M49_motorway
M49 motorway
Motorway in England
The M49 is a motorway 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.[1] It is 5 miles (8 km) long and unique in that it is only accessible from other motorways.[citation needed]
| M49 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
M49 highlighted in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by National Highways | ||||
| Length | 5.0 mi (8.0 km) | |||
| Existed | 1996–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Northwest end | Redwick | |||
| Major intersections |  M4 motorway  M5 motorway | |||
| Southeast end | Lawrence Weston | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Road network | ||||
| ||||
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.
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 roundabout 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 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.[2] Construction of Junction 1 commenced summer 2018 and was completed late in August 2020.[3] Despite this, the junction is not currently connected to the local road network, so cannot be used to access the motorway.[4]
The M49 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the south of the M4 and should therefore begin with a 3.[5]
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.[4] 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.[6]
In February 2021, the West of England Combined Authority agreed to supply £1 million towards the construction of the link road, but by May a further deficit of £1 million had arisen.[7] 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 orders for the land purchase, with National Highways providing an additional £7 million for the council to buy the land.[8]
 | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. (December 2021) |
Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[9]
| M49 motorway junctions | |||||
| miles | km | North-west bound exits (B carriageway) | Junction | South-east bound exits (A carriageway) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | London, Bath, Bristol, The Midlands M4(E) | M4 J22 terminus |
The South West, Avonmouth, Bristol Airport  , Weston-super-Mare M49 | |
| South Wales, Cardiff, Newport M4(W) | Start of motorway | ||||
| 5.3 | 8.5 | Start of motorway | Terminus A4, M5 J18 & J18A |
Avonmouth, Bristol, Airport A4 | |
| South Wales, Cardiff, Newport (M4(W)) M49 | The South West, Weston-s-Mare, M5 | ||||
Notes
| |||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011
- Baker, Hannah (18 August 2020). "New £50M junction on M49 finished – but traffic can't actually use it". BristolLive. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Pathetic Motorways". pathetic.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- Gogarty, Conor; Baker, Hannah (10 February 2021). "Link road to £50m 'dead-end' motorway junction to finally be built". Business Live. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- Gogarty, Conor (17 May 2021). "Dead-end motorway junction saga descends into 'royal mess'". BristolLive. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- Postans, Adam (14 February 2023). "M49 ghost junction 'not our fault' says South Gloucestershire Council as CPOs approved". Bristol Post. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- "Traffic England Live Traffic Condition Map (selected Popups)". Highways Agency. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2009.