A382 road
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| Route information | |
| Length | 19.1 mi[1] (30.7 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Newton Abbot 50°31′43″N 3°36′54″W / 50.52872°N 3.615105°W |
 A381 A383A38  A3124A30 | |
| North end | Whiddon Down 50°43′13″N 3°50′51″W / 50.720333°N 3.84745°W |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Primary destinations | Newton Abbot, Bovey Tracey, Lustleigh, Moretonhampstead |
| Road network | |
The A382 is a road in South West England, connecting Newton Abbot to the A38, then to Bovey Tracey and on through Moretonhampstead to the A30.[2]
Route
The road starts in Newton Abbot at the junction with the A381, continuing out through the town, past the connection to the A383 which links to the A38 southbound.
It continues past Stover School, Stover Country Park and the Newton Abbot branch of Trago Mills before arriving at the junction with the A38, known as Drumbridges.[3] From the A38 roundabout, the road continues in a straight line for 2 km, known locally as the "Bovey Straight"[4] across Bovey Heath, with Heathfield on the east and Great Plantation on the west towards Bovey Tracey.
The road used to go through the centre of Bovey Tracey, but since 1987 it has bypassed the town, following part of the route of the old Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway line, from where that line crossed the road near the former Bovey Tracey Pottery to just north of the junction with the B3387 road to Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Haytor. The former Bovey railway station was retained at the side of the road and is now a heritage centre.[5]
The bypass continues on a northerly route west of the town until it joins the former turnpike road which follows the valley of the Wray Brook. It passes the former Hawkmoor County Sanatorium and the village of Lustleigh before arriving in the town of Moretonhampstead where the B3212 heads towards Postbridge and Princetown in one direction and towards Exeter in the other.
From here, the A382 continues north-west, through the small settlements of Easton and Sandy Park, eventually arriving at Whiddon Down, where there is a bypass around the village, before the road joins up with the A30 road at a recent junction which was completed in 2006 which was formerly a roundabout
History
Turnpike
The road mainly follows the route of the road built by the Newton Bushell Turnpike Trust, one of a number of turnpike trusts operating in Devon, who upgraded, built, and maintained a number of trunk roads, which were often poorly served by the parish councils who were responsible for road maintenance but often prioritised roads within the parish rather than those between parishes.[6]
The trust was given the requisite Act of Parliament following a "petition of the Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders of the feveral Parithes of Teingrafe, Bovey Tracey, Luftley, North Bovey, and Moreton Hampftead" on 19 January 1761, due their road being "incommodious, having a very troublesome ascent and descent, that has scarcely ever been considered a public road".[7] This caused the building of the turnpike road from Newton Bushell (now Newton Abbot) to Moretonhampstead.
In 1826, a further Act was made to both repair and improve the road from Newton to Moretonhampstead, as well as extend it to Whiddon Down through the village of Sandy Park.[8]
Bovey bypass
Bypassing the town of Bovey Tracey was suggested in the 1930s by the owner of Parke, with a proposed route from the Dolphin Hotel North to the road near Dean Parke.[9]
The scheme was once again revived in the 1960s, with a proposed building date of 1971-1981.[10]
In the 1980s, a £3m scheme was proposed and this led to a public inquiry due to disagreement over the route,[11] despite being supported by council planners.[12] The bypass was finally approved in 1986 to largely follow the disused line of the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway.[13]
Construction had a number of unexpected elements, including the requirement for special tunnels to be installed under the road for the use of badgers,[14] and the discovery of granite milepost, which was re-erected close to the new road.[15]
The construction necessitated the demolition of a twin-arch road bridge near the Bovey Pottery (now the House of Marbles),[16] despite a campaign to save the bridge by local campaigners.[17] It also meant the 11-month closure of the road to Ashburton as the original rail bridge was demolished and replaced.[18]
The new bypass finally opened in October 1987, being accompanied by a celebratory fete titled "Bypass '87",[19] which raised money for charity, prior to its official opening a few days later by the county council chairman.[20]
The total final cost of the bypass was £2.25m,[21] and attracted some early criticism as being a "white elephant".[22]
Accidents and deaths
The A382 saw five fatal accidents between 1999 and 2010, two resulting in the death of a car driver, and three in the death of a motorcyclist.[23] The road carries warning signs specifically related to motorcycle accidents, indicating 13 accidents over 3 years between Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead.[24]
References
- ^ "Directions to Exeter Rd/A382". Google Maps. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Roader's Digest – A382". SABRE.
- ^ Hawkins (1988), map on p.44.
- ^ See, for example, "Liverton Village Hall". Liverton Village Hall Management Committee. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012., and "Discover Bovey Heathfield" (PDF). Devon Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ Hawkins, Michael (1988). Devon Roads – an illustrated survey of the development and management of Devon's highway network. Exeter: Devon Books. pp. 44, 63, 233. ISBN 0-86114-817-7.
- ^ Pawson, E (1977). Transport and Economy: the turnpike roads of eighteenth century England.
- ^ "Ashburton, etc. Road". The Journal of the House of Commons. 28 (1 Geo III): 1028. 19 January 1761.
- ^ "Newton Bushell Turnpike Trust". Turnpike Roads in England and Wales. 24 September 2013.
- ^ "South Devon Committee Affairs". The Devon and Exeter Gazette. 18 April 1931.
- ^ "Bovey Bypass: 1971-1981 is plan". Herald Express. 19 August 1964.
- ^ "Bovey By-Pass Battle Begins". Herald Express. 24 July 1985.
- ^ "Bovey bypass - plan unresolved". Herald Express. 13 July 1982.
- ^ "Bovey bypass gets go-ahead". Herald Express. 8 August 1986.
- ^ "Freeway for badgers!". Herald Express. 21 April 1987.
- ^ "Focus". Herald Express. 24 November 1987.
- ^ Gray, Peter (3 October 1987). "Rail Trail". Herald Express.
- ^ "Save bridge from bulldozers plea". Herald Express. 11 August 1987.
- ^ "Bridge opens". Herald Express. 11 August 1987.
- ^ "Bypass fun aids charity". Herald Express. 29 September 1987.
- ^ White, Sue (13 October 1987). "Long-running bypass saga ends happily". Herald Express.
- ^ "By-pass open at last". Herald Express. 17 October 1987.
- ^ "Bypass is bypassed claim!". Herald Express. 16 November 1987.
- ^ "Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999–2010". BBC News.
- ^ "THINK BIKE signs return to A380". Newton Abbot People. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012.
A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme | ||
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