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Somerset

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Somerset
Location Map ( geo)
Somerset flag.jpg
Cameraicon.png View gallery (68)
Primary Destinations
Bath • Bridgwater • Bristol • Frome • Glastonbury • Minehead • Shepton Mallet • Taunton • Weston-super-Mare • Yeovil
Other Important Destinations
Ilminster • Wellington • Wells
Current Highway Authorities
Bath and North East Somerset Council • Bristol City Council • North Somerset Council • Somerset Council
Borders
Devon • Dorset • Gloucestershire • Wiltshire
National Highways Roads
M5 • A4 • A36 • A46 • A303
This article is about the county.
For the Highway Authority, see Somerset Council
.

Somerset is a traditional county in South West England.

Network development

Cheddar Gorge

Most of the development of Somerset's road network has of course been connected to the M5, the county's only motorway; this now runs through the county south from its border with Gloucestershire past Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater and Taunton to the border with Devon. As a result of this, the former main road, the A38, has been demoted to a secondary A-road for almost its entire run through the county, with only the section north of M5 J22 still being a primary route. It has also meant the A38 is unimproved from its 1922 alignment in many places, with the road still running through the centre of both Taunton (although it has been realigned), and Bridgwater. Improvements all along the road have now been suggested by the former Somerset County Council, although this mostly focuses on the busy sections near Taunton and Bridgwater, where the road is still very busy, due to the large amount of traffic between the towns along the route.

The A303 is the other main road in the county, although improvements to this road has mostly consisted of single-carriageway bypasses, for example the S2+1 Ilminster Bypass. The A303 up to Horton Cross has recently been part of the scheme to upgrade the whole route to D2 standard, although it is now very uncertain as to whether this upgrade will actually happen.

The A361 runs through the county, although it is a minor road for almost its entire run, until it meets with the A39 near Glastonbury. It formerly ran through the suburbs of Taunton, and out towards Wiveliscombe but this route is now variously A3259, A358 and B3227. One reason the A361 has been largely replaced is again due to the M5, which now takes former A361 traffic out of the county.

The A39 begins in Somerset near Bath, and, after meeting with the A38-M5 pairing in Bridgwater, heads out to Minehead and sticks close to the coast, taking in the 1:4 Porlock Hill, one of the steepest classified roads in the country. This road is fairly minor in Somerset, only gaining importance in Devon and Cornwall; as a result it is still mostly S2.

The majority of traffic movements through the county has always been heavier in the summer, due to tourists heading to Devon, Cornwall and the coastal area around Minehead, home to a Butlin's site. For the latter two, the M5 has taken the load off the formerly choked A38, but the Minehead area is still served by the S2 A39 and A358, although the A358 is much less used for that purpose.

In the winter, traffic problems on the M5 are much rarer, but a few hotspots regularly appear in traffic reports: the A30 in Yeovil, the A38 in both Bridgwater and Taunton, and the A303, mostly along the Ilminster Bypass.

Historically, the traffic that now uses the M5 in the summer would have endured a long, slow crawl through the unbypassed towns of Somerset: starting with the southern parts of Bristol; then Bridgwater, where it met (and still meets) the Minehead traffic on the A39; then Taunton, where North Devon traffic split off for the old A361; then finally Wellington, which is the only town along the A38 corridor in Somerset to have been bypassed before the M5, although its relief road was cobbled together from existing country lanes.

Route From To Length
M5 West Bromwich Exeter 166 miles View   
A4 London Avonmouth 129.8 miles View
A30 Hounslow Land's End 284 miles View
A36 Bath Totton 64.8 miles View
A37 Bristol Dorchester 60 miles View
A38 Bodmin Mansfield 309.7 miles View
A39 Corston Falmouth 204 miles View
A46 Bath Cleethorpes 223 miles View
A303 Popham Upottery 95 miles View
A356 Bower Hinton Grimstone 21.8 miles View
A357 Wincanton Durweston 19.5 miles View
A358 Williton Axe Bridge 43.2 miles View
A359 Yeovil Nunney 23.4 miles View
A361 Ilfracombe Kilsby 213 miles View
A362 Warminster Farrington Gurney 17.8 miles View
A363 Bathford Yarnbrook 10.3 miles View
A366 Trowbridge Kilmersdon 9.7 miles View
A367 Bath Shepton Mallet 16.4 miles View
A368 Marksbury Banwell 19.4 miles View
A369 Bristol Portishead 8.0 miles View
A369 Glastonbury Marksbury 19.5 miles View
A370 Bristol East Brent 28.7 miles View
A371 Wincanton Locking 37.6 miles View
A372 Bridgwater Podimore 19.6 miles View
A374 Donyatt Colyford 16.2 miles View
A378 Langport Ash Cross 9.8 miles View
A396 Marsh Street Cowley 42 miles View
A398 Norton Fitzwarren South Molton 35.2 miles View
A431 St George, Bristol Lower Weston, Bath 9.2 miles View
A3024 Temple Meads Bedminster Bridge 0.4 miles View
A3027 Staplegrove Taunton 1.6 miles View
A3027 Wellington Road East Street 0.6 miles View
A3029 Hotwells Hartcliffe 3.3 miles View
A3033 Weston-super-Mare Uphill 1.2 miles View
A3034 Bath Bridge Bedminster Bridge 0.5 miles View
A3035 Axbridge Cross 0.4 miles View
A3036 South Petherton Stonehenge 48.1 miles View
A3037 Ilminster Peasmarsh 2.0 miles View
A3038 Taunton Station Taunton 0.9 miles View
A3038 Ditton Street High Street 0.1 miles View
A3039 London Road Churchill (Southgate) Bridge 0.4 miles View
A3062 Odd Down Widcombe 2.5 miles View
A3065 Bishop's Hull Staplegrove 1.4 miles View
A3066 Haselbury Plucknett Bridport 13.6 miles View
A3079 Horton, Ilminster Upottery 9.5 miles View
A3080 Beckford Road London Road 0.3 miles View
A3087 North Town Firepool 1.2 miles View
A3088 Yeovil Stoke sub Hamdon 5.9 miles View
A3098 Frome Westbury 6.5 miles View
A3259 Priorswood (Taunton) Walford Cross 2.0 miles View
A3604 Lower Bristol Road Upper Bristol Road 0.3 miles View
A3807 Wellington Road Bridge Street 0.5 miles View
A4016 Southgate Street Upper Bristol Road 0.5 miles View
A4044 St James Barton Redcliff 1.2 miles View
A4174 Filton Long Ashton 17.9 miles View
A4175 Hicks Gate Staple Hill 8.1 miles View
A4320 Baptist Mills Arno's Vale 2.0 miles View   
B3081 Ashley Prestleigh 45.2 miles View
B3090 Marston Gate, Frome Beckington Bypass 4.0 miles View
B3090 Ilchester Stonehenge 42.4 miles View
B3092 Frome Sturminster Newton 25.3 miles View
B3093 Prestleigh Shaftesbury 19.2 miles View
B3096 Stoney Stoke Wincanton 2.2 miles View
B3097 Portway Keyford 0.4 miles View
B3099 Westbury Standerwick 2.6 miles View
B3104 Wedmore Glastonbury 8.7 miles View
B3108 Monkton Combe Bradford-on-Avon 3.7 miles View
B3109 Corsham Rode 12.0 miles View
B3110 Odd Down, Bath Woolverton 6.9 miles View
B3111 Wells Road, Oldfield Park Lower Bristol Road 0.8 miles View
B3112 Wells Ammerdown, Kilmersdon 12.6 miles View
B3113 Emborough Bathway, Chewton Mendip 1.8 miles View
B3114 Chew Magna Emborough 10.7 miles View
B3115 Dunkerton High Littleton (N) 5.1 miles View
B3116 Keynsham Marksbury(N) 3.8 miles View
B3117 Belluton Cambridge Batch 9.2 miles View
B3118 Lower Bristol Road Green Park Road 0.2 miles View
B3118 Belluton Pensford Hill 0.1 miles View
B3119 Brislington Hengrove 0.9 miles View
B3120 Ashton Malago Vale 1.3 miles View
B3121 Bedminster Down Road Ashton Road 0.9 miles View
B3122 Parson Street, Bedminster Wells Road, Knowle 1.9 miles View
B3123 View
B3124 Clevedon Portishead 6.0 miles View
B3126 Leigh Woods Ashton Gate 1.1 miles View
B3127 Uphill Weston-Super-Mare 1.1 miles View
B3128 Long Ashton Tickenham 6.2 miles View
B3129 Flax Bourton Clifton, Bristol 5.3 miles View
B3130 Belluton Clevedon 19.5 miles View
B3131 Clevedon Portishead 4.5 miles View
B3131 Portway The Butts 1 mile View
B3132 Marine Hill Walton Road 1.3 miles View
B3133 Clevedon Langford 8.4 miles View
B3134 Burrington Miners Arms Crossroads 6.8 miles View
B3135 Cheddar Oakhill 14.0 miles View
B3136 Downside Pilton 2.7 miles View
B3136 Cheddar Wedmore 4.4 miles View
B3137 Sadler Street Portway 0.3 miles View
B3138 Tucker Street Priory Road 0.2 miles View
B3139 Burnham-on-Sea Terry Hill 31.9 miles View
B3140 East Brent Edithmead 6.9 miles View
B3141 Watchfield Bawdrip 4.3 miles View
B3145 Lattiford Sherborne 9.8 miles View
B3146 Locking Road Bristol Road 0.9 miles View
B3148 Marston Magna Sherborne 4.3 miles View
B3149 North Cheriton Bratton Seymour 2.6 miles View
B3150 Red Post Cross Camel Cross 3.1 miles View
B3151 Cheddar West Camel 26.7 miles View
B3152 Ansford Galhampton 2.1 miles View
B3153 Ansford Langport 14.0 miles View
B3161 Bridport Haselbury Plucknett 13.9 miles View
B3162 Bridport By Pass Chard 17.9 miles View
B3165 Somerton Lyme Regis 30.5 miles View
B3167 Cricket St Thomas (W) Tytherleigh (NE) 4.3 miles View
B3168 Curry Rivel Horton Cross 8.8 miles View
B3169 Bristol Road, Congresbury Bristol Road, Congresbury 0.35 miles View
B3169 Horton Cross Stopgate 7.6 miles View
B3170 Taunton Stopgate 10.5 miles View
B3171 Monkton Heathfield Staplegrove 3.5 miles View
B3187 Wellington Milverton 6.9 miles View
B3188 Fair Cross Wiveliscombe 9.0 miles View
B3189 Williton St Decumans 1.2 miles View
B3190 Five Bells Bampton 17.1 miles View
B3191 Williton Carhampton 6.4 miles View
B3222 Exebridge Barlynch 4.3 miles View
B3223 Dulverton Watersmeet 20.2 miles View
B3224 East Combe Exford (W) 23.2 miles View
B3225 Porlock Porlock Weir 1.6 miles View
B3227 Langford, Taunton Stibb Cross 57.9 miles View
B3339 Sandford Corner Bridgwater 1.5 miles View
B3342 Failand Long Ashton 1.9 miles View
B3346 Locking Road Bristol Road 0.9 miles View
B3354 Midsomer Norton Norton Down 1.9 miles View
B3355 Stratton on the Fosse Hallatrow 4.8 miles View
B3356 Chilcompton Nettlebridge 1.4 miles View
B3358 Simonsbath Friendship Farm, Blackmoor Gate 7.3 miles View
B3368 Locking By Pass (E) Locking By Pass (W) 1.3 miles View
B3370 The Hayes Cliff Street 0.3 miles View
B3371 Cheddar Head Whitestown Farm 2.3 miles View
B3440 West Wick Weston super Mare 3.7 miles View
B4043 Monmouth Street Lower Bristol Road 0.4 miles View
B4044 Lower Weston Newton St Loe 1.3 miles View
B4045 Keynsham Willsbridge, Bitton 1.3 miles View
B4053 Temple Circus Colston Avenue 0.7 miles View     
T8 London Penzance View
T9 London Bristol View
T16 Exeter Leeds View
T39 West of Southampton Bath View
T41 Taunton Fraddon View
T44 Bath Lincoln View

Key

Motorway
Primary Route
Non Primary Route
Former Motorway
Defunct Route
E Road
Future Motorway
Future Primary
Future Non Primary
Historical Route
Tourist Route
Roman Road
Unbuilt Motorway
Unbuilt Primary
Unbuilt Non Primary
National Cycle Network
Cycle Route
Eurovelo Cycle Route

Turnpikes

Main Article: Somerset Turnpikes

Junctions

Main Article: Junctions in Somerset


Bridges, Tunnels, and other Crossings

Main Article: Crossings in Somerset

Videos

Porlock Hill

A39 Porlock Hill, going downhill

Watch video > >


Links





Somerset
Sections
Services
Roads
A4 • A30 • A30/history • A30/Sandbox • A36 • A37 • A38 • A39 • A46 • A303 • A356 • A357 • A358 • A359 • A361 • A362 • A363 • A366 • A367 • A368 • A369 • A369 (Glastonbury - Marksbury) • A370 • A371 • A372 • A374 (Donyatt - Colyford) • A378 • A396 • A398 • A431 • A3024 (Bristol) • A3027 • A3027 (Taunton Town Centre) • A3029 • A3033 • A3034 (Bristol) • A3035 (Axbridge - Cross) • A3036 (South Petherton - Stonehenge) • A3037 • A3038 • A3038 (Ilminster) • A3039 • A3062 • A3065 • A3066 • A3079 (Ilminster - Upottery) • A3080 • A3087 • A3088 • A3098 • A3259 • A3604 • A3807 • A4016 (Bath) • A4044 • A4174 • A4175 • A4320 • B3081 • B3090 • B3090 (Ilchester - Stonehenge) • B3092 • B3093 (Evercreech - Shaftesbury) • B3096 (Wincanton) • B3097 (Frome) • B3099 • B3104 (Wedmore - Glastonbury) • B3108 • B3109 • B3110 • B3111 • B3112 (Wells - Kilmersdon) • B3113 • B3114 • B3115 • B3116 • B3117 • B3118 • B3118 (Publow) • B3119 • B3120 • B3121 (Bristol) • B3122 • B3123 (Wells) • B3124 • B3126 • B3127 (Weston-super-Mare) • B3128 • B3129 • B3130 • B3131 (Clevedon) • B3131 (Frome) • B3132 • B3133 • B3134 • B3135 • B3136 • B3136 (Cheddar-Wedmore) • B3137 (Wells) • B3138 (Wells) • B3139 • B3140 • B3141 • B3145 • B3146 (Somerset) • B3148 • B3149 (Wincanton) • B3150 (Somerset) • B3151 • B3152 • B3153 (Somerset) • B3161 (Bridport - Crewkerne) • B3162 • B3165 (Somerset) • B3167 • B3168 • B3169 • B3169 (Ilminster - Upottery) • B3170 • B3171 • B3187 • B3188 • B3189 • B3190 • B3191 • B3222 • B3223 • B3224 • B3225 • B3227 • B3339 • B3342 (Long Ashton) • B3346 • B3354 (Midsomer Norton) • B3355 • B3356 • B3358 • B3368 • B3370 (Cheddar) • B3371 • B3440 (Weston-super-Mare) • B4043 (Bath) • B4044 (Bath) • B4045 (Keynsham) • B4053 • E116 (Old System) • Fosse Way • Kelston Toll Road • M5 • NCN4 • Outer Circuit Road • Porlock Toll Road • RM47 • South Bristol Spur • Sweet Track • T8 (Britain) • T9 (Britain) • T16 (Britain) • T39 (Britain) • T41 (Britain) • T44 (Britain) • Weston Spur • Worthy Toll Road
Places
Miscellaneous
Related Pictures
View gallery (68)
A3039 Bath 1987 - Coppermine - 15431.jpgStoke St Michael Sign - Coppermine - 7163.jpgDSC01514.JPGToll road junction, on the A39 - Geograph - 2343879.jpgAA telephone box, at Pittcombe Head - Geograph - 2343892.jpg
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