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Whitehaven & Workington Map | Cockermouth & Egremont | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 303 | England | Walks | Hiking | Maps | Adventure

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The road has evolved from historical routes, some of which are thousands of years old, including the Harrow Way and the Fosse Way. The modern route was first laid out in the early 19th century as the New Direct Road, a faster coaching route from London to Exeter. It was initially in demand but fell into disuse as railways became popular from the 1840s onwards. It was not thought of as a significant through route when roads were initially numbered, but was revived as a major road in 1933, eventually becoming a trunk road in 1958. Since then, the A303 has gradually been upgraded to modern standards, though there are still several unimproved parts with longstanding plans to fix them. Corridor Plan: London – Exeter (PDF) (Report). London to South West & South Wales Multi-Modal Study. May 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 21 August 2016. Preferred route for A358 Taunton to Southfields scheme revealed". Highways England. 27 June 2019 . Retrieved 5 May 2020.

Prior to the broadcast of Series 15 of Top Gear in 2010, the cast of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were spotted and recorded driving along the A303 in what appeared to be house cars. The video was recorded and put on YouTube. [70] Somerville, Christopher (2003). Walks in the Country Near London. New Holland Publishers. p. 183. ISBN 978-1-843-30121-9. At the Government’s request we’ve started some early work to look at the section of the A303 between South Petherton and Southfields (in Somerset) to understand what could be done to improve the flow of traffic. Letter from the Highways Agency to the South West of England Regional Division" (PDF). July 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 21 August 2016. At various times in the twentieth century, contradictory decisions were taken. Sometimes, the A303 was to become a fast new expressway between the M3 and M5. At other times the motorway network was supposed to carry the traffic. Sometimes the upgrades to the road had to be high-standard dual carriageway. At other times a single-carriageway bypass would do. In the early 1970s the Government confidently expected the whole route would be dualled by the mid-1980s, but today the job remains half-done. As a result, for the whole of its route, the A303 switches between different types of road, widening and narrowing again, causing traffic jams wherever a lane ends and a set of traffic lights suddenly hold things up.Creating an expressway to the South West (PDF) (Report). Highways England. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2016 . Retrieved 19 August 2016. In 2019, the preferred route of the A358 upgrade was revealed, [59] and in 2020 the government confirmed funding for the A358 scheme and dualling of the A303 between Sparkford and Podimore. [60] Other schemes [ edit ] more miles of motorway by early 1980s will bring growth to less prosperous areas". The Times. 24 June 1971. p.4 . Retrieved 19 August 2016. In 2011, BBC Four broadcast the documentary A303 Highway to the Sun. [71] The writer Tom Fort drove the length of the A303 in a Morris Traveller, making various stops. [72] The following year, he published a book with the same title; it covers the history of the road, and British road planning, together with landscape, history and general travel writing. During research, one interviewee recommended using the A303 to reach southwest England, adding it was "less boring than the motorway, and you've always got Stonehenge". [73] The programme was praised for its eclecticism and enthusiasm for what could have been a tedious subject. [74] [75] Junctions and landmarks [ edit ]

The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a primary A road throughout its length, passing through five counties. High court victory for Stonehenge campaigners as tunnel is ruled unlawful". The Guardian. 30 July 2021 . Retrieved 12 August 2021. Early Assessment and Sifting Tool Forms (PDF) (Report). Wiltshire Council. 2013. p.11 . Retrieved 19 August 2016. Concerns mount over plans for two-mile road tunnel past Stonehenge". The Guardian. 2 April 2019 . Retrieved 11 March 2020. But, as ever, contradictory decisions continue to be taken and the plan continues to change. As of 2015, the Stonehenge Tunnel plan has been resurrected, and if a dual carriageway will be dug under the sensitive landscape around Stonehenge then upgrades to the other "missing" sections suddenly become worthwhile again. There are now plans afoot to complete nearly all the parts that are still single-carriageway, with the dual carriageway branching off the A303 to follow the A358 to the M5 at Taunton. And just like before, it remains entirely possible that the plan will change, that the tunnel will be called off, that the A303 will be dualled to Honiton instead of the A358 to Taunton, or indeed that something else contradictory and unexpected will come along.All the schemes in the RIS4 Pipeline programme remain uncommitted, with no guarantee they will be taken forward into construction. We won't know which schemes are committed until the RIS4 is published. Why is it important to improve these roads? The famous and iconic road from London to the South West, and from work to holidays for many millions of people over the years, the A303 is bound up in British culture with ideas of summer, surfing, festivals and fun.

Town By-Pass Schemes". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 November 1968 . Retrieved 18 August 2016. Henderson, Mark (1 August 1998). "Transport cut raises fear of jams tomorrow". The Times. p.14 . Retrieved 19 August 2016.

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Improving journeys to the South West - The case for the A303/A358 corridor (PDF). Highways England (Report). 2018. p.7 . Retrieved 6 December 2021.

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