The M4 motorway Usk bridge carries the M4 motorway across the River Usk in the city of Newport, Wales.
The bridge comprises two separate 450-foot (140 m) structures, for the eastbound and westbound carriageways. It is of reinforced concrete with five spans. An article in the New Civil Engineer published in June 2017 described it as "one of the most important bridges in Wales". [1] When travelling westbound, the bridges lead directly into the twin 1,200-foot-long (370 m) Brynglas Tunnels. Work commenced on both the bridge and the tunnels on 10 September 1962, two months after work commenced on the George Street Bridge further downstream. The entire Newport bypass section of the M4 (junctions 24 to 28) finally opened in 1967.
In 1989, two crossings were added to connect the M4 with the newly constructed junction 25a and the A4042. [2]
In 2017 the bridge underwent repairs to its thrust hinge joints, which allow the deck to flex and bend, but remained open to traffic. [1]
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain, Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and Abergavenny, after which it takes a more southerly course.
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely complete by 1980, though a non-motorway section around Briton Ferry bridge remained until 1993. On the opening of the Second Severn Crossing in 1996, the M4 was rerouted over it.
The A40 is a trunk road which runs between London and Goodwick (Fishguard), Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in all legal documents and Acts. Much of its length within England has been superseded by motorways, such as the M40, and has lost its trunk road status, though it retains it west of Gloucester, including its length within Wales. It is approximately 260 miles (420 km) long. The eastern section from Denham, Buckinghamshire to Wheatley, Oxfordshire is better served by the M40 and its former function of linking London with Cheltenham and Gloucester has been taken by the M4, A419 and A417 via Swindon.
Newport is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest principal authority with city status in Wales, and seventh most populous overall. Newport became a unitary authority in 1996 and forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area, also known as the Cardiff Capital Region. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Great Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 census, rising to 159,587, the largest growth of any unitary authority in Wales.
The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wales. For most of its route, it runs almost parallel to the M4 motorway. During times of high winds at the Severn Bridge, the A48 is used as part of the diversion route and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and North Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and several short sections where there are gaps in between the two carriageways. All junctions are grade separated apart from a roundabout east of Penmaenmawr and another nearby in Llanfairfechan. Initially, the road ran from Chester to Bangor. In 2001, it was extended across Anglesey to the ferry port of Holyhead parallel to the A5. The road improvements have been part funded with European money, under the Trans-European Networks programme, as the route is designated part of Euroroute E22.
The A4042 is a trunk road that runs from Abergavenny to Newport in south Wales.
The M4 Motorway is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) series of partially-tolled dual carriageway motorways in Sydney, New South Wales designated as route M4. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel and/or below ground to Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road and City West Link, which are part of route A44.
Crindau is a Victorian inner-city area just north of the city centre in Newport in south-east Wales. It lies within the Shaftesbury electoral district (ward) and community (parish).
The M4 relief road, also known as M4 Corridor around Newport (M4CaN), was a proposed motorway, south of the city of Newport, South Wales, intended to relieve traffic congestion on the M4 motorway.
The Brynglas Tunnels carry the M4 under Brynglas Hill in Newport, Wales. The 360-metre-long (390 yd) tunnels are the first and only twin–bored tunnels in the UK motorway network.
The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) (Welsh: Ffordd Ddosbarthu Ymylol) or the Cardiff Link Road (Welsh: Ffordd Gyswllt Caerdydd), is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
Brynglas is an area of the city of Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom.
The Southern Distributor Road (SDR) is a principal distributor road in Newport that runs from the Coldra roundabout in the east of Newport to Tredegar Park M4 Junction 28) in the west of Newport and includes City Bridge, a bow-string arch bridge spanning the River Usk. Combined with the M4 in the north, the SDR forms the southern part of a ring road for the city.
The A4161 is a main road in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The main purpose of the road is to link the city centre with the M4 motorway in the west at junction 33, and in the east with the A48(M) motorway at St Mellons.
Newbridge-on-Usk is a hamlet in the village and parish of Tredunnock, near Usk, Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom.
Usk (GWR) railway station is a disused railway station in the town of Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. The station is now barely recognisable with the remains of the platforms beneath undergrowth, but the trackbed, the adjacent Usk Tunnel and road and river bridges remain extant and can be walked.
51°36′16″N2°59′27″W / 51.60434°N 2.99073°W