Motorway Achievement

Wales has less than one hundred of the two thousand miles of motorway constructed in Britain in the 20th century. However, the Principality can boast the first length of urban motorway, the first motorway tunnels, the longest rock tunnels, the first immersed tube tunnel, and major estuarial bridge crossings.

Wales is a land of mountains and valleys. The topography provides major engineering challenges requiring high cost solutions. Viaducts, bridges, tunnels, and major earthworks play an integral and prominent part. The need to bypass communities located in narrow valleys and environmentally sensitive areas confronted road designers with conditions unique in the UK. Following an introductory chapter, this book describes the background, formulation and implementation of the majors roads strategy and comments on management of the built asset.

East-west routes across South Wales (M4 and M48) and North Wales (A55) are the lifelines essential for the economic well-being of the Principality. For that reason both are classified as major strategic routes for the purpose of the Motorway Achievement and chapters are devoted to describing their design and construction. The major crossings of the Severn estuary are covered in a separate chapter. Many other roads have been built or upgraded by local and central government, and a chapter is devoted to describing other significant trunk road schemes. The commentary in the concluding chapter reviews the past, the present and the future.

The overcoming of the engineering challenges and the successful completion of 80 miles of motorway in South Wales and 88 miles of near-motorway-standard dual-carriageways in North Wales is celebrated in this book, which will appeal to all those with an interest in our civil engineering heritage.



Brian Hawker has been involved with highway design and construction since the 1950s working for consulting engineers, local and central government. He was, until his retirement in 1999, Head of Roads Major Projects Division in the Welsh Office. He was engaged on project management of major highway schemes, including sections of the M4 motorway, represented Welsh interests in the Second Severn Crossing and undertook the supervision and financial oversight of A55 schemes between Chester and Bangor. He was appointed an OBE in 1992 and he has been Trustee of the Motorway Archive Trust since 2003.

Howard Stevens started work with Sir Alfred McAlpine in 1959 and 'volunteered to work on the M6 in 1961 when the company obtained a contract for the two lengths between Thelwall Viaduct and Preston Bypass. Thus began what was to be a lifetime involvement, either working on or as supervisory management, with motorways and major roadworks from the North West to the Midlands, London and the South East, Yorkshire, the West Country, and North and South Wales. He retired from full time employment in 1997 and has been a Trustee of the Motorway Archive Trust since its inception.