M4 relief road

A second South Wales motorway was first discussed in the late 1980s, sited to the south of Newport running parallel to the existing M4 motorway from junction 23A at Magor, to junction 29 at Castleton, thus avoiding the need to widen the Brynglas Tunnels. The tunnels can no longer be expanded or relocated due to geological issues in the area, which has meant subsidence to a number of houses above the tunnels since construction took place. The concept behind the motorway was first based on the M6 Toll motorway, a relief road built to reduce traffic on the M6 motorway around Birmingham. Like many stretches of motorway, it does not conform to current motorway standards: it lacks continuous hard shoulders due to previous widening, has closely spaced junctions and narrows to a restricted two-lane section through the Brynglas Tunnels, where heavy congestion occurs at peak hours. A 50mph average speed zone and a 44t weight limit is in place between junctions 24 and 28. M4 slip roads at Junction 25 (Caerleon Road) are diverted to reduce traffic through the tunnels. M4 Westbound traffic joining at Junction 25 is diverted via Junction 25A/A4042 (Heidenheim Drive)/A4051 (Malpas Road) to Junction 26. Similarly eastbound traffic wishing to exit at Junction 25 is diverted from Junction 26 via the A4051/A4042/Junction 25A. This adds to congestion on Malpas Road and other local roads near Newport city centre at peak times. According to the Welsh Government, traffic data shows that the motorway is operating at nearly "double its vehicle capacity" at peak times. ==Proposals==

1991 proposal An M4 relief road between Magor and Castleton was first proposed by the Welsh Office in 1991, but there was little progress on the scheme in the following years. Plans for the New M4 were announced on 3 March 2006 as part of a raft of measures to improve road transport in Wales. The road would have cost between £350 million (later rising by £660m to an estimated £1 billion), It was planned to be the United Kingdom's second full toll-paying motorway, after the M6 Toll. Proposals in 2004 for the road to be tolled were met with scepticism. Several experts suggested that a new toll road would be "a white elephant for 20 hours a day", due to the greatly variable traffic levels through the Brynglas Tunnels. Outside peak hours, the tunnels would still have been the preferable option to taking a toll road for most people. In November 2009, Dr. Anthony Beresford of the Business School at Cardiff University called for the decision to cancel the road to be overturned. 2011 proposal at Newport Docks, close to where the new road would cross the river. The distant building with the tall chimney is Uskmouth Power Station. In December 2011, the Welsh Government entered into discussions with the incoming UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne to discuss financial assistance for the road project. In February 2012 related work started on a dual-carriageway road connecting Newport's southern distributor road to junction 23A of the M4 using part of the proposed route of the M4 relief road and a former access road to the Llanwern steelworks. A public consultation exercise on options for improving the capacity of the M4 corridor around Newport opened on 5 March 2012. The review was published in August 2014, and a multiple potential routes were presented. However opponents of the road criticised the report for excluding the effects of any potential growth in traffic. The report assumed the new road would see no growth in vehicle use, a finding which is contrary to induced demand studies which show road expansion leads to significant increases in vehicle use. Osborne also denied any plans for tolling. A consultation on the proposed plan ran from 23 September to 16 December 2013. In April 2013, the Conservative coalition formalised an agreement with the Welsh Government for a £830m interest-payable loan for the construction of the road at 2011 costs. In 2017, following a manifesto pledge by Theresa May at the 2017 General Election, Highways England removed road tolls on the Severn Bridges. This decision was assessed as causing an increase in traffic of 20% over the M4 bridge and 7% of traffic at the tunnels, increasing the already considerable congestion in Newport throughout 2018 and 2019. Welsh Government Director of Economic Infrastructure Simon Jones told the Assembly Economy Committee in early 2018 that the road would cost more than the £1.4bn first estimated due to additional VAT payments which would need to be paid by the Welsh Government. It stated that Government agencies need to update assumptions on impact. First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones (a supporter of the road) stepped down in 2018, 2020 Internal Market Bill In September 2020 there was widespread discussion about the impact of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, put forward to transfer powers previously held by the European Union, which would take effect in 2021 after the Transition Period. The bill drew the criticism of some, including the Welsh Government, who argued that it would allow the Westminster Government to push forward with the M4 Relief Road despite Welsh Government opposition. The bill would, for the first time since devolution, allow the use of "parliamentary funds to assist with 'promoting economic development' or 'providing infrastructure'" in the devolved nations. However the BBC reported that while the bill would enable the Government to "finance" such projects, it would not resolve the issue of obtaining planning permission and other hurdles to constructing the road, many of which remain devolved to Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Authorities. ==Plan==

The current M4 would have been diverted at Magor to follow the A4810 Eastern Distributor Road, before diverting away from it across the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels. The first junction would then be located just south of the steelworks site to provide access to the Glan Llyn development site. This would have been followed by a bridge over the River Usk, before another junction over the docks providing a link to the A48 Southern Distributor Road. The remainder of the route would have crossed the levels just south of Duffryn, before an interchange with the current M4 and A48(M) at Castleton. Additional measures As part of improving traffic flow around Newport, the following measures have also been considered: • Creating a link between the M4, M48 and B4245 • Improvements to Junction 28 Tredegar Park • Removing the eastern sliproads at Junction 26 Malpas • Downgrading the current M4 to a trunk road, to lower specifications The government also expects the South Wales Metro to relieve congestion on the M4. ==Criticisms==

The Public Enquiry of August 2014 Friends of the Earth claimed that the road would cause great damage to local wildlife habitats as it was planned to pass through the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels, an area of natural wetlands. They also raised concerns about the large sum of public money that would have been used to fund the project, claiming that it could be better spent improving the local railway network. Associated British Ports, who operate Newport Docks, said that the 2014 plans could jeopardise future investment in the area. Matthew Kennerley of ABP said: "We don't think it's a great idea to put the new route through the centre of Wales' most important general cargo port. We believe there is an alternative route...slightly further north...[which] would still have an impact on the port but to a much lesser extent because it would not be bisecting very important quayside areas." ==References==