The A465 is a
trunk road that runs from
Bromyard in
Herefordshire,
England to
Llandarcy near
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
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 Neath is more commonly referred to as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it links the northern heads of the
South Wales Valleys. Approximately following the southern boundary of the
Brecon Beacons National Park, the
Ordnance Survey ''Pathfinder'' guide describes it as the unofficial border between rural and industrial
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
. The A465 provides an alternative route between England and the counties in
South West Wales and to the
ferries to
Ireland.
Route
The A465 runs south-west from
Bromyard towards the
River Lugg, from where it runs
concurrently with the
A4103
The A4103 is an A-road which runs from Worcester to the A480 in Stretton Sugwas, a village west of Hereford. The road is a primary route as far as the junction with the A465 east of Hereford, and is liable to flooding at Bransford, where ...
for a short distance before entering
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
. After a short distance on the
A49, it crosses the
River Wye
The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...
, the
River Monnow and the
border into Wales. The A465 meets the
A40 trunk road in Abergavenny and continues west through the
'Heads of the Valleys' region past
Brynmawr
Brynmawr (; , ,) is a market town, community and electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the devel ...
,
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
,
Tredegar,
Rhymney
Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is ...
,
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
,
Hirwaun
Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a populati ...
,
Glynneath and
Aberdulais.

Even before the construction of the Heads of the Valleys road began in the 1960s, there were concerns and complaints regarding the capacity and safety of a single carriageway, three-lane design. The
Abergavenny
Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
trunk road opened in 1964.
Until 1996, the A465 ran for most of its length between Glynneath and Aberdulais along a narrow
single carriageway road, now redesignated as the B4242. The high
collision rate on this stretch was the main factor in leading to the construction of the
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 ...
between these points. The section of the A465 from Hirwaun to
Llandarcy is all dual carriageway.
The highest point (signposted) of is on the Ebbw Vale section which is now dual carriageway and slip roads between Dowlais Top and Tredegar via Rhymney. At Dowlais Top there are link roads such as the
A4060, which runs down to the south end of Merthyr Tydfil and links with the
A470, and the
A4054
The A4054 is an A Road connecting Llandaff, Cardiff with Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and mostly follows the former route of the A470.
Settlements on route
Settlements served by the road include:
*Llandaff
*Llandaff North
* Whitchurch
* Coryton
*T ...
which goes through Merthyr Vale and
Aberfan
Aberfan () is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
On 21 October 1966, it became known for the Aberfan disaster, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed into homes and a school, killing 116 ch ...
. Another link is the
A4102 which leads into Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil town centre. The A465 passes
Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and then continues to
Cefn-coed-y-cymmer
Cefn-coed-y-cymmer () is a small community on the northwestern edge of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. It is situated in the neck of land between the rivers Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan at their confluence (Welsh: 'cymer'). The village li ...
and the A470 link. It then continues down the floor of the
Vale of Neath, bypassing
Resolven, Neath and
Skewen, before terminating at junction 43 of the
M4 at Llandarcy.
Major upgrade
In 1990, a regional traffic study identified the need for improvements to the A465. In 1994, alternatives were presented for public consultation for the improvement of the 25-mile length between Abergavenny and Hirwaun, connecting the existing A465 dual carriageway link from
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
to the A40, which is an important part of the route to the
M50. In July 1995 the then Secretary of State for Wales announced the preferred route. This mainly consisted of widening the existing road to provide a dual carriageway standard with
grade-separated
In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
junctions (and extra climbing lanes on certain hills) between Abergavenny and Hirwaun. The design was developed and a draft line order was published in 1997. This was tested at public local inquiry in 1998 after which the Secretary of State for Wales announced the decision to proceed with the scheme in 1999.
Much of the land on the route is undulating, but despite this, the preferred route alignment is considered to be of high standard and as such allows most of the route to have the
national speed limit.
Initially, the upgrade was split into seven sections. Later, sections 6 and 7 were combined into a single scheme for the purposes of construction.
The A465 between Llandarcy and Hirwaun was initially constructed to dual carriageway standard, and as such will not see a major upgrade. Construction work began on section 4 (Tredegar to Dowlais Top) in early spring 2002, and was completed by November 2004.
Construction of section 1 (Abergavenny to Gilwern) began in February 2005. This was primarily an on-line upgrade of the existing single-carriageway road, and was completed on 22 May 2008.
The contract for Section 3 (Brynmawr to Tredegar) was awarded to
Carillion
Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018.
Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...
in March 2010. In August 2012, it was announced that approval for the scheme to commence had been given and that construction would commence by the end of 2012.
Planning for Section 2 (Gilwern to Brynmawr) started in June 2011, with construction beginning in January 2015. The project saw several delays and cost overruns, and was completed in December 2021.
On 10 November 2020, the Welsh Government announced that the contract for Section 5 & 6 (Dowlais Top to Hirwaun) had been awarded to Future Valleys Construction, a consortium which 'comprises large international construction companies alongside established financial investors'. Site clearance works began shortly thereafter, and major construction work commenced in May 2021. Completion of the scheme is programmed for mid-2025.
See also
*
Trunk roads in Wales
Trunk roads in Wales ( cy, cefnffyrdd yng Nghymru) were created in the Trunk Roads Act of 1936 when the UK Ministry of Transport took direct control over 30 of the principal roads in Great Britain from English, Welsh and Scottish local authoriti ...
References
External links
Welsh Government: A465 dualling scheme
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0465
Transport in Blaenau Gwent
Roads in Caerphilly County Borough
Roads in Herefordshire
Roads in Merthyr Tydfil
Roads in Monmouthshire
Roads in Neath Port Talbot
Roads in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Vale of Neath
Brecon Beacons National Park