The Portway is a major road in the

City of Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. 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, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avo ...

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 gorge on the 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 km) from the mouth of the ...

. The road was constructed following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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 Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

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 A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, 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, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provid ...

, 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 The Portway park and ride site is on the A4 Portway at Shirehampton, to the north-west of Bristol, England, close to junction 18 of the M5 motorway. History The site opened in April 2002 with 300 car parking spaces as part of the Bristol par ...

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

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 Bristol City Council, formerly known as The Bristol Corporation (and colloquially as "The Corporation"), is the local government authority governing the city of Bristol, England. Following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, successive royal ...

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 district of 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 the dock ...

, and a portion of the new road near

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

lay partly on the line of the

Bristol Port Railway The Bristol Port Railway and Pier (occasionally referred to as the Bristol Port and Pier Railway) was a railway in Bristol, England. Route The Bristol Port Railway and Pier company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at (originally called Clifton), ...

. 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 (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

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 Horseshoe Bend may refer to: Places Australia * Horseshoe Bend, New South Wales, an inner city suburb in the City of Maitland in the Hunter Region * Horseshoe Bend Station, a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Alice Spring ...

. 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 a Roman 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. Road bridge and footbridge across the River Trym, Sea Mills, Bristol (geograph 3028879)

Road bridge and footbridge across the River Trym, Sea Mills, Bristol (geograph 3028879)

The Portway was opened by the

Minister 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 ...

, Colonel Wilfrid Ashley with the

Lord Mayor of Bristol The position of Lord Mayor of Bristol was conferred on the city in June 1899 (effective 15 November 1899) as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours and was confirmed by letters patent dated 1 April 1974. Prior to November 1899 the position of Ma ...

, 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 A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...

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-coded ...

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 ...

on 1 April 1935.

Maintenance

Clifton Suspension Bridge & the A4 Portway (geograph 2489043)

Traffic levels increased substantially on the Portway when the

was extended past Cribbs Causeway 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 was completed, construction of the bridge was repeatedly delayed. Transport Minister

Keith Speed Sir Herbert Keith Speed (11 March 1934 – 12 January 2018) was a British Conservative politician and former Member of Parliament. He was a descendant of cartographer and historian John Speed. Life Speed was born on 11 March 1934 in Evesham an ...

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 ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

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

is in Shirehampton near the M5 junction. A

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadwa ...

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, there have been proposals to build a new station at the Park and Ride. 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 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 The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelli ...

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