The A35 is a major

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

, connecting Honiton in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

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 ...

. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most of its route passes through

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and the New Forest. It originally connected

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and Southampton, the original A35 ran along what is now the A3052 joining the present road at Charmouth.

Route

Beginning in Honiton at the eastern junction with the A30 road, the A35 travels in a roughly south-easterly direction past Axminster, Charmouth and Bridport. After Bridport, there is a section of

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

, before it reaches its bypass around Dorchester. After Dorchester, there are approximately of dual carriageway, including the Puddletown bypass, until it reaches its

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 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 passing ...

at Bere Regis. Continuing roughly south-easterly still, it becomes dual carriageway again near

Upton Upton may refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Upton, Slough, Berkshire (in Buckinghamshire until 1974) * Upton, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet near Aylesbury * Upton, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough * Upton, Huntingdonshire, a location in Cambridge ...

, before returning to a single carriageway through

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

and

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, apart from a small section of dual carriageway on Wessex Way. On reaching

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, there is a dual-carriageway bypass. It then heads in a north-easterly direction through the New Forest, passing through Lyndhurst where it meets the

A337 road The A337 road is a road in southern England that runs from the M27 motorway in Hampshire to Christchurch in Dorset. Route of Road The A337 begins at junction 1 of the M27 motorway near Cadnam. It heads south through the New Forest to the large ...

(to Lymington). It continues through Ashurst and Totton, meeting the

A36 road The A36 is a trunk road and primary route in southwest England that links the port city of Southampton to the city of Bath. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 to Bristol, thus providing a road link between the major ports of Southampton a ...

and M271 motorway at grade separated junctions. It then turns north-east, acting as the western part of Southampton's ring road, with the

A27 road The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish (near Salisbury) in the county of Wiltshire, follows the south coast of Hampshire and West Sussex, and terminates at Pevensey (near Eastbourne and Bexhi ...

making up the eastern part. It terminates at Swaythling, on the northern outskirts of Southampton.

History

1922 - Road classification

The road number was created with the 1922 classification of roads in the United Kingdom. At that time its western terminus was on the then A30 in Heavitree, Exeter. In 1966 the section from Charmouth to Exeter was de-trunked and renumbered to A3052, with the A35 directed over the former A373 to Honiton, terminating at the then-new A30 Honiton Bypass. This added the narrow long Charmouth Tunnel to the route, built in 1832 to avoid the summit of Thistle Hill.

1987/88 - Building of Dorchester and Bridport Bypasses

The A35 is a main route along England's south coast, and was congested. To help solve the congestion, sections of the A35 were upgraded between Honiton and Poole. In 1969 the Ministry of Transport recorded the case for bypasses around Bridport and Dorchester. The bypass to the south of Bridport opened almost two decades later in 1987, followed by the bypass to the south of Dorchester in 1988.

1990/91 - Building of Axminster and Charmouth Village Bypasses

Following the re-routing onto the former A373 road, a major traffic bottleneck was the town of Axminster. A much-desired southern bypass for the town was indefinitely postponed in 1980 by the then

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport The Minister of State for Transport is a mid-level ministerial position in the Department for Transport of the Government of the United Kingdom who deputises for the Secretary of State for Transport. There is also a list of Parliamentary Under ...

, Kenneth Clarke. The project was eventually authorized by Act of Parliament in 1987, with construction beginning in 1990 approximately following the line of a Roman road. Charmouth village was bypassed in 1991, with the Charmouth Tunnel bypassed at the same time. The defunct tunnel was converted into a

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

in 2010.

1999 - Puddletown Bypass

The Puddletown dual carriageway bypass which opened in 1999 (together with the A30 Honiton-Exeter dualling) were financed under a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (

DBFO The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

) contract running from 1996 to 2026.

2004-2007 - Road straightening between Slepe and Upton

An on-line straightening between

Slepe Slepe is a hamlet in the county of Dorset, England. It is located on the A35 east of Organford Organford is a hamlet in the county of Dorset, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with ...

and the

bypass was carried out in 2004, and the extension of the speed limit west of Slepe by in 2007.

Bournemouth Centenary Way diversion

In Bournemouth, it has been diverted around the Sovereign Centre of Boscombe along Centenary Way resulting in a

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with the A338; much of its former route is now pedestrianised.

Junction list

Incidents

In May 2021, a sinkhole opened on the carriageway following emergency repairs to a pothole on the A35 Puddletown bypass near the junction for Troytown. The road was closed to allow remedial works to be carried out. In October 2021 the edge of the eastbound carriageway collapsed into a field where the A35 ascends an escarpment east of Honiton. Due to the complex ground conditions repairs took 8 months to complete with temporary signals controlling single-file traffic for that time.

References

External links

SABRE page on the A35
{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0035 Roads in England Roads in Devon Roads in Dorset Roads in Hampshire