The Brynglas Tunnels carry the M4 under

Brynglas Brynglas is an area of the city of Newport, South Wales, United Kingdom. Location Brynglas is situated above the M4 motorway in Newport and famous on traffic reports of congestion at the Brynglas Tunnels. Amenities & history Brynglas ...

Hill in

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-larges ...

. The tunnels are the first and only twin–bored tunnels in the UK motorway network. The tunnels and adjacent M4 motorway Usk bridge were originally planned by Newport Corporation in August 1959 in a plan submitted to 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 ...

. Work started on the £3m tunnels project - led by engineer Sir Owen Williams on 10 September 1962. Both structures were complete and open to traffic on 5 May 1967. During the construction several houses on Brynglas Road (where the modern Newport Lodge Hotel now stands) had to be demolished due to structural weaknesses caused by the tunnelling and prompting questions in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

Traffic congestion

M4 Motorway - Brynglas tunnels, western portals 2079471 3c135e6c

Almost as soon as the M4 Newport bypass (junctions 24-28) had opened, the traffic levels had grown to such a degree that the road had to be widened to three lanes in each direction. This was finished in 1982 but with the exception of the tunnels and Usk bridge which remained as dual two-lane sections (Junctions 25-26). M4 sliproads at Junction 25 (Caerleon Road) are diverted to reduce traffic through the tunnels. M4 Westbound traffic joining at Junction 25 is diverted via Junction 25A/A4042 (Heidenheim Drive)/A4051 (Malpas Road) to Junction 26. Similarly eastbound traffic wishing to exit at Junction 25 is diverted from Junction 26 via the A4051/A4042/Junction 25A. This adds to congestion on Malpas Road and other local roads near Newport city centre at peak times. The tunnels remain a

bottleneck Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle near its opening, which limit the rate of outflow, and may describe any object of a similar shape. The literal neck of a bottle was originally used to play what is now known as ...

on the motorway. Partly due to regular tailbacks at the tunnels, a

variable speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

is in place between junctions 24 and 28. A new

M4 relief road 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. Originally proposed by the Welsh Office i ...

south of Newport was proposed, but on 15 July 2009 the scheme was dropped by the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. Hence the A48 Southern Distributor Road, a two-lane

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

connecting M4 junction 24 to junction 28, remains the alternative route. In March 2012 the National Assembly for Wales published options for consultation including the option to bore further tunnels.

Fire

On 26 July 2011, a lorry fire caused both tunnels to be completely closed. The articulated lorry, belonging to Hingley Transport, caught fire upon entering the west-bound tunnel entrance, but due to the nature of the damage to the lorry it was unable to exit the tunnel. Attempts by the driver to disconnect the cargo-section from the lorry cab failed, as the fire intensified tyres on the vehicle started to explode and the lorry driver was driven to safety by motorist Ashley Hall who had stopped further back towards the entrance of the tunnel to block and prevent vehicles behind from entering the smoke-filled tunnel, before rapidly accelerating into the tunnel to pick up the driver and escape the blaze and subsequent explosions. There were no fatalities recorded but the closure caused a considerable amount of traffic delay in both directions of travel.BBC New
"Traffic chaos after M4 Brynglas tunnel lorry blaze"
accessed 26 July 2011.

Notes

References

External links

* {{City of Newport Buildings and structures in Newport, Wales Transport in Newport, Wales Motorways in Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales Tunnels completed in 1982 Road tunnels in Wales M4 motorway 1982 establishments in Wales