The Victorian Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 Plan of the Torcross area shows that the road, known today as the A379, existed in the same position.

A few differences appear. The Start Bay Inn was known then as Fishermen's Arms, and there was a Coastguard Station nearby.
The Torcross Hotel was in the same location as it is today. There was also a similar pattern of buildings to the North of the Hotel as can be seen today. The Hotel was built upon the local bedrock of Meadfoot Slate. The buildings to the North were, and are today, built upon the shingle ridge. The wide alleyway in front of the Hotel was probably the route of the drainage channel, today a pipe, taking excess freshwater from the Ley out to sea. The road itself seems to follow the present day route, meandering to the top of the Shingle Ridge just North of the Fishermen's Arms. What is unknown is the type of surface it possessed at the time of the Survey. Many roads in Devon, and indeed most of England, had a dressing of hardcore in the late 19th Century. Tarmacadam did not become ubiqitous until well into the 20th Century.
What is abundantly clear from the Plan is that the beach volume was considerably greater in 1885, when the Survey was made, than it is today. This is verified by many dated photographs, available in local publications, and today on internet sites.
Beach sediments are the most effective form of coastal protection, because they absorb wave energy. This doesn't appear to be recognised by engineers who place concrete and steel piling at the top of beaches, only to cause reflection of wave energy which transfers beach sediment seaward during Winter storms.
As for the A379 road there is now a splendid opportunity for archaeologists and geologists to use modern methods of dating and mineral analysis to establish a scientific record of the many layers of hardcore, and latterly tarmac, that have been laid along the road.
Study the photos below:

Many layers of hardcore were laid before tarmac. Prior to motor vehicles, horses and carts would have used the road. Choice of material for the road surface needed to support the narrow wheels of carts and stagecoaches. Beach shingle alone would have been a difficult surface for horses and carts to negotiate.
An important conclusion from these photos is that the road itself forms a rigid strip 5 metres wide by about 0.7 metres deep that stretches for nearly 4 km. That rigidity is hindering the ability of the shingle ridge to respond to the natural process of migrating, millimetre by millimetre each year, in an onshore direction. A process which has been ongoing for several thousand years. That's how the shingle ridge, barrier beach, shingle bar, select your own descriptor, reached the location it is in today. All landscapes are dynamic, coastal landscapes, particularly shingle ridges, are much more mobile than most.
The stiffness on top of Slapton Shingle Ridge is a contributory factor to the loss of beach shingle volume between the High and Low Water Marks.

It might be of value to decision makers involved in the environmental management of coastlines to be bundled into a coach and taken on an educational visit to Abbotsbury Car Park, adjacent Chesil Beach, or Bank, choose your own descriptor. A short climb from the car park up to the summit of the shingle ridge would allow them to see what a natural feature looks like. Chesil Bank has no road along its summit. As such it responds well to storm dynamics.

As for a much needed alternative road, there is an obvious route. From the existing road that leads down to Torcross village from Stokenham, construct a roundabout, just East of the caravan park. A new road going North from the roundabout, following a contour line of between 15 and 20 metres above sea level, would join the existing road just West of Strete Gate with another roundabout near the sharp corner. That would necessitate three bridges which would mean the road would be fairly level, although with some bends. It would be a shorter route than the old road along the shingle ridge. It would be popular with visitors and provide the local residents with the much needed transport route. An intermediate roundabout constructed just West of Slapton Bridge would provide access to Slapton village.

When this was put to hydrologists working in Slapton Wood, they were concerned that road washings during heavy rain would deliver diesel particles and sulphurated tyre wear particles into the streams, and thence into the Ley. That is perfectly correct. Therefore drainage systems collecting all foul rainwater would be needed to allow treatment and safe disposal.

With an alternative road in place, the whole of the shingle ridge should be cleared of all mineral particles greater than 20 mm (long axis). That would allow the shingle ridge to absorb the energy from wave activity. It would then return to being a natural dynamic system, and the Ley would have the best chance of being protected from breaches. The shingle ridge would then become a natural system, as befits the designation of Site of Special Scientific Interest.