The A35 is a major road in southern England, connecting Honiton in Devon and Southampton in Hampshire. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most of its route passes through Dorset and the New Forest. It originally connected Exeter and Southampton, the original A35 ran along what is now the A3052 joining the present road at Charmouth.

Route

left|thumb|The A35 in the New Forest

Beginning in Honiton at the eastern junction with the A30 road, 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, 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, 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 1990, with the Charmouth Tunnel bypassed at the same time. The defunct tunnel was converted into a shooting range 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) contract running from 1996 to 2026.

2004-2007 - Road straightening between Slepe and Upton

An on-line straightening between Slepe and the Upton 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 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

  • SABRE page on the A35