The M49 is a

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

in England that links the M4 (J22) with the M5 (J18A). The southern end is on the outskirts of Avonmouth and the northern end is immediately to the east of the Prince of Wales Bridge which was constructed at the same time 1996. It is long and unique in that it is only accessible from other motorways.

Route

The M49 begins at junction 18A of the M5 and then heads roughly north and northwest before it reaches its terminal junction with the M4 at junction 22, just before the Second Severn Crossing at Pilning Interchange. It cuts journey times for traffic to and from Avonmouth docks, Central and southern Bristol and

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. Compared to driving via the M4/M5 interchange, using the M49 cuts the distance travelled by 6.2 miles. Having a two-way

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 tr ...

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types 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 junct ...

junction with the M4, it also fulfils the additional role of providing a bypass for the busy stretch of the M5 between the

Avonmouth Bridge The Avonmouth Bridge is a road bridge that carries the M5 motorway over the River Avon into Somerset near Bristol, England. The main span is long, and the bridge is long, with an air draught above mean high water level of . It also has a s ...

and the M4 in case of that route being shut. Original plans provided for an intermediate junction with the A403, to serve an expanded industrial area and

Severn Beach Severn Beach is a village on the Severn Estuary in South Gloucestershire, England. The eastern portal of the Severn Tunnel is on the outskirts of the village. The River Severn, Severn footpathon the sea wallis part of the Severn Way that leads fro ...

. Construction of Junction 1 commenced summer 2018 and was completed late in August 2020. Despite this, the junction is not currently connected to the local road network, so cannot be used to access the motorway. The M49 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the south of the M4 and should therefore begin with a 3.

Junction 1 link road dispute

After the junction itself was completed in August 2020, disputes arose over who should construct the road linking the new Junction 1 to the local road network. The dispute initially emerged between Highways England, South Gloucestershire Council, and the development company Delta Properties, as a result of privately owned land on the development which surrounds the junction. In February 2021, the

West of England Combined Authority The West of England Combined Authority (WECA), branded as the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, is a combined authority within the West of England combined authority area, consisting of the local authority areas of Bristol, South G ...

agreed to supply £1million towards the construction of the link road, but by May a further deficit of £1million had arisen. Land required to complete the junction was in parcels as small as two square metres, which a South Gloucestershire councillor called " ransom strips" to increase the land price. In February 2023, the council authorised

compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for ...

s for the land purchase, with

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

providing an additional £7million for the council to buy the land.

Junctions

Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. {, style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em; " class="wikitable" , - style="background:#0080d0; text-align:center; color:white; " , colspan="5" , M49 motorway junctions , - !scope=col, miles !scope=col, km !scope=col abbr="North-west bound", North-west bound exits (B carriageway) !scope=col, Junction !scope=col abbr="South-east bound", South-east bound exits (A carriageway) , - align="center" , - align="center" , rowspan="2", 0.0 , rowspan="2", 0.0 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

The Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefords ...

M4(E) , rowspan="2", M4 J22
''terminus'' , The South West, Avonmouth, Bristol Airport 20 airtransportation

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

M49 , - align="center" , - align="center" ,

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, 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 Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Newport M4(W) , ''Start of motorway'' , - align="center" , rowspan="2", 5.3 , rowspan="2", 8.5 , ''Start of motorway'' , rowspan="2", ''Terminus''
A4, M5
J18 & J18A , Avonmouth,

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

A4 , - align="center" ,

, Newport ( M4(W)) M49 , The South West, Weston-s-Mare, M5 , - align="center" , - , 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. *Junction 1 is under construction. , - ''Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011''

References

External links

Pathetic Motorways – M49Avonmouth Junction - M49
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0049 Motorways in England Roads in Bristol Transport in South Gloucestershire District

Route

Junction 1 link road dispute

Junctions

See also

References

External links