A465 road
A465 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Route information | ||||
Maintained byEnglish local authoritiesand South Wales Trunk Road Agency | ||||
Length | 66 mi (106 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Llandarcy 51°38′57″N3°50′55″W/ 51.6492°N 3.8486°W | |||
M4Junction 43 A48 A474 A4230 A4109 A4061 A4059 A470 A4054 A4060 A469 A4048 A4046 A4047 A467 A4077 A4143 A4042 A40 A49 | ||||
East end | Bromyard,Herefordshire 52°11′13″N2°30′50″W/ 52.1870°N 2.5139°W | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United Kingdom | |||
Primary destinations | Neath Merthyr Tydfil Abergavenny Hereford | |||
Road network | ||||
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TheA465is atrunk roadthat runs fromBromyardinHerefordshire,EnglandtoLlandarcynearSwanseain southWales.The western half in Wales is known officially as theNeath to Abergavenny Trunk Road,[1]but the section from Abergavenny to the Vale of Neath is more commonly referred to as theHeads of the Valleys Roadbecause it links the northern heads of theSouth Wales Valleys.Approximately following the southern boundary of theBrecon Beacons National Park,theOrdnance SurveyPathfinderguide describes it as the unofficial border between rural and industrialSouth Wales.[2]The A465 provides an alternative route between England and the counties inSouth West Walesand to theferriestoIreland.[3]
Route
[edit]The A465 runs south-west fromBromyardtowards theRiver Lugg,from where it runsconcurrentlywith theA4103for a short distance before enteringHereford.After a short distance on theA49,it crosses theRiver Wye,theRiver Monnowand theborderinto Wales. The A465 meets theA40 trunk roadin Abergavenny and continues west through the'Heads of the Valleys'region pastBrynmawr,Ebbw Vale,Tredegar,Rhymney,Merthyr Tydfil,Hirwaun,GlynneathandAberdulais.
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. TheAbergavenny–Neathtrunk road opened in 1964.[4]
Until 1996, the A465 ran for most of its length between Glynneath and Aberdulais along a narrowsingle carriagewayroad, now redesignated as the B4242. The highcollision rateon this stretch was the main factor in leading to the construction of thedual carriagewaybetween these points. The section of the A465 from Hirwaun toLlandarcyis all dual carriageway.[5][6]
The highest point (signposted) of 1,350 feet (410 m) 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 theA4060,which runs down to the south end of Merthyr Tydfil and links with theA470,and theA4054which goes through Merthyr Vale andAberfan.Another link is theA4102which leads into Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil town centre. The A465 passesPrince Charles Hospitalin Merthyr Tydfil and then continues toCefn-coed-y-cymmerand the A470 link. It then continues down the floor of theVale of Neath,bypassingResolven,Neath andSkewen,before terminating at junction 43 of theM4at Llandarcy.
Major upgrade
[edit]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 fromSwanseato the A40, which is an important part of the route to theM50.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 withgrade-separatedjunctions (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 thenational speed limit.[7]
Initially, the upgrade was split into seven sections. Later, sections 6 and 7 were combined into a single scheme for the purposes of construction.
Section | From / To | Commencement date | Completion date | Status | Final Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | AbergavennytoGilwern | February 2005 | May 2008 | Complete | £57m[8] |
2 | GilwerntoBrynmawr | December 2014[9] | December 2021[10] | Complete | £336.2m[8] |
3 | BrynmawrtoTredegar | January 2013 | September 2015 | Complete | £163.3m[8] |
4 | TredegartoDowlais Top | March 2002 | November 2004 | Complete | £57.8m[8] |
5 & 6 | Dowlais ToptoHirwaun | Early 2021[11] | Due by mid-2025[11] | Under construction | £590m[12] (estimated) |
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 toCarillionin 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.[13]
Planning for Section 2 (Gilwern to Brynmawr) started in June 2011, with construction beginning in January 2015.[14]The project saw several delays and cost overruns, and was completed in December 2021.[15]
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'.[16]Site clearance works began shortly thereafter, and major construction work commenced in May 2021. Completion of the scheme is programmed for mid-2025.[17]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"A465 HEADS OF THE VALLEYS DUALLING SECTION 3: BRYNMAWR TO TREDEGAR"(PDF).Carillion plc.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2 April 2015.Retrieved10 March2015.
- ^OS Pathfinder Guide, Brecon Beacons and Glamorgan. Ordnance Survey 1994.
- ^Welsh Government – A465 (Heads of the Valleys Road) – Dualling SchemeArchived16 May 2013 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Heads of the Valleys Road".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).17 February 1960.
- ^"A465".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).8 June 1992.
- ^"Cymdeithas Hanes Resolfen History Society: Where is Resolfen?".
- ^"New higher speed limits for lorries in England and Wales".THE HIGHWAY CODE.
- ^abcd"Request for Information - ATISN 18667"(PDF).Welsh Government.26 July 2023.Retrieved8 March2024.
- ^"Green light for next stage of widening project | A465 Section 2".Archived fromthe originalon 21 February 2015.Retrieved21 February2015.
- ^"Written Statement: A465 Dualling Section 2 (Gilwern to Brynmawr) Project Update".Welsh Government.Retrieved1 March2021.
- ^ab"A465 section 5 and 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun".Welsh Government.Retrieved21 December2019.
- ^"A465 section 5 and 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun".Welsh Government.7 December 2023.Retrieved8 March2024.
- ^"A465 Road Dualling Scheme Brynmawr to Tredegar".Archived fromthe originalon 16 June 2016.Retrieved6 June2020.
- ^"A465 Section 2 Project Website".Archived fromthe originalon 9 January 2013.Retrieved7 October2012.
- ^"Heads of the Valleys road section opens three years late".BBC. 30 December 2021.
- ^"A465: Contract awarded for A465 improvements".10 November 2021 – via gov.wales.
- ^"A465: Section 5 & 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun Overview".8 July 2021 – via gov.wales.