was a notorious bottleneck on the "holiday route" as traffic from both the A38 and the A39 had to negotiate through the town centre in order to cross the River Parrett. The construction of a new reinforced concrete road bridge, the Blake Bridge, which opened in March 1958 as part of a southern bypass took much of the traffic away from the centre of Bridgwater.^[33] The opening of the M5 in 1974 further reduced the traffic pressure. This is complemented by a link road (Western Way) linking the A38 and the A39 north and west of the town respectively.

Much of the A38 through Somerset was built as single carriageway, with some three-lane passing points. However, the construction of the M5 through Somerset, in the early 1970s, led to the building of links between the A38 and the M5 in the form of new roundabouts on the A38 linking into adjacent junctions on the M5.

Bristol

The A38 serves

South of Bristol

South of Bristol, the road was diverted in 2001 to cater for an extension of the runway and installation of a category 3 landing system at Bristol Airport.^[34] The route south of the city, despite serving the airport, is single-carriageway and suffers from heavy volume of traffic at peak times, and congestion along Bedminster Down. From Bedminster Down the A38 follows West Street and East Street through the centre of Bedminster, but drivers from the south are advised by road signs not to follow the A38 into the city, but to use the A3029 (Winterstoke Road) to enter from the west, as this route has a greater capacity. As part of the Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study, a link road had been under consideration to the south of Bristol.^[35] This is in part due to the congestion at Winterstoke Road and Barrow Gurney,^[36] both of which are very busy, especially the latter where the road can only accommodate travelling at one direction at a given time; and the incomplete Bristol Ring Road (A4174). This road, named the South Bristol Link, was subsequently opened in 2017.^[37]

Central Bristol

In central Bristol, the original route from

The route to the north of the city is also very busy: it runs as a single carriageway up to the junction with the A4174 ring road at Filton, and where it runs as Gloucester Road is a busy shopping parade. Beyond the ring road, it runs as dual-carriageway past Filton Airport which lies in South Gloucestershire, which contains bases for Royal Mail, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and others. Beyond junction 16 of the M5 it runs as a broad single carriageway, again parallel to the M5 in route towards Gloucester.

The present road from Bristol through Horfield was one of the additional roads added to the Bristol turnpike roads in 1749. This passed through Thornbury to Stone, just beyond the boundary of South Gloucestershire, where it met one of the Gloucester turnpike roads.^[40] From Almondsbury, the road approximately follows the line of the Roman road from Sea Mills to Gloucester.^[1] The previous main route out of Bristol (one of twelve roads from the city, turnpiked in 1727) was Stapleton and Hambrook to the upper end of Tytherington and thence to Stone.^[41] This seems to be parts of B4058, B4424, and then unclassified roads. However, Ogilby's Britannia shows a route following the B4058 as far as Cromhall, then through Stinchcombe Bottom, Dursley, and Cam before joining the present road.^[42]

Gloucestershire

The Bristol turnpike roads were continued by a turnpike road established in 1727, described as "from the City of Gloucester to the village of Stone being the great road from the north to west of this kingdom".^{[43][failed verification]} Much of the road, follows a Roman road, but deviates from it between Buckover and Whitfield.^[44]

The A38 was rerouted along the Gloucester Bypass when it was built, and the old route through the city became the A430. In 2007 the Gloucester South Western Bypass opened to traffic,^[45] costing £43 million.^[46] Though it is numbered A430 and not technically part of the A38, traffic wishing to continue on the A38 on the other side of the city is signed to use the bypass, rather than the existing A38.

Beyond Gloucester, the A38 was probably only improved in 1756 under an Act (

The current A38 road follows from the southern end of one of the Worcester turnpike trust's roads which was originally (in 1726) at Severn Stoke, but an Act of 1737 extended it to Upton Bridge (taking it past Bluebell Farm).^[50]

North of the city, the road was a particularly important one as it connected the saltmaking centre of Droitwich with the River Severn. In 1706, this was described as heavily used for the 'carriage of salt, iron, coals and other wares'.^[51][52] The first Turnpike Act for this road was an extremely early one, being passed in 1713 and recites:

The highway from the city of Worcester to the Borough of Droitwich ... by reason of the heavy and many loads and carriages of salt and other goods which daily pass through the said road is almost impassible for the space of nine months.^[53]

When it was renewed in 1725, it was extended from the Tything of Whistons to the Lower Slip of the Quay of Worcester; from Droitwich to Dyers Bridge (M5 Junction 5) near Bromsgrove; and through the town of Droitwich from "Netherwith" [Netherwich] Bridge to a place called "Chapel on the Bridge".^[54] In 1749, this was again extended through the town of Bromsgrove to Spadebourne Bridge, immediately north of the town.^[55] Where the road leaves Worcester, it again does not follow the line of the Roman road in the same direction until it picks up the Roman line, just south of Martin Hussingtree. The Roman road took a more direct line over Rainbow Hill and through Blackpole, now B4550. From Martin Hussingtree, the A38 closely follows the Roman line to beyond Bromsgrove.^[56] The present road deviates from its line when it was originally classified at Droitwich where the main road is a bypass, the old road now mostly being B4090. This happens again at Bromsgrove, where A38 is again a bypass, the old line mostly now being B4091 and Bromsgrove High Street (now partly pedestrianised, then through the town centre. The Bromsgrove Eastern Bypass was constructed in 1980.

A short distance north of where the old A38 (now declassified) joins the Bromsgrove bypass, is Lickey End, where an old highway intersection has been replaced by Junction 1 of M42 motorway. Here, the road is joined from the southeast by the B4096, Alcester Road, which was from 1754 one of the roads of the Alcester turnpike trust.^[57] The continuation northwards of B4096 is called Old Birmingham Road, because it was the original route of the turnpike to Birmingham, climbing to a pass in the Lickey Hills. The Roman road also went through the same pass, but its route to the pass was probably rather straighter.^[56] Beyond the motorway junction, the A38 was turnpiked, not as the turnpike to Birmingham, but to Halesowen and Dudley, by the 1726 Act that also turnpiked Old Birmingham Road.^[58] The next Acts appointed separate trustees for the Dudley Road in 1742 and for the Birmingham Road in 1748.^[59] The road continues from the M42 Junction 1 towards Catshill and up a short incline at which there is a fork. Prior to the construction of the M5 motorway in the early 1960s, the Halesowen Road continued West whilst Birmingham Road continued North to meet the existing dual carriageway just South of Rubery. After the M5 was constructed, all traffic was diverted along Halesowen Road (then the A459) which was widened and lit to provide a direct route for the A38 to meet the M5 at Junction 4 at Lydiate Ash, with the dual carriageway continuing North to Rubery. The original Birmingham Road survives to this day, but is noticeably lightly trafficked due to its cul-de-sac nature. Its considerable width makes it a very popular route for learner drivers and as such is affectionately named by local people as "Learners Mile".

The road from Lydiate Ash to Longbridge was laid out as a new road in the early 1960s to collaborate with the construction of the M5 motorway which opened in 1962.^[60] The road passed through the centre of Rubery until the £770,000 (£15.9 million in 2021),^[61] Rubery Bypass opened in December 1965.

Lydiate Ash was the northern end of the M5 for many years in the 1960s, with traffic transferring onto the A38, which was diverted at this point to link with the M5.

Birmingham

At Longbridge, new turnpike joined the Roman road and the original turnpike, and runs straight towards the city centre. Hutton, the Birmingham historian described the road:^[62]

[Birmingham] to Bromsgrove 13 miles [is] made extremely commodious for the first four miles under the patronage of John Kettle esq in 1772 at an expense of £5000, but afterwards is so confined that two horses cannot pass without danger; the sun and winds are excluded, and the rivers lie open to the stranger and he travels through dirt at midsummer.

The Northfield bypass, taking traffic away from the congested town centre opened on 11 April 2007.^[63] Between Northfield and Selly Oak, the road is likely to have been in use in the medieval period as the road approximately follows the boundary of the former Weoley Park, the great park belonging to Weoley Castle.^[52] A 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) dual carriageway bypass (52°26′49″N 1°56′21″W / 52.44696°N 1.93923°W / 52.44696; -1.93923) of the narrow section from Selly Oak to Bournbrook opened in August 2011.^[64][65] This required new bridges to carry the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Cross-City railway line over the road.^[65] The destination of the Roman road was clearly Metchley Fort,^[56] but A38 turns away towards the city centre.

After Selly Oak, the A38 takes the Bristol Road into the city as far as the Belgrave Interchange with the

Between exiting the city centre and the M6 junction 6 ("

The bypass itself has been partly superseded, initially by the M42 further to the east, and in more recent years by the M6 Toll, which intersects it at junction T3, runs directly alongside part of the former A446 section between Bassett's Pole and Weeford Island, where it veers off (and has a further junction, T4) to shadow the A5 instead, also crossing the A5127 (at the limited-access junction T5) a few miles later on. The bypass has been effectively slightly downgraded as a result, first with the at-grade, signalised roundabouts of junction T3 interrupting traffic flow, and soon after by the imposition of a 60 mph (97 km/h), SPECS-enforced average speed limit (ostensibly because of a substandard alignment – parts of the southbound carriageway were formed directly from the old A446 – and in order to discourage illegal car and motorcycle racing)^{[citation needed]} on the A453-to-A5 section, making the toll road a slightly faster option even during off-peak hours.

Historically, it is not clear which turnpike trust was responsible for the section of road from Birmingham to Lichfield, or even whether it was a turnpike. Also, the A5127 out of Sutton picks up the Roman road route a little north of Mere Green (having itself diverted via Metchley Fort, the modern suburbs of Perry Barr and Kingstanding, then Sutton Park and Four Oaks/Little Aston), and follows it to Lichfield. The point south of Lichfield where it interchanges with the A5 (once a staggered junction, altered to a simpler crossroads roundabout by the Wall Bypass, then complicated once more by the coming of the A38/A5148 and M6 Toll) marks the crossing of two Roman streets, with the old A5 continuing to the historic fort of Wall, a mile or so after branching off to the west.

Staffordshire

The road (now

In March 1969, the 'Allestree Link Road', from the A6 at Allestree to the former A61 was opened, crossing the River Derwent and Midland Main Line.

Further improvements in the late 1960s and 1970s saw construction of the £5.2 million (£46.4 million in 2021)^[61] Mickleover bypass to the south-west of Derby opened on 19 February 1975. Although the government had approved the section through Allestree as early as 1974, before the Mickleover bypass had been completed, this section had many objections from nearby residents, delaying its construction (from the A52 to the A6). It was opposed directly by Derby Borough Council and the former Derby Higher Education College. The £17 million (£61 million in 2021)^[61] road was eventually opened on 7 September 1983, known as Queensway. An extension of the A38 northwards, crossing the M1 at Junction 28, and ending in Mansfield was built. The £3 million (£19.8 million in 2021)^[61] Little Eaton-Holbrook Improvement opened on 3 October 1977.

The £12 million (£79.3 million in 2021)^[61] 10-mile (16 km) Ripley-Swanwick Bypass was opened by Eric Varley (MP for Chesterfield) on 21 October 1977, although the section from Alfreton to the Hartshay Hill roundabout with the A610 had been open to traffic since 5 September 1977.

Nottinghamshire

To the east of Junction 28 of the M1, the road used to be the A615 until October 1977. The alignment of this road is relatively modern as the dangerous junction with Berristow Lane was improved to grade-separated in the late 1990s, incorporating access to a busy shopping centre.

Notable locations

Image	Name	Location	Coordinates
	Southern end of A38	Bodmin, Cornwall	50°28′53″N 4°41′54″W / 50.4815°N 4.6984°W / 50.4815; -4.6984 (Southern end of A38)
	Dobwalls Bypass	Cornwall	50°27′37″N 4°31′06″W / 50.460263°N 4.518428°W / 50.460263; -4.518428 (Dobwalls Bypass)
	Tamar Bridge	Cornwall & Devon border, city of Plymouth	50°24′29″N 4°12′14″W / 50.408107°N 4.203944°W / 50.408107; -4.203944 (Tamar Bridge)
	Former southern end of the Cullompton bypass	Somerset	50°49′11″N 3°24′30″W / 50.819713°N 3.408288°W / 50.819713; -3.408288 (Cullompton bypass)
	Spaghetti Junction	Birmingham, West Midlands	52°30′40″N 1°51′58″W / 52.511°N 1.866°W / 52.511; -1.866 (Spaghetti Junction)
	Northern end of A38	Mansfield, Nottinghamshire	53°08′37″N 1°12′04″W / 53.1436°N 1.2011°W / 53.1436; -1.2011 (Northern end of A38)

See also

• Great Britain road numbering scheme

References

Notes

Bibliography

• King, Peter W. (2006). "Some Roads out of North Worcestershire". Transactions of Worcestershire Archaeological Society. 3rd. 20: 87–102.
• Margary, Ivan (1973). Roman Roads in Britain. John Baker Publishers.
• Ogilby, John (1675). Britannia or an illustration of the Kingdom of England by a geographical and historical description of the principal roads thereof.
• Pawson, Eric (1977). Transport and Economy: The Turnpike Roads of Eighteenth Century Britain. Academic Press.
  ISBN 978-0-12-546950-0
  .
• ISBN 978-0-460-04329-8
  .

External links

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• SABRE – A38
• A38 corridor developments in Birmingham