The Prince of Wales Bridge (), previously the Second Severn Crossing () until July 2018, is the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

bridge over the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, opened in 1996 to supplement the traffic capacity of the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge () is a Controlled-access highway, motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn crossing, Severn road crossi ...

built in 1966. The bridge is operated by England's

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 ...

. It has a total length of . It is southwest of the Severn Bridge and because it is more closely in line with the rest of the M4, it reduces the length of the journey between England and Wales. The junctions at each end are designed for most traffic to use this crossing, and in order to use the old Severn Bridge, one has to leave the M4 at junction 21 and join the M48 near

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 M48 ...

or at junction 23 near Magor. The new crossing carries more traffic than the Severn Bridge, which is still in use. It is wider than the Severn Bridge, having three lanes and a narrow hard shoulder each way, compared to the two lanes, cycle path and narrow footpath of the original crossing. It is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

, whereas the Severn Bridge is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

. The position of the bridge is close to that of the Severn Tunnel, which has carried the railway line beneath the river bed since 1886. Much of the estuary is mudflats at low tide, but at high tide these can be covered by as much as of water. This presented the engineers with a constraint: packets of work were scheduled at low tide, and needed to be completed within the short windows allowed by the tides. The concession given to the consortium which financed, built and operate the bridge required them to take over the outstanding debt on the original Severn Bridge and to operate the two bridges as a single entity. Tolls were set annually by the government based on the previous year's change in the

Retail Price Index In the United Kingdom, the Retail Prices Index or Retail Price Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation published monthly by the Office for National Statistics. It measures the change in the cost of a representative sample of retail goods and servi ...

. On the expiry of the concession in January 2018, the consortium was required to hand the bridge over to public ownership. The tolls on both bridges were subsequently scrapped in December 2018.

Background

The

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

presented a barrier between the

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 ...

area and

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 ( ...

. The estuary has a maximum tidal range of , amongst the highest in the world, and during a rising or falling tide there are strong currents of up to . Much of the estuary is mud flats that are exposed at low tide; these have been designated a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

. The central part of the estuary is a navigable channel which, at the site of the bridge, is known as "The Shoots". The bridge is upstream from Avonmouth and the Port of Bristol, but downstream from the Port of Sharpness. The Gloucester Harbour Trustees have responsibility for controlling navigation in the estuary's tidal waters upstream from the bridge. Until 1966, road travellers could either use the

Aust Ferry Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley, both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided service for road traffic crossing betwee ...

, which had operated since medieval times (and as a car ferry since 1926), or use the scheduled car shuttle train service through the Severn Tunnel between

Pilning Pilning is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, close to Redwick and Severn Beach. Pilning is close to the M4, M49 and A403 roads, and has the South Wales Main Line railway running through it, with a minor station. The civil parish ...

and Severn Tunnel Junction, which operated from 1926 until 1966. Otherwise, the detour via

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

would add to the journey. In 1966, the first Severn road bridge, a four-lane

, was opened, carrying the

between England and South Wales. By 1984, traffic across the first Severn Bridge had tripled and it was projected that by the mid-1990s, the old bridge would be running at capacity. A study was commissioned into building either a second bridge or a tunnel. The consultants reported back in 1986, recommending that a new bridge be built downstream from the existing bridge. In 1988, it was announced that tenders would be invited from private consortia to fund, build and operate the bridge for a specified period. The consortium would also take over the management of the old bridge and the associated £100 million debt. Tenders were invited in 1989; and in 1990 the concession to build the bridge was awarded to Severn River Crossing plc. Construction work started on 26 April 1992 and the bridge was opened by Prince Charles (the future

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, then the Prince of Wales), on 5 June 1996.

Design

Shoots Bridge-geograph-4621977-by-Lewis-Clarke

The chief architect of the bridge was Ronald Weeks of the Cardiff-based Percy Thomas Partnership, with the detailed engineering design by the

Halcrow Group Halcrow Group Limited was a British engineering consultancy company. It was one of the UK's largest consultancies, specialised in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. With interests ...

and the French consultancy . The bridge has portals close to Sudbrook,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

on the Welsh side 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 ...

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

on the English side. It has three principal sections – a 25 span

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

on the English side of length , a 24 span viaduct of length on the Welsh side and the bridge itself, a structure with a navigational clearance, giving a total length of . The central section, called the Shoots Bridge, is of

cable-stayed 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 o ...

design and the central span (between the bridge pylons) is in length. The approach viaducts are of a segmental bridge design. The crossing forms a very slight reverse "S" curve – the roadway has an approximate east–west alignment at each of the portals, while the central bridge follows an alignment approximately WNW to ESE. The Severn Railway Tunnel passes under the estuary bed on a line which is generally about upstream of the bridge, but which passes under the line of the bridge close to the English shore. The deck, which carries three lanes of traffic in each direction, is wide. The sides of the bridge are fitted with baffle plates to reduce lateral wind loads coming from the Severn Estuary onto the traffic; this has reduced the number of times that speed restrictions have been needed. The overall design of the new crossing makes it more resistant to high winds than the old Severn Bridge. PoW cradle and monorail

A small diesel-powered

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

, the Rapid Access Train, runs underneath the full length of the crossing at a top speed of , and is used for safe access to ten stations, such as lifts inside the cable pylons, for bridge maintenance. It can carry up to four passengers plus two tonnes of equipment in its trailer, with an integral crane and safety features such as interlocks, emergency battery propulsion capable of returning to either end of the crossing, and a

dead man's switch A dead man's switch is a switch that is designed to be activated or deactivated if the human operator becomes incapacitated, such as through death, loss of consciousness, or being bodily removed from control. Originally applied to switches on a ...

. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rapid Access Train was initially disused for a number of years due to rail faults, but has subsequently been returned to service. Travelling access gantries are also present underneath each segment of the crossing to allow for inspection and maintenance across the full width of the structure, with hydraulic lift platforms capable of reaching multiple levels.

Construction

The crossing was built by a business consortium under a public-private partnership. A company called Severn River Crossing plc, led by

John Laing plc John Laing Group is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through public-private partnership (PPP) and private finance initiative (PF ...

and GTM-Entrepose, was formed to build the new crossing. This company also took over the responsibility of managing and maintaining the old Severn Bridge crossing, as well as managing and maintaining the new crossing. The cost of constructing the new crossing was to be paid for by tolls collected from motorists using the two crossings. Work on the new crossing began in 1992. Completion was in 1996. Second Severn Crossing geograph-4155546-by-Lewis-Clarke

Second Severn Crossing geograph-4155546-by-Lewis-Clarke

Sub-assemblies for the bridge were constructed onshore and then shifted by a large tracked vehicle (similar to that used to move the

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

at Cape Kennedy) onto a barge (the SAR3), prior to being floated out on the high tide to the site. The 37 bridge pier foundations on the approach viaducts are apart, and consist of open concrete caissons weighing up to 2,000 tonnes, which were founded on the rock of the estuary bed. The decking consists of post-stressed match cast sections, weighing each. The cable-stayed section of the crossing is over long, consisting of a wide deck made from steel plate girders with a composite

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

slab. These were prefabricated on shore and put in place using balanced cantilever methods. There are two high twin-leg, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete pylons carrying 240 cables which support the bridge deck, rising to a height of above the river bed or above the bridge deck. Cable vibrations were experienced during construction and secondary cables were added to eliminate this. To avoid detracting from the aesthetics of the primary cables, the secondary cables are very slender and are not very noticeable. During the summer of 1994 the bridge deck launching gantry fell onto the Gwent viaduct, causing the bridge deck unit to fall onto the deck below. Although this delayed the project by ten weeks, the builders still completed the bridge on schedule two years later.

Environmental impact

The crossing passes over

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s in the

with part of the eastern approach viaduct sited on the English Stones, a rocky outcrop uncovered at low tide. The estuary wetlands are home to migrating birds such as the

ringed plover The common ringed plover or ringed plover (''Charadrius hiaticula'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds across much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland. Taxonomy The common ringed plover was Species description, f ...

, redshank and whimbrel, while the

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been infl ...

, dunlin and grey plover winter in the area. The birds feed on ragworm,

lugworm ''Arenicola'', also known as sandworms, is a genus of capitellid annelid worms comprising the lugworms and black lugs. ''A.cristata'' is the dominant warm-water lugworm on the shores of North America and Humboldt Bay, California. ''A. caroledna' ...

and other invertebrates. Saltmarsh is found along the fringes of the coast. Beds of eelgrass occur on the more sheltered mud- and sandbanks. In 1976, in recognition of the importance of the estuary as a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

used by migrating birds, an area of was designated a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

. The same year an area of was notified as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and designated as such the following year; in 1995, this was extended to cover the whole of the Ramsar site. Prior to the bridge's construction, environmentalists raised numerous concerns and criticisms, chiefly about the immediate damage from construction work and the effects of long-term pollution from a projected increase in car traffic. The construction process resulted in a temporary increase in turbidity of the Severn waters. Although eelgrass is reasonably tolerant to short-term high turbidity and consequent loss of light, the bed of eelgrass in the river was observed to decline considerably during the period of construction. The construction of the approach roads and toll plaza resulted in the permanent loss of some wet pastureland. Field surveys carried out in 2003 and 2004 reported that the bridge had little effect on the flight paths of the various birdsit was noted that when curlews, dunlins and lapwings approached the bridge, they would change course to gain height and fly over the bridge, but that oystercatchers and turnstones would fly under the bridge. The surveys also showed that the bridge had minimal impact on the roosting habits of most birds, though a flock of

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

s were seen to be roosting directly under the bridge, with many positioning themselves on the dry concrete base on one of the pillars. Likewise, it was noted that the bridge had little impact on the birds' feeding habitsturnstones and lapwings were recorded as feeding on mudflats directly under the bridge while the absence of other waders was attributed to the rocky nature of the foreshore.

Finances

The consortium consisting of two civil engineering firms and two banks that funded and built the bridge had a 30-year concession to redeem its outlay from tolls collected from users of the bridge. At the end of the concession period in January 2018, the bridge passed into public ownership, and is now managed by

Tolls

Tolls were collected from westbound traffic only, near Rogiet, in Wales. Tolls charges were based on a three-tier pricing system: Tolls could be paid by cash, major credit or debit cards, or by use of the Severn TAG system, which was a wireless

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

system that did not require vehicles to stop.

Motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s and UK disabled badge holders travelling in a vehicle were exempted from paying a toll. Toll prices were reviewed annually on 1 January, in accordance with the Severn Bridges Act 1992 (c. 3). In late 2008, UK VAT was reduced from 17.5% to 15%, but the bridge toll remained unchanged. For convenience the tolls were kept at round multiples of 10p (the bridge toll was largely paid in cash as card payments were not accepted until mid-2012), but the 13p VAT reduction was not passed on immediately. In 2009, the planned toll for cars would have been £5.50, as the announcements listed, but the actual toll charged was £5.40.

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

, the then

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, announced in March 2015 that the tolls would be reduced to £5.40 in 2018, due to VAT being removed when the bridge comes into public ownership. In the 2016 United Kingdom budget, Osborne announced that toll charges on the Severn crossings would be halved in 2018. The toll was due to be cut to £5.40 in 2017 but was increased. It was reported in 2012 that the repayments were likely to continue until the early 2020s due to the introduction of a revised settlement to the operator in return for accepting payment by debit and credit cards. The announcement said that even after repayment was complete the toll charges would likely remain at the same levels. However, in July 2017 it was announced that the toll would be abolished, In July 2017, the

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

, Alun Cairns, announced that tolls would be scrapped at the end of 2018, claiming that this would boost the

economy by around £100m a year. In September 2017, Cairns confirmed that tolls would be reduced in January 2018 as VAT is removed. As announced on 2 October 2018, tolls were abolished on 17 December 2018.

Historical toll charges

The toll levied was always identical to that on the

Funding and ownership

The bridge was built at a cost of £330 million (excluding VAT) and was owned by the company Severn River Crossing Plc. As of , Severn River Crossing Plc was owned *35% John Laing, British developer infrastructure operator *35% Vinci, French concessions and construction company *15%

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

, American multinational banking and financial services corporation *15%

Barclays Capital Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

, British multinational investment bank The company's 2011 annual report showed the same companies still owned, through subsidiary companies, all the issued ordinary share capital of the Plc. In 2012, changes were made to the agreement to reflect the effect of changes in VAT and

Corporation Tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...

and the costs of installing credit card handling systems. The net effect was to increase the required revenue from £995.83 million to £1,028.91 million in 1989 prices. Ownership of the crossing and the original

returned to the UK government on 8 January 2018, when the project's required revenue, as defined in the Concession Agreement with the

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

, had been collected. At that point, responsibility for operating the bridge passed to

Closures

On 6 February 2009, the bridge was closed due to bad weather for the first time since its opening, after a number of vehicles were hit by falling ice. Bad weather, and again falling ice, repeated this in December 2009. Temporary speed limits are put in place due to high winds or thick fog, with drivers informed by the electronic signs. Because of the more advanced aerodynamic design of the later bridge, the Second Crossing is far less prone to such restrictions caused by crosswinds than the first Severn Bridge. On 18 February 2022, both the Prince of Wales Bridge and the Severn Bridge were closed during

Storm Eunice Storm Eunice () (known as Storm Zeynep in Germany and Storm Nora in Denmark) was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds that was part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season. Storm Eunice was named by the U ...

, due to high winds. It was the first time that the Prince of Wales Bridge had been closed because of winds. On 7 December 2024, both the Prince of Wales Bridge and the Severn Bridge were closed due to high winds from Storm Darragh.

Renaming

On 5 April 2018, the

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales (), 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 of the Cabinet of the United Ki ...

, Alun Cairns, announced that the crossing would be renamed as the ''Prince of Wales Bridge'' at a ceremony later in the year. He said that the renaming would be "a fitting tribute to

His Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style (manner of address), style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female Queen consort, consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Maje ...

in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation". An online petition, heavily shared via social media, against the renaming had received more than 30,000 signatures by 8 April. Some politicians criticised the proposed renaming and the lack of public consultation on it, but it was confirmed that the

First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones, Baron Jones of Penybont, (born 21 March 1967), is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He previously served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 20 ...

, had raised no objection to the proposal.Tristan Cork, "Backlash grows as 30,000 sign petition against Second Severn Crossing being renamed Prince of Wales Bridge", ''Bristol Post'', 8 April 2018
Retrieved 9 April 2018 The bridge was formally renamed on 2 July 2018 where a plaque was unveiled by the Prince and the

Duchess of Cornwall The Duchess of Cornwall is a title held by the wife of the heir apparent to the British throne. The Duchess of Cornwall is usually also the Princess of Wales, and she uses that title. The current title-holder is Catherine, Princess of Wales, Ca ...

, which was followed by a reception for local dignitaries and business leaders at the nearby

Celtic Manor Resort Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 o ...

. There was no prior press release or other official communication from either the UK or Welsh Governments. The total cost for renaming the bridge, including the installation of two above road signs (and associated staffing costs to close the carriageways with and traffic diverted via the M48) along with the ceremony was £216,513.39.

References

{{Authority control Bridges across the River Severn Bridges completed in 1996 Cable-stayed bridges in England Bridges in Monmouthshire Bridges in South Gloucestershire District Motorway bridges in England Motorway bridges in Wales Landmarks in Wales Former toll bridges in England England–Wales border Cable-stayed bridges in Wales Viaducts in England Viaducts in Wales M4 motorway 1996 establishments in England 1996 establishments in Wales Former toll bridges in Wales