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]
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.
Compared to driving via the M4/M5 interchange, using the M49 cuts the distance travelled by 6.2 miles. Having a two-way grade separatedroundabout 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]
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.[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 £1million towards the construction of the link road, but by May a further deficit of £1million 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 £7million for the council to buy the land.[8]
Junctions
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consult this guideline for information on how to create one. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2021)
Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information.[9]
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.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
Information above gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011
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