http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=82.2.52.65wiki143 - User contributions [en]2026-05-14T16:21:08ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.43.1http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=A338_road&diff=2948633A338 road2025-06-11T05:30:42Z<p>82.2.52.65: /* Route */</p>
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<div>{{Short description|Road in southern England}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=February 2013}}<br />
{{Redirect|A338|the aircraft with this code|Airbus A330-800}}<br />
{{Infobox road<br />
|country =GBR<br />
|image =Holdenhurst, Spur Road - geograph.org.uk - 1076663.jpg<br />
|type =A<br />
|route =338<br />
|length_mi =84<br />
|direction_a= South<br />
|terminus_a = [[Poole]], [[Dorset]] {{jct|country=GBR|A|35|name1= }}<br>{{coord|50.7240|-1.9070|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=A338 road (southern end)}}<br />
|direction_b= North<br />
|terminus_b = [[Besselsleigh]], [[Oxfordshire]] {{jct|country=GBR|A|420|name1= }}<br>{{coord|51.7029|-1.3487|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=A338 road (northern end)}}<br />
|junction = {{jct|country=GBR|A|347|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|3049|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|3060|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|31|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|354|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|3094|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|36|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|30|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|303|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|3026|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|342|name1= }}<br>{{jct|country=GBR|A|346|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|4|name1= }}<br />[[File:Junction 14.svg|1000x20px]] [[File:UK-Motorway-M4.svg|1000x20px]]<br>J14 → [[M4 motorway]]<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|417|name1= }}<br />{{jct|country=GBR|A|415|name1= }}<br />
|destinations= [[Bournemouth]]<br />[[Ringwood, Hampshire|Ringwood]]<br />[[Salisbury]]<br />[[Tidworth]]<br />[[Wantage]]<br />
|previous_type = A<br />
|next_type = A<br />
|previous_route = 337<br />
|next_route = 339<br />
}}<br />
<br />
The '''A338''' is a major primary route in southern [[England]], that runs from the junction with the [[A35 road (Great Britain)|A35]] at [[Poole]] in [[Dorset]] to the junction with the [[A420 road|A420]] at [[Besselsleigh]] in [[Oxfordshire]], a distance of {{convert|84|mi}}.<br />
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In [[Bournemouth]] and [[Poole]] the road is known as the '''Wessex Way'''.<br />
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==Route==<br />
The road begins at [[County Gates]] in [[Westbourne, Dorset|Westbourne]], before heading northward as a [[Grade separation|grade separated]] [[dual carriageway]], one of the main roads in the [[South East Dorset conurbation]]. From near [[Bournemouth Airport|Bournemouth International Airport]] it follows the western side of the [[River Avon, Hampshire|Avon]] valley, [[concurrency (road)|joining the route]] of the [[A31 road]] heading north-east for {{convert|1+1/2|mi}} to cross the valley, before turning left at [[Ringwood, Hampshire|Ringwood]] in [[Hampshire]] where it joins the original, [[single carriageway]] route to the east of the river.<br />
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Heading northward up the east side of the Avon, it crosses to the west again near the town of [[Fordingbridge]]. After crossing into [[Wiltshire]] near [[Downton, Wiltshire|Downton]], it meets the [[A354 road]] at a roundabout near [[Britford]] on the southern outskirts of [[Salisbury]], before joining the route of the [[A36 road]] as it bypasses the city centre to dual carriageway standard,which is frequently heavily congested due to Salisbury lacking a by-pass. It then joins the [[A30 road]] at St. Mark's Roundabout, before separating in a north-easterly direction to follow the entire length of the [[River Bourne, Wiltshire|River Bourne]]. It has a grade-separated junction with the main [[A303 road]] and then passes through the town of [[Tidworth]]. From there the road travels north to [[Collingbourne Ducis]], where it twists through the village around the church to a mini-roundabout. It turns left to continue northwards alongside the Bourne through another narrow stretch at [[Collingbourne Kingston]] to another mini-roundabout before again heading north.<br />
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Near [[Burbage, Wiltshire|Burbage]] the continued route north to [[Swindon]] is designated [[A346 road|A346]], the A338 turning off to the right at a roundabout and heading east then north-east and crossing the border into [[Berkshire]]. It passes through the town of [[Hungerford]], where it meets the [[A4 road (Great Britain)|A4 road]] (to [[Marlborough, Wiltshire|Marlborough]] and [[Newbury, Berkshire|Newbury]]). It meets the [[M4 motorway]] at junction 14, passes through the village of [[Great Shefford]] and crosses into [[Oxfordshire]]. It goes through [[Wantage]] where it meets the [[A417 road]], and past the villages of [[Grove, Oxfordshire|Grove]], [[Hanney|East Hanney]] and [[Frilford]]. It terminates at its junction with the [[A420 road]] near [[Bessels Leigh]], {{convert|6|mi}} south-west of [[Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A338|title=A338|last1=Cobb|first1=Jim|date=31 May 2012|publisher=The Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts|access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref><br />
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==History==<br />
{{Update|type=section|date=May 2019|reason=Major work has been carried out at Blackwater Junction / B3073}}<br />
The section of the A338 south of the A31 to the west of the Avon consists mostly of a relatively newly built road. Part is constructed along the trackbed of the former [[Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway]] which closed in 1935. Originally, the A338 went from Ringwood to [[Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch]] on the east side of the valley, along what is now the B3347.<br />
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===Central Bournemouth speed limit===<br />
The [[Bournemouth Town Centre]] section of the A338 Wessex Way is carried on viaducts across the [[Bourne Valley]]. On 21 January 2010 [[Bournemouth Borough Council]] imposed a 40&nbsp;mph speed limit on this section of A338 dual carriageway (between Bournemouth West Roundabout and St Paul's Roundabout) in an attempt to reduce the accident rate of 198 accidents in four years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/News/features/Experimental40mph.asp|title=WESSEX WAY EXPERIMENTAL 40 MPH SPEED LIMIT|date=13 January 2010|publisher=Bournemouth Borough Council|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100124085236/http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/News/features/Experimental40mph.asp|archive-date =24 January 2010|access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref> The experimental speed limit was run for six months<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Library/PDF/Residents/Roads/2010/Highways_Consultation/WessexWay40mph.pdf|title= SPEED LIMIT ORDER|date=7 January 2010|publisher=Bournemouth Borough Council|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20100215192208/http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Library/PDF/Residents/Roads/2010/Highways_Consultation/WessexWay40mph.pdf|archive-date=15 February 2010 |access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref> and provoked fierce opposition from the town's residents, with a protest group on Facebook gaining thousands of members who argued that other options such as improving the slip-road lengths should have been trialled before lowering the speed limit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisdorset.net/news/tidnews/4886803.Thousands_join_campaign_to_ditch_new_40mph_limit_on_Wessex_Way |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211150057/http://www.thisisdorset.net/news/tidnews/4886803.Thousands_join_campaign_to_ditch_new_40mph_limit_on_Wessex_Way/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2010 |title=Thousands join Facebook campaign to ditch new 40mph limit |last1=Reader |first1=Jane |date=3 February 2010 |publisher=[[Bournemouth Daily Echo]] |access-date=16 March 2013 }}</ref><br />
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===Repair work and funding===<br />
{{Update|reason=Major maintenance has been performed 2015-16 |date=July 2017}}<br />
In 1975 an underpass for the Wessex Way was built underneath Richmond Hill Roundabout in [[Richmond Hill, Bournemouth|Richmond Hill]], [[Bournemouth]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Picture of the Day: Richmond Hill roundabout in 1975 (when it had trees)|url=https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18326221.picture-day-richmond-hill-roundabout-1975-trees/|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Bournemouth Echo|language=en}}</ref><br />
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In February 2011 it was announced that £20m of funding for repair works on the {{convert|6.5|mi}} stretch south of the junction with the A31 was turned down by the government.<ref>Department for Transport, http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ltp/major/transportschemesupdate/pdf/transportschemesupdate.pdf{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Dorset County Council had planned to start work in September 2010, but had to await funding following a [[Spending Review]]. As a result of the funding request being unsuccessful, ad hoc work will now be carried out over a number of years instead of a period of about 6 months as originally planned. Dorset and Bournemouth councils are expected to meet the cost of the ad hoc work at around £1m per year.<ref>DorsetForYou.com (Partnership of several Dorset councils), {{cite web|url=http://www.dorsetforyou.com/394920 |title=Funding – dorsetforyou.com |access-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105205723/http://www.dorsetforyou.com/394920 |archive-date=5 January 2011 }}</ref><br />
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==Ringwood to Salisbury upgrade campaign==<br />
The section of A338 between the A31 dual carriageway at Ringwood and Salisbury's A36 Churchill Way is built on a substandard single carriageway alignment with multiple sharp bends as the road follows the line of the River Avon. This section of the road has a poor safety record; it is heavily trafficked and the resulting risky overtaking is responsible for a number of head-on collisions.<br />
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Following four fatal head-on collision accidents in 2008 alone, local residents have renewed their calls for the road to be upgraded to dual carriageway to provide a safe overtaking facility and deal with the capacity problems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/3855594.HOW_MANY_MUST_DIE_ON_A338|title=How many must die on A338?|last1=Codd|first1=Joanna|date=18 November 2008|publisher=[[Bournemouth Daily Echo]]|access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref><br />
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==Culture==<br />
The A338 figures in [[Thomas Hardy]]'s '[[Jude the Obscure]]', chapter 3. The point where the road crests the downs before beginning the steep drop into Wantage ('Alfredston') is the spot where young Jude stands one evening and looks out for the first time on Oxford ('Christminster').<ref>DI Rosie Blanchard, http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/r10/notes.php?number=A338</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
<references/><br />
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==External links==<br />
{{GeoGroup}}<br />
* [http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/roadlists/r10/notes.php?number=A338 SABRE page on the A338]<br />
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{{GB A road zone 3}}<br />
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{{coord|51.2112|-1.6660|dim:100000_region:GB|display=title|name=A338 road}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:3-0338}}<br />
[[Category:Roads in Berkshire]]<br />
[[Category:Roads in Dorset]]<br />
[[Category:Roads in Hampshire]]<br />
[[Category:Roads in Oxfordshire]]<br />
[[Category:Roads in Wiltshire]]</div>82.2.52.65