The Southern Distributor Road (SDR) is a principal distributor road in Newport that runs from the Coldra roundabout ( M4 junction 24) in the east of Newport to

Tredegar Park Tredegar Park ( cy, Parc Tredegar) is a public park situated in the western Coedkernew area of the city of Newport, South Wales. It lies close to junction 28 of the M4 motorway connecting London and West Wales. History It formerly forme ...

M4 Junction 28) in the west of Newport and includes City Bridge, a bow-string arch bridge spanning the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it ...

. Combined with the M4 in the north, the SDR forms the southern part of a

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

for the city. The new road completed in 2004 encompassed Ringland Way, Spytty Road, East Dock Road, Usk Way and Docks Way. The eastern section (Ringland Way) and the western section (Docks Way) were originally built with reserved land to one side for eventual widening. The SDR plans were drawn up to make use of this land and to join the two sections together across the river to form a continuous dual carriageway from one side of the city to the other. On completion it assumed the number A48 replacing the Chepstow Road/Cardiff Road corridor which was downgraded to B4237. The urban regeneration company

Newport Unlimited Newport Unlimited was a Welsh Urban Regeneration Company created in 2003 to help counter the impacts of decline in Newport's heavy industry and manufacturing. It was initially given a 10-year lifespan. The Company was founded by Newport City Co ...

described the opening of the SDR as a critical piece of Newport's regeneration jigsaw. The new road was designed to improve the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

in the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

, taking traffic away from residential areas, and improving access to industrial areas in the east and south of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Facts and figures

* The road and associated structures were built as part of a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 19 ...

. * The route extends from M4 junction 24 Coldra roundabout in the east, to Ebbw Bridge roundabout in the west (as the A48). The A48 itself continues to M4 junction 28. * The 8 mile (12.5 kilometre) road is a fully kerbed

tarmacadam Tarmacadam is a road surfacing material made by combining crushed stone, tar, and sand, patented by Welsh inventor Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1902. It is a more durable and dust-free enhancement of simple compacted stone macadam surfaces invented ...

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 ...

. * There are link roads,

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

s, continuous

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

, cycleways,

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

, noise barriers and street furniture. * The highlight of the route is the 650 ft (200-metre)-long steel, bow string arch City Bridge over the River Usk. * The site of the new crossing is between the 40-year-old George Street Bridge, Britain's first

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

and the

Newport Transporter Bridge The Newport Transporter Bridge ( cy, Pont Gludo Casnewydd) is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure. It is one of ...

, which is over 100 years old. * There are nine roundabouts on the SDR and four subways. * More than 200 staff worked on putting it together. * 4,000 cones; 127,000 tonnes of

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

and

macadam Macadam is a type of road construction, pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820, in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the ...

; 4,000 tonnes of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

were used in the making of the SDR.

References

Newport City Council: Newport Southern Distributor Road
{{coord, 51.5768, N, 2.97447, W, region:GB_dim:2000, display=title Buildings and structures in Newport, Wales Transport in Newport, Wales Southern Distributor Road