The Portway is a major road in the City of Bristol. It is part of the A4 and connects Bristol City Centre to the

Avonmouth Docks The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the River S ...

and the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

via the

Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long Canyon, gorge on the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5&nbs ...

. The road was constructed following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in order to provide improved access to the ports at Avonmouth Docks, which had replaced

Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river River Avon, Bristol, Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was preven ...

as the major local centre for commercial shipping. Upon opening on 2 July 1926, it was the single most expensive road project in Britain, costing £800,000 (now about £ million). The construction posed a number of significant engineering challenges, including long and deep rock cuttings, a viaduct over the

River Trym The River Trym is a short river, some in length, which rises in Filton, South Gloucestershire, England. The upper reaches are culverted, some underground, through mostly urban landscapes, but once it emerges into the open it flows through a n ...

, and retaining walls against the gorge adjacent to the River Avon. Falling rocks have since been a problem along the Portway, particularly at the southern end close to the

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, linking Clifton, Bristol, Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods, Somerset, Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, ...

, with concrete canopies constructed to prevent loose rock and assist with remedial work. The Portway remains an important route to and from Bristol, and is now used as part of the Portway Park and Ride scheme. In the 21st century, the road has been regularly shut to motor traffic for maintenance, providing sporting events such as the Bristol Half Marathon, or to allow locals to enjoy a traffic-free view of the Avon Gorge.

Route

The road is about long. Commonly it's thought to start in Hotwells, however, it starts at the junction of Bridge Valley Road and Hotwell Road below the

and runs alongside the

, parallel to the River Avon. It passes through the suburb of Sea Mills, where it crosses the

, and Shirehampton, before terminating at a roundabout in Avonmouth at a junction with the

and A403 road. For much of its length the Portway is close to the Severn Beach railway line. Sea Mills and Shirehampton stations are near the Portway, but they have no immediate access to it. First Bus run the Portway Park and Ride service, which is also a commuter service passing through some of the suburbs. Although

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Portway was planned by the Bristol Corporation in response to the decline of

in the late 19th century in favour of

, which could handle larger vessels and containers. Construction started in May 1919, engineered by L. S. McKenzie. The southern section connected to the existing road network at

Hotwells Hotwells is a neighbourhood in the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects th ...

, and a portion of the new road near Clifton lay partly on the line of the Bristol Port Railway. The new build did not directly connect to Avonmouth Docks, but linked to the existing road via Shirehampton about half a mile from the dock gates. The original plan was to build a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

way along the length of the road, which would have linked Avonmouth to the Bristol Tramway system, but this was abandoned owing to cost. The largest cutting on the construction was at Horseshoe Bend. It was long and cut into the rock at its deepest point. Upstream from this, a viaduct was needed to span the

and the remains of an early 18th century harbour. It was composed of six 42-foot, 6-inch (12.95 m) arches, with abutments embedded in the rock below. It was supported by three piers at , and below road level. Construction of the viaduct was delayed owing to the tidal flow of the River Avon and the irregularity of the rock. A skew girder bridge was constructed to cross the Severn Beach Railway near Sea Mills station, with foundations up to below the surface. Around of

retaining wall Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...

was required at the Bristol end, where the road was sandwiched between the River Avon and the side of the gorge. In September 1924, approximately of newly constructed concrete embankment slid into the river following ground subsidence, posing a hazard to navigation and adding 12 months to the duration of the work, though there were no injuries. The Portway was opened by the Minister of Transport, Colonel Wilfrid Ashley with the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Alderman Moore, on 2 July 1926. Following an opening ceremony, the Minister and Lord Mayor drove along the full extent of the road from Bristol to inspect the docks at Avonmouth. It was the most expensive road construction project in Britain, costing £800,000 (now £). Of that, £160,000 (now £) was spent on the cutting at Horseshoe Bend, £80,000 (now £) on the Trym viaduct, and £33,000 (now £) on the steel girder bridge. Electric lighting was provided to illuminate the new road, but for one year after the opening the lights were kept switched off following objections from river pilots who argued that they would make it hard to distinguish the

navigation light A navigation light, also known as a running or position light, is a source of illumination on a watercraft, aircraft or spacecraft, meant to give information on the craft's position, heading, or status. Some navigation lights are colour-code ...

s of shipping and the signal lights on the shore. Eventually the electric lights were turned on at a reduced brilliance. The Portway was numbered A36 when first opened. It was renumbered as a western extension of the A4 by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

on 1 April 1935.

Maintenance

Traffic levels increased substantially on the Portway when the

was extended past

Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping and leisure facilitie ...

to meet it in 1971, as it provided a convenient way of avoiding the congested road network around north-west Bristol. Although this was only intended to be a stopgap measure until the

Avonmouth Bridge The Avonmouth Bridge is a road bridge that carries the M5 motorway over the River Avon into Somerset near Bristol, England. The main span is long, and the bridge is long, with an air draught above mean high water level of . It also has a s ...

was completed, construction of the bridge was repeatedly delayed. Transport Minister Keith Speed proposed a temporary solution of signing all Midlands – South West traffic via the Portway, followed by either the A369 from Bristol to Portishead northbound, or local roads southbound. The scheme required minor upgrading to junctions along the Portway. The Avonmouth Bridge opened in May 1974, making the scheme redundant. Rockfalls from the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cliffs of the Avon Gorge have caused a hazard to motorists on occasion and every year the road is closed to allow for inspection of the cliffs for potentially dangerous cracks and loose rocks, and to allow remedial works. In 1980, a glass fibre reinforced concrete canopy was constructed over the Portway close to where it passes below the Clifton Suspension Bridge, in order to protect traffic from such rock falls. In 2001, a water main burst near the junction with Bridge Valley Road, causing a major collapse and putting the road out of action for several months. One passer-by was swept into the river but was rescued uninjured.

Other facilities

The Portway Park and Ride is in Shirehampton near the M5 junction. A

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...

on the inbound section of the road from Sea Mills is designed to allow quicker access for buses to the city centre. As well as Shirehampton and Sea Mills, a new station at the Park and Ride was proposed in 2009. It opened on 1 August 2023. The Portway is regularly closed to through traffic in order to cater for other events besides routine maintenance. The annual Bristol Half Marathon in September uses the Portway as part of its route and the annual ''Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride'' also uses the road which is closed to motor traffic for the day. A series of Peaceful Portway festivals take place immediately after the sporting events while the road is still closed, allowing visitors to enjoy the scenery of the Avon Gorge without any traffic. In 2009, city councillor John Rogers proposed that the Portway be closed to motor traffic on summer Sundays to allow cycling in a car free environment. In 2015, the Portway was closed for five consecutive Sundays over May and June. The Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson said the closure tied in with Big Green Week, an annual festival promoting

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

activities around Bristol, where several events along the road were happening anyway.

Incidents

In 2014, an anonymous group constructed an parody of the Hollywood Sign on the Avon Gorge next to the Portway, reading "Bristoland". The sign had a positive reception with commuters driving along the Portway. A few months later, the sign was briefly changed to "It's bland" without explanation, following which it was quickly removed.

References

Citations Sources * {{Coord, 51.47652, N, 2.64882, W, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:2000, display=title Roads in Bristol A4 road (England)

Route

Maintenance

Other facilities

Incidents

See also

References