1922 - Road classification The road number was created with the
1922 classification of roads in the United Kingdom. At that time its western terminus was on the then A30 in
Heavitree, Exeter. In 1966 the section from
Charmouth to Exeter was de-trunked and renumbered to A3052, with the A35 directed over the former A373 to Honiton, terminating at the then-new A30 Honiton Bypass. This added the narrow long Charmouth Tunnel to the route, built in 1832 to avoid the summit of Thistle Hill.
1987/88 - Building of Dorchester and Bridport Bypasses The A35 is a
main route along England's south coast, The bypass to the south of Bridport opened almost two decades later in 1987, followed by the bypass to the south of Dorchester in 1988.
1990/91 - Building of Axminster and Charmouth Village Bypasses Following the re-routing onto the former
A373 road, a major
traffic bottleneck was the town of
Axminster. A much-desired southern bypass for the town was indefinitely postponed in 1980 by the then
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport,
Kenneth Clarke. The project was eventually authorized by Act of Parliament in 1987, with construction beginning in 1990 approximately following the line of a Roman road. Charmouth village was bypassed in 1991, with the Charmouth Tunnel bypassed at the same time. The defunct tunnel was converted into a
shooting range in 2010.
1999 - Puddletown Bypass The Puddletown dual carriageway bypass which opened in 1999 (together with the
A30 Honiton-Exeter dualling) were financed under a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (
DBFO) contract running from 1996 to 2026.
2004-2007 - Road straightening between Slepe and Upton An on-line straightening between
Slepe and the
Upton bypass was carried out in 2004, and the extension of the speed limit west of Slepe by in 2007.
Bournemouth Centenary Way diversion In Bournemouth, it has been diverted around the Sovereign Centre of
Boscombe along Centenary Way resulting in a
concurrency with the A338; much of its former route is now pedestrianised. ==Junction list==