This article is about the B3440 in Weston-super-Mare. For the B3440 from Willand - Uffculme in Devon, see B3440 (Devon).
Route
Locking Road
The B3440 heads into Weston-super-Mare along Locking Road and the New Bristol Road. It passes through the suburbs of St Georges, Worle and Milton along the way. There is also a short spur along the northern end of Drove Road (formerly A3033 and before that the B3127). The eastern junction with the A370 is grade-separated, albeit with only east-facing sliproads. However, they are very close to the roundabout for the M5 junction, causing extensive weaving and queueing at peak periods, as traffic tries to cross to the correct lane for the roundabout.
History
The present B3440 follows the original line of the A370 into Weston. However, just when you thought that having the same road number for two current routes was confusing enough, a little history shall make things worse for you: There is also a defunct B3440. You see, before the A370 was diverted along the new dual carriageway into Weston, the B3440 existed as a very short loop along Worle High Street. Indeed, for a while, maps continued to show this as being part of the B3440, but it has now become unclassified.
It seems therefore that Weston has the better claim to the B3440 number, although Worle High Street was the B3346 (and possibly the B3146 for a time) for many years and there is no obvious reason why the number was changed.
