A yellowing photograph in the Advertiser of May 21, 1976, captures the historic moment when life in Kingsteignton changed forever. It shows the then leader of the county council, Cllr Charles Ansell, as he cut the ribbon and declared the Kingsteignton-Newton Abbot bypass open. The opening of the new 31/4-mile long road marked the end of three years of construction work that had caused misery and cost the tax payer £3m more than the £5.5m estimate. At the time we wrote: 'The ceremony... marks the end of a story of delay, frustration, toil, sweat – and tears.' The problems included a faulty section of a bridge which had to be replaced after officials acknowledged they might have read plans 'the wrong way round'. Residents in Kingsteignton bombarded council offices with endless complaints about noise, dust and disruption. Contractors pulled out in rows over payments and union officials grumbled that subways at the new Penn Inn roundabout were unfinished when the road opened. Most tragically, a young boy died when he was struck by a flying rock thrown up by the blasting which took place. Even the opening ceremony was coloured by a note of dissent when councillors learnt of a 'luncheon' for invited guests. On May 14, the Advertiser ran the headline 'Celebration Under Fire' and quoted Newton Abbot's Cllr David Prouse, who dubbed the meal a 'bun feast'. Putting the rows behind them, residents staged a bypass celebration from June 26 to July 4, an event which raised funds for the community swimming pool. At the heart of the festivities was a three-day pageant which depicted the village's history. Reporter Simon Reynolds wrote: 'The Kingsteignton community has come together because of the new bypass.' Those were the final words of The Story of King's Teignton, a 19-scene pageant held this week in St Michael's Church, and with more than 150 taking part and a capacity audience, those words seemed totally appropriate.' The celebrations had opened with a shop window competition and elsewhere residents had 'braved the heat' for an outdoor service at the Rydon Wellhead. Others enjoyed an organ and choral recital at St Michael's Church and in the official programme the organising secretary, Malcolm Vallance, wrote: 'Our association felt that the completion of the bypass provided an ideal opportunity for the whole village to join together in a week of bypass celebrations. 'We will still have the Newton Abbot and Totnes traffic passing through but the most noticeable difference will be on those summer Saturday mornings, when we think back to previous years when we had difficulty even to cross the road.' In 2006, the village is once again struggling with the traffic on Exeter Road and its residents divided on a proposed traffic lights and crossing scheme to help cope with it. Standing under the estuary flyover in May 2006, and with the roar and thumps of the traffic above a constant presence, it is impossible now to imagine Kingsteignton without its bypass. But with more cars predicted to take to the roads and an 'urban village' in the offing, what arrangements will be needed in 2036, we wonder?
