Ivybridge has long been a staging post on the Exeter to Plymouth road dating back to the 13th century and the "Ivy Bridge" was the only way over the River Erme at the time. The bridge itself is still in use to this day taking cars (one-way) and pedestrians across the river. In the 1830s a new bridge was built at the top of Fore Street (approximately 130 yards down the river). It is now used as a 1-way road across the river for vehicles and a separate pedestrian bridge lies alongside it. Another bridge (Marjorie Kelly Way/B3213, built in the 1990s) is situated at the bottom of Fore Street. In 1974 the A38 road was opened linking Ivybridge to Plymouth and Exeter. It was the first major trunk road for Ivybridge and was bypassed at the B3213, which runs through the centre of Ivybridge and connects it to the nearby villages of Bittaford and Wrangaton.