The A32 is a road in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, that links

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

and

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

. Starting at Gosport, facing

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, it travels north via

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

, Wickham,

Droxford Droxford ( Drokensford) is a village in Hampshire, England. Geography The village is clustered with slight ribbon development along its main, north–south, undulating road. It is entirely on the lower half of the western slopes of the Meon v ...

, before joining the

A31 road The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset. Route of road The road begins in Guildford at the start of Farnham Road near Guildford Station, coming out of the town and passin ...

near Alton. The road is long from the seafront at Gosport to the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

with the A31 near Alton, and has entirely non-

primary status The United Kingdom has a network of roads, of varied quality and capacity, totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) sy ...

. Despite its non-primary status, the road forms the main access to the town of

. At rush-hour times, the road is often extremely congested (northbound in the morning rush, southbound in the evenings) as commuters head through central

from the Gosport peninsula to the M27. The main pinch-point is the long section of road between the Newgate Lane Flyover (junction B3334) and the Quay Street Roundabout in central

where traffic delays often cause northbound tailbacks of at peak times. During the evening rush, traffic can at times back up to the M27 at Junction 11 and along the inside lane of the

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

. There have for many years been plans to provide a light rail solution to the traffic problem by utilising the former Gosport to Fareham railway line but this was scrapped in 2005. Part of the former railway line has since been converted for "Eclipse" bus rapid transit routes. The A32 is a popular route for motorcyclists, particularly at weekends; the cafe ( now Loomies, formerly a "

Little Chef Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as it ...

") where the A272 crosses the A32 at

West Meon West Meon is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, with a population of 749 people at the 2011 census. Geography It is north-west of East Meon, on the headwaters of the River Meon. Its closest town is Petersfield which is to the e ...

has become central meeting place for many groups of riders. The historic site of Fort to the south is easily accessed from Wickham and is a popular route for motorcyclists. The A32 is referenced in a children's song.

External links

SABRE page on the A32

References

Roads in England Transport in Hampshire {{England-road-stub