A30 Traffic News
The A30 is an important road connecting London to the South West, finishing at Land’s End. The road is the third longest A-road in Great Britain at 284 miles. Only the A1 (396 miles) and the A38 (309.8 miles) are longer.
Along its 284 miles, starting in Hounslow, the road varies in function, beginning in the suburbs of London as a high-capacity arterial thoroughfare, it then gets superseded by the more modern A303. When the road reaches Honiton it regains its importance as a major expressway, serving Devon and Cornwall.
The primary destinations along the A30 include Egham, Popham, Basingstoke, Salisbury, Yeovil, Exeter and Penzance before it terminates at the world-famous Land’s End, which is mainland Britain’s most south-westerly point.
Over the years, the A30 has undergone a range of improvement works including realignments to heighten the safety of corners and dual carriageway bypasses. The stretch of road from Honiton to Penzance is now mainly dual carriageway. Some of the more recent improvements took place in 2017 from Temple to Higher Carblake on Bodmin Moor.
Famous Scottish cartographer John Ogilby included the historic coaching road on his map of Britain in 1675, beginning at Hyde Park Corner. The majority of the A30 follows the route of the old coaching road.
The beautiful rolling hills of Devon, the picturesque villages of Cornwall and the breathtaking scenery of Bodmin Moor make the south-west section of the A30 one of the more pleasant routes to travel along in the UK.
Worst Junctions on the A30
If you’re planning to travel on this major road, first look up the latest A30 traffic updates to help you avoid congestion, roadworks and accidents. Due to this road being an important connection between London and Land’s End it experiences large volumes of traffic. The following junctions are common hotspots:
Sowton Interchange - M5 - A30 - A3015
This junction experiences high volumes of traffic, with people trying to use it as part of long distance journeys between the A30 and M5. Unfortunately it was originally meant to be a free-flowing junction but it is now made up of complicated and tangled slip roads with traffic lights causing hold ups and congestion.
Chiverton Cross Roundabout
This roundabout in Cornwall saw 29 injury collisions occur over the course of three years between 2015-2018 with four deaths or very serious injuries recorded.
Highgate Hill Roundabout
This roundabout at Indian Queens on the A30 experienced 10 crashes and three fatalities or serious injuries in the same three-year time frame.
Polyphant village junction
The old route of this road is taken by the eastbound carriageway onto the A30 and then meets a very tight right corner straight after. A new route was constructed for westbound traffic. Unfortunately, local traffic has to deviate across the eastbound carriageway to access the A30 travelling westbound. Westbound traffic is also required to cross over the eastbound carriageway to reach the village of Polyphant.
Accident Hotspots on the A30
The A30 stretches for 284 miles and is an extremely important route connecting London to Land’s End. This means there is always a large volume of traffic using the road daily. Therefore, this does mean the road experiences a high number of traffic incidents. It’s always advisable to check for A30 traffic news before you travel.
Highways England Traffic Officers trialled a patrol service along the A30 during the school summer holidays in Cornwall. Patrols were carried out with crews attending 112 incidents in just 31 days and the section of the A30 between Carland Cross and Lifton Down was one of the incident hotspots.
One of the worst locations on the A30 is the Chiverton Cross Roundabout, where 29 injury collisions were recorded over the course of three years between 2015-2018. Four deaths or very serious injuries were recorded in this time.
Highgate Hill Roundabout at Indian Queens on the A30 also experienced 10 crashes and three fatalities or serious injuries in the same time frame.
Upcoming A30 Major Roadworks
This major road connects London to Land’s End so, as you may expect, the A30 is considered for improvements on a regular basis. There are often short-term roadworks being carried out along the route. By using the RAC Route Planner service you can identify and account for potential delays in your journey with travel news from the A30.
A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross
The proposals for the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme are expected to start in 2019/2020 and completion is forecast for 2022/2023, with the project set to cost £290 million. This project is a step forward for much required improvements on this stretch of the A30.