A4232 road
The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road or the Cardiff Link Road, is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road in 1978 and the latest section was phase 1 of the Eastern Bay Link Road, known as Ewart Parkinson Road in 2017. When fully completed, the road will form part of the Cardiff ring road system. The PDR runs west, south and east of Cardiff, with the M4 between junction 30 and junction 33 completing the northern section. The PDR is dual carriageway for its entire length except for Rover Way and the East Moors Viaduct, which is a single carriageway. The entire length of the road has clearway restrictions on it.
The PDR has been constructed in separate link roads of between and around Cardiff and to date including spurs have been opened to traffic, with plans for a further. It has 5 large viaducts, 1 tunnel and 2 spur roads. The road has many grade separated interchanges.
The section of the road between Junction 33 of the M4 and A48 at Culverhouse Cross is designated a trunk road in Wales and it's managed and maintained by the South Wales Trunk Road Agent. The remainder of the road is the responsibility of Cardiff Council.
History
The road was conceived in the early 1970s, and planning by South Glamorgan County Council began in the late 1970s. At that stage the road was planned to be completed by 1995 and would relieve Ely, Grangetown, Butetown and East Moors of through traffic and provide a fast link to the national motorway network via the M4 and A48. The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road between Newport Road and the Eastern Avenue in 1978 and the last section of the PDR, the first phase of the Eastern Bay Link Road, which was opened to the public in June 2017.The former chairman of the South Glamorgan County Council environment committee, Councillor Paddy Kitson, called the road a "necklace of opportunity" due to its shape and also the opportunities for regeneration. By 1 April 1996 the responsibility for the road was transferred from South Glamorgan County Council to the unitary authority of Cardiff Council. Much of the funding for the road had been grant aided from the European Community and the UK Government on the basis that it would improve the economic viability of the area and bring in new jobs and industry. However, since the completion of the Butetown Link Road, funding for further developments have been at a standstill, and to date including spurs are open to traffic with plans for a further. The "missing link", the second and final phase of the Eastern Bay Link Road, is still to be built.
Route description
The PDR has 3 separate sections: the Capel Llanilltern Interchange to the Ocean Way roundabout, the Lamby Way roundabout to the Llanedeyrn Interchange and the Pontprennau Interchange to the Pentwyn Interchange.The section from the Capel Llanilltern Interchange on the M4 to the Ocean Way roundabout is sometimes referred to as the Western Link Road, is in length and includes the Capel Llanilltern – Culverhouse Cross Link Road, Ely Link Road, Grangetown Link Road and Butetown Link Road. For the majority of this section it is the boundary between the City of Cardiff to the east and the Vale of Glamorgan to the west.
Link roads
A map of all the link roads and spur roads can be seen by clicking Map of all coordinates oppositeEach section of the road was completed in separate link roads.
Capel Llanilltern – Culverhouse Cross Link Road
The £14.5 million Capel Llanilltern – Culverhouse Cross Link Road, also known as the A4232 Trunk Road, between the Capel Llanilltern Interchange and the Culverhouse Cross Interchange was opened in 1985. It was designed to provide a by-pass for traffic from the M4 to the Vale of Glamorgan. It is in length and includes the Ely Viaduct close to Michaelston-super-Ely. The trunk road is maintained by the South Wales Trunk Road Agency on behalf of the Welsh Government. The remainder of the PDR is a primary route, which is maintained by Cardiff Council. In 2006 variable message signs were installed on the Capel Llanilltern – Culverhouse Cross Link Road by Techspan Systems to display warning messages about road and weather conditions, accidents, congestion and major events in the area.; Ely Viaduct
The Ely Viaduct crosses over the River Ely and also the main South Wales railway line.
The viaduct is a twin-box girder and has central span of and side spans, constructed by the balanced cantilever method. It was constructed in segments, each weighing between 54 tons for plain segments and 93 tons for the main segments.
Ely Link Road
The Ely Link Road between the Culverhouse Cross Interchange and the Leckwith Interchange, sometimes referred to as the Leckwith Road Interchange. It is in length and was opened in 1982 and built by Davies Middleton & Davies Ltd. It was designed to relieve Ely of through traffic and partly cuts into Leckwith Hill.Grangetown Link Road
The Grangetown Link Road between the Leckwith Interchange and the Ferry Road Interchange was opened on 3 May 1988. It includes the Grangetown Viaduct.; Grangetown Viaduct
The Grangetown Viaduct is approximately in length and is said to be the longest glued segmental bridge in the United Kingdom. It has 13 spans of with 2 end spans of and.
The viaduct was designed by South Glamorgan County Council. Robert Benaim and Associates, now called Benaim UK Ltd designed the initial launching system for the glued segmental structure.
Butetown Link Road
The Butetown Link Road between the Ferry Road Interchange and the Queen's Gate Roundabout was opened on 27 March 1995 by Neil Kinnock at the time the European Commissioner for Transport. Construction of the link road commenced on 15 October 1993 and it was the last link road to be built before the Eastern Bay Link Road opened in 2017. It includes the Taff Viaduct, also known as the Butetown Link Road Bridge, and the Queen's Gate Tunnel, which is also known simply as the Butetown Tunnel.In 1987 South Glamorgan County Council had intended to build a viaduct across the River Taff and then go onto an elevated section through Butetown "on stilts". But the newly formed Cardiff Bay Development Corporation along with local residents objected to the scheme that they said would cut through Butetown and split the community, creating an unnecessary physical barrier between the two areas to the north and south of the link road. By 1988 South Glamorgan County Council had agreed to change the design of the link road, despite having already spent 6 years of design work on the link road meant that a tunnel had to be built instead. The cost of the Butetown Link Road was estimated to cost £35 million, but this had risen to £45M in 1988, before the design change.
The contract to build the Butetown Link Road was eventually won by a local company Davies Middleton & Davies Ltd in a joint venture with an Italian contractor, Cogefar-Impressit UK Ltd. The bid of £60 million undercut all other bids by £10 million, Davies Middleton & Davies Ltd subsequently went into administrative receivership.
; Queen's Gate Tunnel
The Queen's Gate Tunnel, also known as the Butetown Tunnel, is underneath southern Butetown and follows a line underneath the Wales Millennium Centre. The twin tunnel was constructed using the cut and cover method of construction, which involves digging a trench for the tunnel and then roofing it over. The tunnel was constructed using reinforced concrete and a central wall separates the two sets of traffic.
South Glamorgan County Council originally awarded the contract for the management, installation, testing and commissioning of all electrical and mechanical services for the tunnel, and the water pumping stations to EI·WHS Ltd. They still maintain the tunnel on behalf of Cardiff Council.
Immediately to the east of the tunnels is an unfinished viaduct which had been built to continue over Queen's Gate Roundabout to link up with the next section. The viaduct will not be completed during the 2016-2017 construction of the Eastern Bay Link road, but remains available for future development.
; Taff Viaduct
Construction of the Taff Viaduct includes a dual-carriageway roadway plus a foot and cycle path. South Glamorgan County Council was the local authority in charge of the project at the time and construction of the viaduct began in March 1991. The Taff Viaduct crosses the River Taff at Cardiff Bay and is known locally as Pollinger Bridge.
The viaduct was constructed using precast concrete segments, which is widely used in the construction industry for medium to long span viaducts. Segments were made in a casting yard near the site and then transported for final assembly of the viaduct.
Eastern Bay Link Road
Construction on the first phase of the Eastern Bay Link Road, also known as the Ewart Parkinson Road, began on 17 March 2016. It runs from the Queen's Gate Roundabout to the Ocean Way roundabout and was opened on 15 June 2017 by the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones. Only phase 1 of the road between Queen's Gate Roundabout and Ocean Way Interchange has been constructed, with a feasibility study being carried out into the final phase of the link road between Ocean Way roundabout to the A48 Eastern Avenue. The link road is a two lane dual carriageway with a speed limit eastbound and a speed limit westbound. Originally the link road was to have just a with embankments at both ends of the link road, however because a sewer could not be diverted, a viaduct had to be built instead, which caused delays to the construction. The viaduct was constructed using steel and concrete and consists of 21 spans with 120 precast concrete beams and of steelwork.For many years this link road had been mothballed due to the costs involved. The link road had previously been known as the East Moors Link Road – Phase 1 and 3, but it also included the East Moors Viaduct, which was originally known as the East Moors Link Road – Phase 2. Later it became known as the Cardiff Bay Link Road, then renamed again becoming the Eastern Bay Link Road.
The Eastern Bay Link Road was subject to many planning proposals since the last link road was completed in 1995, namely a local transport plan in August 2000, a green paper in December 2002 and a white paper in May 2003. The cost of the link road was estimated to cost £162 million in 2001 and this increased to £180 million by August 2002. It was suggested that it could be paid for by congestion charging, although a public-private partnership was also considered.
The original route of the link road had been challenged by both Friends of the Earth Cymru, and also the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, who had both lodged formal objections against the link road.
The new route would be different from the earlier proposal and would avoid any encroachment into the nature conservation area, which Friends of the Earth and the RSPB had objected to. The new route would ensure that there would be no objections.
It was revealed on 14 June 2013 that Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, Science and Transport in the Welsh Government supported the completion the Eastern Bay Link Road. She said that the link road would; improve access to Cardiff Bay, improve access to the Cardiff Central Enterprise Zone and enhance connections within the Cardiff City Region. The overall objectives of the road would be to:
- Increase accessibility from east Cardiff to major employment sites in the East Moors area, Cardiff Bay and the Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone
- Provide a more direct route between the Butetown Tunnel and Rover Way
- Reduce congestion at the junctions on Tyndall Street by removing traffic currently using the Ocean Way- East Tyndall Street – Central Link route
- Reduce journey times for private and commercial road users
- Help economic regeneration
- Enhance road safety and reduce casualties
- Improve resilience on the strategic road network around Cardiff
- Provide more opportunities for cycling and walking
On 2 May 2014, Edwina Hart approved the procurement of the design–build contractor, advance service diversion works and communications arrangements for the Eastern Bay Link Road. In April 2015, it was announced by the Welsh Government that the £27.3m Eastern Bay Link Road from the Queens Gate roundabout to the Ocean Way roundabout at Tremorfa known as the "roundabout to nowhere", would be designed by Capita Property and Infrastructure with Cass Hayward being the specialist bridge designer. It was constructed by Dawnus and Ferrovial Agroman UK in a joint venture. Construction began on Phase 1 of the link road on 17 March 2016, This phase of the road was opened on Thursday 15 June 2017 by the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones.
; Phase 2
It was reported on 9 December 2016 by Cardiff Council that a feasibility study into Phase 2 between the Ocean Way roundabout to the A48 Eastern Avenue would take place and would be funded by the Welsh Government, as will all the construction costs for Phase 2. Extending the link road
from Ocean Way roundabout to the A48 could take between three and five years to complete.
On 21 October 2021, Huw Thomas, leader of Cardiff Council said:
Only a kilometre of new road has been built in Cardiff since devolution. I think there is a compelling case to be made in particular around the Eastern Bay Link, completing from the Queensgate roundabout eastwards to the end of Rover Way to be upgraded. That's really important not just as a gateway to the city and Cardiff Bay, but as a way of diverting traffic away from residential areas including my own ward of Splott. On the Eastern Bay Link, conversations at an official level have been happening for some years now with a decent amount of detail. I will certainly be making representations, when I next meet the climate change minister and the deputy minister for transport, of the importance of that road.
From in October 2021 Arcadis conducted a WelTAG Stage 1 study. The WelTAG study found that it would involve:
- Realignment of Rover Way between the A4232 Southern Way Roundabout and the Ocean Way / A4232 Eastern Bay Link Roundabout to accommodate extension of existing development;
- Modification of five junctions along Rover Way to prioritise strategic east–west movements: Ffordd Pengam ; Seawall Road; Tide Fields Road ; Darby Road ; and Ocean Way ;
- Provision of an active travel route and crossing facilities.
- To support a modal shift and reduce carbon emissions.
- To improve safety through small-scale changes.
- To adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- To provide access and connectivity to jobs and centres of economic activity in a way that supports modal shift.