M48 motorway

UK motorway routebox
motorway= M48
length-mi= 12
length-km= 19
direction= East - West
start= Alveston
destinations= Chepstow
end= Magor
opening-date= 1966
completion-date= entire motorway
junctions= 21 & 23 -

The M48 is a motorway in Great Britain joining Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire over the original Severn Bridge. The M48 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the west of the M5 motorway and its number should really therefore begin with 5. [cite web | url= http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m48/ | work= CBRD | title= Motorway Database - M48 | accessdate= 2007-10-26]

Route

Travelling east to west after leaving the M4 near Olveston in England. It then heads north west to Junction 1 near Aust. It then passes through a toll booth westbound only and crosses the Severn Bridge. On the Wye Bridge it crosses into Wales immediately to the south of Chepstow. It then heads south west after Junction 2 past Crick and to the north of Caldicot. The motorway then merges back with the M4 near Magor.

History

The M48 was opened as part of the M4 in 1966.cite web | url= http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4severnstat.htm | work= The Motorway Archive | title= Severn Crossing Dates | accessdate= 2007-10-26] Before this date traffic between England and South Wales was either taken through on a motorail service through the Severn Tunnel, used ferries unsuitable for Heavy Goods Vehicles or travelled to Ross on Wye or through Chepstow to pass north of the Severn Estuary. [cite web | url= http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4severn.htm | work= The Motorway Archive | title= Severn Crossing | accessdate= 2007-10-26]

After opening the route became increasingly busy so, in 1984, a report was commissioned into a Second Severn Crossing.cite web | url= http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4sscscheme.htm | work= The Motorway Archive | title= Second Severn Crossing | accessdate= 2007-10-26] After four years of construction this new route was opened in 1996 and the M4 was diverted over the newer bridge. The original stretch of motorway was renumbered as M48 and now shares the traffic between England and Wales.

Junctions

*The services have no counterpart on the M4 so give travellers wishing to use them a motive to use the older bridge and help share traffic between the bridges.
*Junction 2 also serves the Wye Valley.

ee also

*List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m48/ CBRD Motorway Database - M48]
* [http://www.iht.org/motorway/m4severn.htm The Motorway Archive - M48]
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m48/ CBRD motorway information]