The A4059 road is a single-carriageway north–south road that runs between the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...

and the A470 at

Abercynon Abercynon (), is both a village and a community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, ...

Route

The road can be thought of as an alternative, but slightly longer route than the A470, the road on which both its termini are. It is a road with two parts of contrasting character, the northern half crossing through the wild rural Brecon Beacons while the southern half is at a lower elevation and is urban in nature. Southbound, the A4059 begins by turning right off the A470 to the south of Storey Arms, just after passing the Beacons Reservoir. The road crosses the top of the reservoir's dam before climbing away from the trees and onto exposed moor land to the west of the A470. Thereafter the A4059 climbs to a height of , following the River Taff 100 m below. At this point along the road, the A470 can be clearly seen in the valley below. As the A4059 continues through the Brecon Beacons, the vegetation is limited to coarse grass, and there are plenty of sheep. Leaving the park after passing through the small village of Penderyn, the road descends into Hirwaun, the first major destination on the southbound A4059. For a short segment past Hirwaun, the A4059 is synonymous with the

A465 The A465 is a trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in South Wales. The western half is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section from Abergavenny to the Vale of N ...

. When the road leaves Hirwaun and the A465, it then turns southeast and follows the Cynon River, passing through Aberdare and

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mounta ...

, although most of this urban stretch now runs on a new relief road, so avoiding the centres of the towns. Eventually, the A4059 reaches its southern terminus of

and rejoins the A470.

Planned Future Development

In October 2018, Cabinet Members allocated £1 million to a future scheme that would "extend the Aberdare Bypass and link the A4059 to the

Heads of the Valleys Road", which is also due to be improved. In July 2019, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council began traffic monitoring exercises around the A4059 to assess

traffic flow In mathematics and transportation engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic control dev ...

, which would inform the planned future development. The proposed extension is part of a wider investment programme currently being undertaken by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. This project would connect key parts of Aberdare directly to the

at Croesbychan, which would reduce journey times and relieve

Penywaun Penywaun (also in ) is a community, electoral ward and north-western suburb of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population of the ward was registered as 3,063. Etymolog ...

and Hirwaun of excessive traffic flow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-4059 Roads in Wales 4059 Scenic routes in the United Kingdom Transport in Powys