Caerleon Bridge is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

crossing of the

River Usk The River Usk (; ) 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 flows north int ...

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

in the city of

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

, carrying the B4236 road from Caerleon-ultra-Pontem into Caerleon itself. The stone built bridge was built by David Edwards between in 1806 and 1812 as a replacement for the previous wooden bridge. Prior to the opening of the

A449 The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the A48 road at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the trunk ...

dual carriageway a few miles to the east in 1972, the narrow bridge and streets of Caerleon carried the

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

from Newport to Raglan via Caerleon Bridge. A steel and concrete footbridge was attached in 1974. The bridge is the furthest upstream of the twelve bridges over the River Usk within the city boundaries of Newport. The foundation stone of the original Newport Bridge is set into the stonework of Caerleon Bridge bearing the inscription "This bridge was erected at the expense of the County by David Edwards and his two sons William and Thomas. Completed AD MDCCC."

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