Prior to the cutting of this road, travellers between Poole and Ringwood would have been obliged to follow a circuitous route via Kinson (and thence to Longham), but this route had fallen into neglect by the eighteenth century and a straighter route was in any case considered more desirable. Work on the new route was orchestrated by the Poole Turnpike Trust, the new road initially operating as a toll road.
Prior to the creation of this road, travelers between Poole and Ringwood would have been forced to follow a roundabout route via Kinson (and then to Longham), which had deteriorated by the eighteenth century and a more direct path was considered better.