A38 road
From Freepedia
The A38 is a major trunk road in England. It runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. At 292 miles (470 km) long it is the longest 'A' road entirely within England, and in the United Kingdom as a whole second only to the A1.
Starting from Bodmin, the road runs through the Glynn Valley, then past Liskeard and Saltash, into Devon at the Tamar Bridge, through Plymouth (named 'The Parkway') and Buckfastleigh to Exeter. The section from Plymouth to Exeter is called the 'Devon Expressway', and serves as a southward extension of the M5 motorway. The current route just north of Plymouth, the 'Plympton bypass', was the location for the first stage of the Tour de France held in England, in 1974 prior to its opening to traffic.
The road reemerges from its junction with the M5 ten miles north of Exeter, and heads north via Wellington, Taunton, Bridgwater, Bristol, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Worcester, Bromsgrove and Birmingham. From Exeter to Birmingham, the road is paralleled by the M5, where the A38 has reverted to taking local traffic only. Between Worcester and Birmingham the A38 follows the course of a Roman road, or perhaps even a Celtic road, although the construction of bypasses around some towns means the modern-day route deviates somewhat from the original dead-straight road. The Roman encampment at Metchley (near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital) was not far from the course of the road; see Metchley -Birmingham's Roman Fort
The section in Birmingham called the Aston Expressway, from the north-eastern side of the Inner Ring Road through Aston to the junction with the M6 motorway at Spaghetti Junction, is a motorway and is designated the A38(M).
From Birmingham the road bypasses Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield, Burton-upon-Trent and Derby (using part of the outer ring road) before passing near to Alfreton, then crossing the M1 and ending in Mansfield. The road follows the route of the Roman Icknield Street from Lichfield to Derby. The link onwards to the M1 and Mansfield is a comparatively recent addition from the early 1970s. The original route terminated at Derby on the A6 road..
See also
- A5127 - road following the former route of the A38 in north Birmingham.
