The A369 is an

A road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

running from Ashton Gate junction with the A370 and the A3029 to Portishead in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

. The first part is relatively flat and the route passes through several villages which are

Leigh Woods Leigh Woods is a area of woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, within North Somerset opposite the English city of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate, of which it formed a part. S ...

Abbots Leigh Abbots Leigh is a village and civil parish in North Somerset, England, about west of the centre of Bristol. History The original Middle English name was ''Lega'', and the village became Abbots Leigh in the mid-12th century when Robert Fitzhardi ...

Easton in Gordano Easton in Gordano () is a village in Somerset, England, about northwest of Bristol city centre. It is part of the civil parish of Pill and Easton-in-Gordano and within the unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of North Somerset. In ...

to Portishead. The road crosses the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

at Junction 19 which is where the single complex

Gordano services Gordano services ( ) is a motorway service station located at junction 19 of the M5 motorway at the southern end of the Avonmouth Bridge, west of Bristol, England, and close to Portishead. It is owned by Welcome Break and offers KFC, Subway and ...

are located. During the

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

period the road gets extremely busy since it is the main commuter route from Portishead to Bristol. There is much congestion on the A369 which is why one of the primary reasons for reopening the Portishead Branch Line.

History

In 1922, the A369 was originally connected from

Ashcott Ashcott is a small village and civil parish located in the Sedgemoor area of Somerset in the south-west of England. The village has a population of 1,186. The parish includes the hamlets of Ashcott Corner, Berhill, Buscott, Nythe and Pedwell. ...

Marksbury Marksbury is a small village and civil parish on the eastern edge of the affluent Chew Valley in Somerset, about from Keynsham and from Bath on the A39 where it meets the A368. The parish, which includes the villages of Hunstrete and Stant ...

. By 1935 however, the road and became part of the A39, eventually the roads number became unused for many decades. By the 1950s, it was thought that Portishead was a connection to the A-road but it was connected to the B3124 and eventually it became part of the A369. The road crossed over the

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provides fun ...

where soon after however, it was re-routed over the B3126 and connected to the A370. In the early 1970s, the M5 was completed from the

Avonmouth Bridge The Avonmouth Bridge is a road bridge that carries the M5 motorway over the River Avon into Somerset near Bristol, England. The main span is long, and the bridge is long, with an air draught above mean high water level of . It also has a s ...

and went southwards, the western half of the route became part of the Gordano Interchange. Eventually a new route was completed from the village of

Portbury Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Go ...

into Portishead, and the old road through

Sheepway Portbury is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England within the unitary authority of North Somerset. The parish includes the hamlet of Sheepway which is situated on the moorland at the northern edge of the Gordano valley, between the Go ...

was separated by the M5 motorway so a new road called Wyndham Way was constructed to allow faster access to the Town Centre,

Bristol Docks Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

and

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

Points of interest

References

External links

A369 on Roads By 10
{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0369 Roads in England Roads in Bristol Roads in Somerset