The M48 is a long motorway in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, which crosses the Severn near

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

, Monmouthshire, linking England with Wales via the Severn Bridge. This road used to be the M4, and as a result is anomalously numbered: as it lies to the north of the M4 and to the west of the M5, it is in the Motorway Zone 5. The M4, the M48 and the A48(M) motorway are the only motorways in Wales.

Route

Travelling from east to west, after leaving the M4 at Awkley, junction 21, near

Olveston Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 2, ...

in England, the M48 begins by heading north-west towards

Aust Aust is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, about north of Bristol and about south west of Gloucester. It is located on the eastern side of the Severn estuary, close to the eastern end of the Severn Bridge which carries the M ...

, junction 1. It crosses the

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and Wye rivers. Entering Wales, the M48 heads south-west after junction 2, passing to the south of

, past Crick and continuing in a south-westerly direction, passing Caldicot and

Rogiet Rogiet () cy, Rhosied is a small village and community (and electoral ward) in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, between Caldicot and Magor, west of Chepstow and east of Newport, which covers an area of . It lies close to the M4 and M48 mo ...

. The motorway rejoins the M4 at

Undy Undy ( cy, Gwndy) is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, adjoining the village of Magor with which it forms the community and parish of Magor with Undy. It is located about west of Caldicot and east of Newport, close to the junctio ...

, junction 23 to the east of Magor. Junction 2 can be reached via the

A466 The A466, also known as the Wye Valley Road, is a road from Hereford, England to Chepstow, Wales via Monmouth, Tintern and the Wye Valley. The road was largely developed during the late 18th and early 19th centuries by turnpike trusts in Herefo ...

, which leads to the A48. The junction gives access to the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; cy, Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The River Wye ( cy, Afon Gwy) is the fourth-longest river in th ...

, an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. When travelling either east or west on the M4, the M48 is the more direct route for Chepstow and Caldicot.

History

Cropped image of Toll booths on the M48 - geograph

The M48 was opened as part of the M4 in 1966. Before this date traffic between

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

and South Wales was either transported on a motorail service through the

Severn Tunnel The Severn Tunnel ( cy, Twnnel Hafren) is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn. It was constructed by the Great Western ...

, used the Aust Ferry (which was unsuitable for large goods vehicles) or travelled through

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

to pass north of the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

. The route became increasingly busy and in 1984 a report was commissioned. After four years of construction, the

Second Severn Crossing or cy, Pont Tywysog Cymru, label=none, italic=unset , carries = M4 motorway (6 lanes) , crosses = River Severn , locale = South West England / South East Wales , maint = National Highways , architect ...

was opened in 1996 and was designated M4. The original stretch of motorway was designated M48 and continues to link England and Wales. Since 17 December 2018, both crossings have been toll-free. In October 2021, the Welsh Government announced it was considering the possibility of reclassifying the M48 into an A-road. The government stated this is due to a large decrease in traffic following the opening of the Second Severn Crossing. The government plans to improve connectivity between local roads and the M48 in Wales but state that building new junctions to a Motorway-standard would be too costly considering the lower amount of traffic the M48 now handles. Reclassification of the motorway requires approval of both the Welsh Government and

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

, with the Department for Transport stating they have no plans to reclassify the road.

Services

Severn View services are at junction 1, formerly called Aust Services when originally opened, and may also be accessed via the A403 from Avonmouth. There is a footpath leading from the services to allow pedestrians to cross the bridge. When the M4 was diverted over the

, it was anticipated that these services may close. The original building offered views of the River Severn. It was sold and operations continue in a new, smaller development on an adjacent site nearer the motorway junction.

Junctions

{, border=1 cellpadding=2 style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom: 1em; color: black; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" class="wikitable" , - align="center" bgcolor="0080d0" style="color: white;font-size:120%;" , colspan="5" , M48 motorway , - align="center" ! mile , km ! Eastbound exits (B carriageway) ! Junction ! Westbound exits (A carriageway) , - align="center" , 117.6 , 189.3 , London, Bristol M4 , M4 J21
''Terminus'' ,

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

M48
''Start of motorway'' , - align="center" , 120.5 , 193.9 ,

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...

A403,

, J1
''Services'' , Avonmouth A403, Services , - align="center" , 121.1
122.8 , 194.9
197.6 , '' Severn Bridge
Entry into England''
'' Wye Bridge'' , '' River Severn
Border
River Wye'' , '' Severn Bridge''
''Entry into Wales''
'' Wye Bridge'' , - align="center" , 123.2
123.4 , 198.2
198.6 , Chepstow A466 (A48)
Cas – gwent , J2 ,

( A48)
Cas – gwent , - align="center" , 130.2 , 209.6 , ''Start of motorway''

M48
Cas – gwent, Gwasanaethau , ''Terminus''
M4 J23 , Newport,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

M4
Casnewydd, Caerdydd , - , colspan=5, Notes *Distances in kilometres and carriageway identifiers are obtained from driver location signs/location marker posts. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown. , - Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.Traffic England Live Traffic Condition Map
''Highways Agency'' – Locations extracted from Traffic Camera Popup identifier text Where a junction spans several hundred metres and start and end points are available, both are cited. Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011.

References

External links