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 and Bristol. It also provides a link between Bristol and London via the A303.

A36 shield
A36
A36a303.jpg
A36 close to its junction with the A303
Route information
Length63.7 mi[1] (102.5 km)
Major junctions
North end A4 near Bath
Major intersections A361 near Beckington

A350 near Warminster
A303 at Deptford
A30 near Salisbury
A338 in Salisbury

M27 near Totton
South end A35 in Totton
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Primary
destinations
Warminster
Salisbury
Southampton
Bath
Road network
A35 A37

Route

edit

Originally, the A36 continued to Avonmouth, beyond Bristol, but this section was renumbered to the A4.

Within Bath the A36 acts as a ring road on the southern side of the river, from the junction with the A4 at Newbridge to the west of the city. From here traffic can continue to Bristol on the A4 or to Wells and Weston-super-Mare via the A39 and A368 roads. Another link to the A4 on the eastern side at Cleveland Bridge, which provides a route to the M4 motorway via the A46, is highly congested.

The A36 leaves Bath in an easterly direction towards Bathampton, then turns south to follow the Avon through its steep-sided valley, climbing out of the valley beyond Limpley Stoke. The road passes near a number of towns and a city, including Frome, Warminster, Wilton and Salisbury in Wiltshire, and Totton in Hampshire, on the western outskirts of Southampton, where it meets the M27 motorway and the A35.

Standard of route

edit

The majority of the A36 is built to single carriageway standard, but parts of it have been upgraded to dual carriageway. The A36 is dual carriageway for its 1 mile (1.6 km) bypass of the village of Beckington, 3 miles (5 km), briefly combined with the A361 north of Frome. It shares part of Warminster bypass with the A350. It is also dualled for approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) near its grade separated junction with the A303 road, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Wilton.

The A36 in Salisbury acts as the city's ring road, bypassing the city centre to dual carriageway standard. Just south-east of Salisbury the largest dualled section runs for about 4 miles (6 km), bypassing the village of Alderbury. Then, the road is briefly dualled from its roundabout with the A3090 to the M27 motorway (junction 2) – this part of the road is erroneously thought by some to have been previously known as the A36(M); prior to the opening of the Totton Western Bypass on the other side of the junction, it was named as a spur of the M27, and hence is built to motorway standards. The A36 reverts to single carriageway standard through Totton until it terminates.

Junction list

edit
CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
SomersetNewton St Loe0.00.0   A4 (Bristol Road / Newbridge Road) to A39 – Bristol, Wells, Corston, Newbridge, WestonNorthern terminus
Bath1.62.6   Windsor Bridge Road (A3604 north) / Brook Road to A431 – Bitton, Weston, NewbridgeWeston and Newbridge signed westbound only; southern terminus of A3604
2.64.2   A367 (Broad Quay / Wells Road) to A37 – City centre, Radstock, Shepton MalletCity centre signed eastbound only
2.8–
3.0
4.5–
4.8
Claverton Street (A3062 south) – Claverton Down, Combe DownNorthern terminus of A3062
3.65.8    Bathwick Street to A4 / A46 / M4 – Chippenham, Stroud
Norton St Philip11.418.3  A366 east – Trowbridge, Farleigh HungerfordNorthern terminus of A366 concurrency
11.618.7   A366 west (Farleigh Road) to A362 – Norton St Philip, RadstockSouthern terminus of A366 concurrency
Beckington14.523.3  A361 north-east / to Bath Road – Trowbridge, Beckington, Southwick, Rudge, RodeNorthern terminus of A361 concurrency
15.224.5  A361 / Warminster Road / Old Warminster Road – Taunton, Frome, BeckingtonSouthern terminus of A361 concurrency
WiltshireChapmanslade18.0–
18.2
29.0–
29.3
  A3098 – Westbury, Chapmanslade, Dilton MarshGrade–separated junction
Warminster19.831.9   A350 north / B3414 (Bath Road) to A363 – Chippenham, Trowbridge, Warminster, WestburyNorthern terminus of A350 concurrency
21.434.4  A362 west / Victoria Road – Frome, Corsley Heath, WarminsterEastern terminus of A362
22.736.5  A350 south / Deverill Road – Poole, Blandford, Shaftesbury, Longbridge Deverill, Crockerton, WarminsterPoole and Shaftesbury signed southbound only; southern terminus of A350 concurrency
Deptford32.7–
33.1
52.6–
53.3
  A303 – Andover, Winterbourne Stoke, Honiton, Exeter, Wylye, Mere, London, AmesburyLondon and Amesbury signed southbound only; junction on A303
Wilton41.066.0   A30 west (Minster Street) / The Avenue to A360 – Wilton, Devizes, ShaftesburyA30 and Shaftesbury signed westbound only; western terminus of A30 concurrency
WiltonQuidhampton boundary41.466.6    A3094 east (Netherhampton Road) to A338 – Bournemouth, RingwoodOnly route signed westbound; western terminus of A3094
Salisbury43.369.7  A360 north-west (Devizes Road) / Fisherton Street – DevizesSouth-eastern terminus of A360
43.6–
43.7
70.2–
70.3
Central SalisburyGrade–separated junction
43.870.5  A345 north (Castle Road) / Castle Street – AmesburyWestern terminus of A345 concurrency
44.371.3    A30 east / A338 north to St Mark's Avenue / Wain-a-Long Road / Estcourt Road / A343 – London, Marlborough, Andover, LaverstockEastern terminus of A30 concurrency; western terminus of A338 concurrency
44.671.8Bourne Hill / Estcourt RoadGrade–separated junction; westbound exit only
44.671.8Kelsey Road / Rampart RoadGrade–separated junction; eastbound exit only
44.8–
44.9
72.1–
72.3
Multistorey car parkGrade–separated junction
45.172.6    A338 south / A354 south (Churchill Way South) – Bournemouth, BlandfordEastern terminus of A338 / A354 concurrency
Alderbury48.9–
49.4
78.7–
79.5
West Dean, Farley, Grimstead, Alderbury, Whaddon
Whiteparish51.582.9  A27 east (Brickworth Road) – Romsey, WhiteparishWestern terminus of A27
HampshireCopythorneNetley MarshRomsey Extra boundary59.395.4    M27 / A3090 north-east to A326 – Southampton, Portsmouth, Ringwood, Fawley, Romsey, Totton, BournemouthBournemouth signed northbound only; south-western terminus of A3090
Netley Marsh60.296.9   A31 south-west (Romsey Road) to A337 – Copythorne, Cadnam, LyndhurstNorth-eastern terminus of A31
60.6–
60.8
97.5–
97.8
    A326 to M27 / A3090 – Salisbury, Romsey, Fawley, Totton (west & south)
Totton63.1101.5  A336 west (Ringwood Road) – Cadnam, Eling, Netley Marsh, Totton (west)Netley Marsh and Totton signed northbound only; eastern terminus of A336
63.7102.5    A33 east to M271 / M27 – SouthamptonEastern terminus; no access to A33 west or from A33 east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Points of interest

edit
Point Coordinates
(Links to map resources)
OS Grid Ref Notes
Bath 51°23′21″N 2°23′50″W / 51.3892°N 2.3971°W / 51.3892; -2.3971 (Bath) ST724656 Bath, Somerset
Southampton 50°55′20″N 1°28′13″W / 50.9221°N 1.4703°W / 50.9221; -1.4703 (Southampton) SU373137 Southampton

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Newbridge Rd, Bath BA2 9EU, UK to Dry Arch, Warminster Rd, Bathampton, Bath BA2 6XH, UK to Golden Gutter, Romsey SO51 6AG, United Kingdom to Totton, Southampton SO15 0NN, UK". Google Maps. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
edit