1995 plans for Deptford Interchange (A303/A36 near Wylye)

[Fluid Dynamics]

I used to travel this route (A36) quite regularly as a child visiting relatives in the West Country during the 1980s. The Deptford interchange was as it is now, always seemed massively over-engineered although the short DC was a godsend if stuck behind Sunday drivers. I do recall quite a lot of improvements along the route with SC bypasses of Steeple Langford, Codford and Heytesbury along the Whylye Valley and ultimately the Warminster Bypass. There did seem to be a piecemeal programme of improvements to the A36, with Alderbury bypassed in the late 1970s, improvements north of Warminster and ongoing but ultimately fruitless discussion of a bypass at West Willow, an accident blackspot. Without a solution at Salisbury and Bath, there's not really much point in doing much else, and certainly Wiltshire's concentration is on the A350 these days.

[Richardf]

Just don't understand the thinking behind the current layout. It's very strange and takes up a lot of space. A simpler roundabout based junction might have been better.

[A320Driver]

Just don't understand the thinking behind the current layout. It's very strange and takes up a lot of space. A simpler roundabout based junction might have been better.

Oh yeah, a roundabout is exactly what the A303 needs there! The junction was obviously designed when the aspiration was for a fully dualled A36 from Southampton to Bath. These days a two-bridge roundabout (A303 freeflow) would be the best solution.

[Richardf]

Just don't understand the thinking behind the current layout. It's very strange and takes up a lot of space. A simpler roundabout based junction might have been better.

Oh yeah, a roundabout is exactly what the A303 needs there! The junction was obviously designed when the aspiration was for a fully dualled A36 from Southampton to Bath. These days a two-bridge roundabout (A303 freeflow) would be the best solution.

Didn't really mean a flat roundabout with the A303 giving way to the A36, but rather a grade separated one, with the A303 freeflow. The A36 would be at grade through the roundabout but maybe that could have been future proofed to allow the A36 to be separated as well.

Often feel the same could have happened at Bullington Cross too.