A432
A432 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Bristol (ST600735) | |||
To: | Old Sodbury (ST763811) | |||
Distance: | 13.7 miles (22 km) | |||
Meets: | A420, A4320, B4051, B4058, B4469, B4048, B4465, A4174, A4017, A4174, B4059, B4060, A46, B4040 | |||
Primary Destinations | ||||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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The A432 heads northeast out of Bristol. The majority of the road has now been bypassed by better quality roads but the A432 still keeps its number.
The road starts virtually slap bang in the centre of Bristol at the A420 one-way system near Old Market. From here it crosses the busy A4320 Spine Road from the M32 to the A4 - or at least it does in theory: in both directions the straight-on route is for buses only and all other traffic is forced to turn left onto the A4320 and presumably U-turns at the next roundabout (although most traffic would be on the M32 anyway).
The road then travels through Easton to Eastville meeting the B4469 (for access to the M32). Then the road goes through the areas of Fishponds and Mangotsfield, meeting two spurs of the A4174 before eventually reaching the mainline of that road, the incomplete Avon Ring Road. From here the road is much more important as the main route between Bristol and Yate at some point this road seems to have been straightened and widened to almost WS2 and even a short section of D2 was built just outside of Coalpit Heath to allow it to carry large amounts of traffic, however it has subsequently been downgrade by the council imposing a 40mph speed limit and narrowing the road with paint. After crossing the M4 (again, traffic wanting that should have taken the M32) the road continues on and goes under a railway bridge carrying the main Bristol-London line and through Coalpit Heath.
After travelling a short distance through rural areas the A432 reaches Yate. After a roundabout on the western side of town a spur of the B4059 is met, then the road goes over the Birmingham-Bristol line by the station. There are then a couple of roundabouts to negotiate going past the leisure centre, with the old route of the A432 the parallel B4060. The B4059 (the mainline this time) goes off to the left towards modern housing estates. Then there is a stretch of dual carriageway to bypass Chipping Sodbury and after a large oval roundabout (where the B4060 comes back) the scenery becomes rural again. Old Sodbury presents itself on the left and the main road meanders up a fairly steep incline (the railway line needs a tunnel here) which is followed by a fairly long but sharp bend to the left. The A432 ends at a traffic-light junction with the A46 and the B4040.
Original Author(s): Martyn Hicks