Dartmoor drivers face long detour

Stretch to close for 18 weeks

Drivers using a busy route on the fringes of Dartmoor will face a massive diversion until May as urgent work goes on to stop the road collapsing.

A one-mile stretch of the B3212 between Dunsford and Moretonhampstead will close for 18 weeks from Monday January 5, meaning drivers will need to take a 23-mile detour all the way down to Chudleigh Knighton and Bovey Tracey.

Some buses will be diverted and there will also be a special shuttle service .

One lane has been closed on the affected section of the road since 2022 following a landslip which affected half of the road and left it unsafe.

The repairs will stabilise the road, improve drainage and reinstate safety barriers. Trees were removed from the site earlier in 2025 and a 12-tonne piling rig is being brought in to underpin the road.

Cllr Dan Thomas (Lib Dem, South Brent and Yealmpton), the Devon County Council cabinet member for highways, said: “I appreciate an 18-week road closure is a long time, and we’re sorry that it will cause disruption, but this is an extremely complex job. There’s a chance the road could be lost completely at some stage if this stabilisation scheme isn’t done.

“A lot of work has gone into the design of the scheme and because the road is in an environmentally sensitive area it’s not straightforward. We have needed permission from landowners for the large plant that will be needed on site, and due to its size there’s no choice but to close the road. Please bear with us.”

Cllr Richard Keeling (Lib Dem, Chudleigh and Teign Valley) added: “The essential works will make it safer to travel on this important stretch for local residents.”

Throughout the work, through journeys on Country Bus service 359 between Exeter and Moretonhampstead will be diverted via the A30. The county council has organised a shuttle service three times a day between Dunsford and Exeter, via Longdown.

The repair work will be carried out by MacPlant.

The long detour around the B3212 works (Image courtesy: Google Maps)