The A380 is a road in South West England

South West England

South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...

, connecting the Torbay

Torbay

Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...

 area to the A38

A38 road

The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...

, and hence to the rest of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

's main road network.

Route

The A380 leaves the A38 at Kennford

Kennford

Kennford is a village situated in Devon, England, several miles to the south of Exeter, in one of the country's main tourist areas.The village became prominent in the 1970s as the location of a new service station on the A38 Devon Expressway between Exeter and Plymouth, near the southern terminus...

, some 3 miles (4.8 km) from that road's junction with the M5 motorway

M5 motorway

The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...

, and 6 miles (9.7 km) from the centre of the city of Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

. It then proceeds in a generally southerly direction, climbing over the Haldon Hills

Haldon

The Haldon Hills, usually known simply as Haldon, is a ridge of high ground in Devon, England. It is situated between the River Exe and the River Teign and runs northwards from Teignmouth, on the coast, for about until it dwindles away north west of Exeter at the River Yeo, just south of Crediton...

 before descending past the towns of Kingsteignton

Kingsteignton

Kingsteignton is a town and civil parish in South Devon, England. It lies at the head of the Teign Estuary to the west of Teignmouth in the Teignbridge district. It is bypassed by the A380 and is also on the A383, B3193 and B3195....

 and Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....

, where it meets the A381.

Beyond Newton Abbot, the road passes through the village of Kingskerswell

Kingskerswell

Kingskerswell is a village and civil parish in the south of the county of Devon, England. The village grew up where an ancient track took the narrowest point across a marshy valley and it is of ancient foundation, being mentioned in the Domesday Book. It has a church dating back to the 14th century...

 before bypassing the large seaside resort of Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

. Torquay is served by the A3022 that loops off the A380. The A380 finally ends at Collaton St Mary, 1 miles (1.6 km) inland from Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

, where it meets the A3022 (again) and the A385.

Kingskerswell bypass

The road is a dual carriageway

Dual carriageway

A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...

 from the A38 as far as Newton Abbot, but mostly single carriageway thereafter. There have been plans to alleviate the traffic congestion on the stretch of the road between Newton Abbot and Torquay since 1951. Construction of a bypass around Kingskerswell was almost authorised by the Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

, with construction to start in 2010 and completion in 2013, but in March 2009 it was suggested that with the economic recession there may not be sufficient money left for constructing a bypass, since money was awarded to other road building schemes elsewhere in the UK the previous autumn. A public enquiry was held in 2009. In October 2010 the government refused to fund the scheme, and placed it in a funding pool to compete against 33 other schemes nationwide for a £600 million development fund. However in November 2011 the government awarded £74.6 million towards the cost of the bypass, and construction could start in October 2012.