M4 Toll
Encyclopedia
The New M4 was a proposed motorway south of Newport
, South Wales
, which would have been the United Kingdom
's second full toll-paying motorway. The plans were dropped by the Welsh Assembly Government
in July 2009.
runs through the Brynglas Tunnels
north of Newport city centre
. The existing road does not conform to current motorway standards: it lacks continuous hard shoulders
, has closely spaced junctions and narrows to a restricted two-lane section through the Brynglas Tunnels, where heavy congestion occurs at peak hours
. Traffic data shows that the motorway is already approaching, and at times exceeds capacity; forecasts show that if nothing is done these problems will only increase.
A second motorway was proposed to the south of Newport, running for 14 miles (23 km) parallel to the existing motorway from junction 23A at Magor
, to junction 29 at Castleton
, avoiding the need to widen the tunnels. The concept behind the motorway was based on the M6 Toll
, a similar relief road built to reduce traffic on the M6 motorway
around Birmingham
.
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 GB£350 million and 1000 million, and been financed by a Private Finance Initiative
(PFI) with the Welsh Assembly. It was planned to be the United Kingdom
's second full toll-paying motorway, after the M6 Toll.
On 15 July 2009, Wales' Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones
announced that the plans for the New M4 were to be dropped and replaced by a package of measures to improve the flow of traffic on the M4 motorway in south-east Wales. In November 2009, Dr. Anthony Beresford of the Business School at Cardiff University
called for the decision to cancel the road to be overturned.
Friends of the Earth
claimed that the road would have caused great damage to local wildlife habitats as it was planned to pass through the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels
, an area of natural wetland
s. 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.
The Campaign Against the Levels Motorway (CALM) claimed that the proposed motorway would ruin a historic landscape and increase carbon emissions.
Several other 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.
Liberal Democrat
spokesperson Jenny Randerson raised concerns about whether a toll would have been necessary on the road, as the Severn Bridge
, less than 10 miles (16 km) to the east, also charges a toll to cross it. Randerson compared the plan to a "double tax on Wales", claiming that the toll would discourage people from visiting Wales, saying "paying twice to get in will encourage no-one to come across the Severn Bridge, either for business or for pleasure", while the Road Haulage Association
said that an additional toll was "almost rubbing salt into the wound". Lately, there have also been further developments on introducing a congestion charge in central Cardiff
, meaning that if the New M4 was built many drivers could have ended up paying three times in the space of less than 30 miles (48 km) from the Severn Crossings into Cardiff.
Concerns were also raised about the risk of accidents on the road; cars on the M6 Toll
, due to its new and clear carriageways, have an average speed of 79 miles per hour (35 m/s), rising to 88 miles per hour (39 m/s) at night, well above the British national speed limit
of 70 miles per hour (31 m/s). As a result, the M4 Toll was compared to a potential theme park with drivers paying "their money and therefore [expecting] to be able to enjoy the thrill of the ride. It's almost as if they're paying to use a racetrack" said Conrad King, a motoring psychologist
.
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, which would have been the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's second full toll-paying motorway. The plans were dropped by the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
in July 2009.
Background
The existing M4 motorwayM4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
runs through the Brynglas Tunnels
Brynglas Tunnels
The Brynglas Tunnels carry the M4 motorway under Brynglas Hill in Newport. The twin-bored tunnels were the first tunnels in the British motorway network and are still the only bored tunnels....
north of Newport city centre
Newport city centre
Newport city centre is traditionally regarded as the area of Newport bounded by the west bank of the River Usk, the George Street Bridge, the eastern flank of Stow Hill and the Great Western Main Line. Most of the city centre is contained within two conservation areas: the central area and the area...
. The existing road does not conform to current motorway standards: it lacks continuous hard shoulders
Shoulder (road)
A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of motor vehicle traffic...
, has closely spaced junctions and narrows to a restricted two-lane section through the Brynglas Tunnels, where heavy congestion occurs at peak hours
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
. Traffic data shows that the motorway is already approaching, and at times exceeds capacity; forecasts show that if nothing is done these problems will only increase.
A second motorway was proposed to the south of Newport, running for 14 miles (23 km) parallel to the existing motorway from junction 23A at Magor
Magor, Monmouthshire
Magor - meaning 'a wall' - is a large village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, between Chepstow and the city of Newport, and adjoining the Caldicot Levels beside the Severn estuary. Magor lies close to the M4 motorway, which has a nearby motorway service area sharing its name...
, to junction 29 at Castleton
Castleton, Newport
Castleton is a small hamlet in the city of Newport, South Wales.__FORCETOC__- Location :Castleton is located in the Marshfield ward, an affluent fringe region to the west of the city of Newport, also near the eastern fringes of Cardiff...
, avoiding the need to widen the tunnels. The concept behind the motorway was based on the M6 Toll
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
, a similar relief road built to reduce traffic on the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
around Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
History
An M4 relief road between Magor and Castleton was first proposed by the Welsh OfficeWelsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
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
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The road would have cost between GB£350 million and 1000 million, and been financed by a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
(PFI) with the Welsh Assembly. It was planned to be the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's second full toll-paying motorway, after the M6 Toll.
On 15 July 2009, Wales' Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...
announced that the plans for the New M4 were to be dropped and replaced by a package of measures to improve the flow of traffic on the M4 motorway in south-east Wales. In November 2009, Dr. Anthony Beresford of the Business School at Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
called for the decision to cancel the road to be overturned.
Controversy
The proposed road received criticism from many groups, with concerns ranging from environmental issues, through cost, to long-term effects on traffic patterns.Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
claimed that the road would have caused great damage to local wildlife habitats as it was planned to pass through the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels
Caldicot and Wentloog Levels
The Caldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarine alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn estuary, either side of the River Usk estuary near Newport in south east Wales...
, an area of natural wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. 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.
The Campaign Against the Levels Motorway (CALM) claimed that the proposed motorway would ruin a historic landscape and increase carbon emissions.
Several other 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.
Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
spokesperson Jenny Randerson raised concerns about whether a toll would have been necessary on the road, as the Severn Bridge
Severn Bridge
The Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
, less than 10 miles (16 km) to the east, also charges a toll to cross it. Randerson compared the plan to a "double tax on Wales", claiming that the toll would discourage people from visiting Wales, saying "paying twice to get in will encourage no-one to come across the Severn Bridge, either for business or for pleasure", while the Road Haulage Association
Road Haulage Association
The Road Haulage Association Ltd is a UK trade association which represents members of the road haulage industry, together with allied businesses. The RHA has been in continuous existence for more than fifty years...
said that an additional toll was "almost rubbing salt into the wound". Lately, there have also been further developments on introducing a congestion charge in central Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, meaning that if the New M4 was built many drivers could have ended up paying three times in the space of less than 30 miles (48 km) from the Severn Crossings into Cardiff.
Concerns were also raised about the risk of accidents on the road; cars on the M6 Toll
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
, due to its new and clear carriageways, have an average speed of 79 miles per hour (35 m/s), rising to 88 miles per hour (39 m/s) at night, well above the British national speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
of 70 miles per hour (31 m/s). As a result, the M4 Toll was compared to a potential theme park with drivers paying "their money and therefore [expecting] to be able to enjoy the thrill of the ride. It's almost as if they're paying to use a racetrack" said Conrad King, a motoring psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
.