Prince of Wales Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince of Wales BridgePont Tywysog Cymru (Welsh) |
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The bridge as viewed from Severn Beach (England)
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| Coordinates | 51°34′28″N 2°42′06″W / 51.5745°N 2.7016°W |
| Carries |  M4 motorway (6 lanes) |
| Crosses | River Severn |
| Locale | South West England / South East Wales |
| Official name | Prince of Wales Bridge (since 2 July 2018) |
| Other name(s) | Second Severn Crossing Ail Groesfan Hafren (Welsh) |
| Named for | Charles, Prince of Wales or River Severn |
| Maintained by | National Highways |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Central span: Cable-stayed bridge Approach viaducts: Segmental bridge |
| Total length | 5,128 metres (16,824 ft) |
| Width | 34.6 metres (113.5 ft) |
| Height | 137 metres (449 ft) |
| Longest span | 456 metres (1,496 ft) |
| Clearance below | 37 metres (121 ft) |
| History | |
| Architect | Ronald Weeks of the Percy Thomas Partnership |
| Engineering design by | Halcrow Group and SEEE |
| Opened | 5 June 1996 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 61,455 (2008) |
| Toll | Free |
The Prince of Wales Bridge (called Pont Tywysog Cymru in Welsh) is a very important bridge. It crosses the River Severn between England and Wales. Before July 2018, it was known as the Second Severn Crossing.
This bridge is part of the M4 motorway, a major road. It opened in 1996 to help with the large amount of traffic. The older Severn Bridge, built in 1966, was getting too busy. England's National Highways now manages the bridge. It is about 5,128 meters (3.2 miles) long.
The Prince of Wales Bridge is located southwest of the older Severn Bridge. It makes the journey between England and Wales shorter for M4 drivers. Most traffic now uses this newer bridge. If you want to use the old Severn Bridge, you need to leave the M4 motorway.
This bridge is wider than the first Severn Bridge. It has three lanes for traffic and a narrow hard shoulder on each side. The original bridge had two lanes, a cycle path, and a footpath. The Prince of Wales Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge. This is different from the first Severn Bridge, which is a suspension bridge. The bridge is also close to the Severn Tunnel, which carries a railway line under the river.
The area under the bridge has large mudflats at low tide. At high tide, these mudflats can be covered by up to 14 meters (46 feet) of water. This made building the bridge tricky for engineers. They had to plan their work carefully for when the tide was low.
For many years, people had to pay a toll to cross the bridge. This money helped pay for building and running the bridge. In January 2018, the bridge became publicly owned. The tolls on both Severn bridges were removed in December 2018.
Contents
Why Was the Bridge Built?
The Severn Estuary is a wide river mouth that separates the Bristol area in England from South Wales. It has some of the highest tides in the world, reaching up to 14.5 meters (48 feet). Strong currents flow during high and low tides. Much of the estuary is made of mudflats that appear at low tide. These mudflats are important for wildlife.
Before 1966, people traveling by road had few options. They could use the Aust Ferry, which had been around for hundreds of years. Or they could take a special car train through the Severn Tunnel. Otherwise, they had to drive a long way around, adding about 57 miles (92 km) to their trip.
In 1966, the first Severn Bridge opened. It was a four-lane suspension bridge for the M4 motorway. By 1984, traffic on this bridge had tripled. Experts thought it would be too busy by the mid-1990s. So, a study was done to see if a second bridge or a tunnel was needed. In 1986, they suggested building a new bridge downstream from the first one.
In 1988, the government asked private companies to help build and run the new bridge. These companies would also take over the old bridge and its debt. A group of companies called Severn River Crossing plc won the contract in 1990. Construction began on April 26, 1992. Prince Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales and is now Charles III, opened the bridge on June 5, 1996.
How the Bridge Was Designed
Ronald Weeks was the main architect for the bridge. The detailed engineering was done by the Halcrow Group and a French company called SEEE. The bridge connects Sudbrook, Monmouthshire in Wales to Severn Beach in England.
The bridge has three main parts. There's a long viaduct (a type of bridge with many arches) on the English side, about 2,103 meters (1.3 miles) long. Another viaduct, about 2,077 meters (1.3 miles) long, is on the Welsh side. The main bridge section is 948 meters (0.6 miles) long. It has a clearance of 37 meters (121 feet) for ships to pass underneath. The total length of the crossing is 5,128 meters (3.2 miles).
The middle part of the bridge is called the Shoots Bridge. It's a cable-stayed bridge, meaning it uses strong cables to support the bridge deck. The main span between its two tall towers is 456 meters (1,496 feet) long. The viaducts leading up to it are made of many smaller sections.
The bridge deck is 34.6 meters (113.5 feet) wide and carries three lanes of traffic in each direction. The sides of the bridge have special plates, 3 meters (10 feet) high. These plates help reduce the effect of strong winds from the Severn Estuary on traffic. This means fewer speed limits are needed during windy weather. The new bridge is much better at handling high winds than the old Severn Bridge.
There's a small, diesel-powered monorail called the Rapid Access Train under the bridge. It moves at about 1.5 meters per second (3.4 mph). This train helps workers safely reach different parts of the bridge for maintenance. It can carry up to four people and two tonnes of equipment. It has special safety features, like an emergency battery and a "dead man's switch." There are also moving platforms under the bridge for inspections.
Building the Bridge
A group of companies worked together to build the bridge. This was a public-private partnership. A company called Severn River Crossing plc was created to build and then manage both the new and old Severn bridges. The money to build the new bridge came from tolls paid by drivers. Construction started in 1992 and finished in 1996.
Large parts of the bridge were built on land first. Then, huge vehicles moved these parts onto barges. The barges floated them out to the bridge site during high tide. The foundations for the 37 piers (support columns) of the approach viaducts are very heavy concrete blocks. They weigh up to 2,000 tonnes each and sit on the riverbed rock.
The main cable-stayed part of the bridge is over 1,044 meters (3,425 feet) long. Its deck is made of strong steel girders and reinforced concrete. These sections were also built on shore and then put into place. Two tall, twin-leg concrete towers hold 240 cables that support the bridge deck. These towers rise 149 meters (489 feet) above the riverbed. During construction, some cables vibrated, so smaller, thinner cables were added to stop this.
In 1994, a part of the bridge-building equipment fell onto the Gwent viaduct. A 200-tonne bridge deck unit fell onto the deck below. This caused a ten-week delay. However, the builders still managed to finish the bridge on time two years later.
Wildlife and the Bridge
The bridge crosses over mudflats in the Severn Estuary. These mudflats are important homes for many migrating birds. Birds like the common ringed plover, common redshank, and Eurasian whimbrel visit the area. Other birds, such as the Eurasian curlew, dunlin, and grey plover, spend the winter there. These birds eat small worms and other creatures found in the mud. There are also areas of salt marsh and beds of eelgrass along the coast.
Because of its importance for birds, the Severn Estuary has special protections. It was named a Ramsar site in 1976 and a Special Protection Area in 1988.
Before the bridge was built, some people worried about its effect on the environment. They were concerned about damage from construction and pollution from more cars. During construction, the river water became cloudier. The eelgrass beds in the river also seemed to shrink. Some wet grasslands were lost when the approach roads and toll plaza were built.
However, studies done in 2003 and 2004 showed that the bridge had little effect on birds' flight paths. Birds like curlews and dunlins would fly higher to go over the bridge. Other birds, like oystercatchers, would fly under it. The studies also found that the bridge didn't much affect where birds rested or fed. Some ducks even rested directly under the bridge on dry concrete.
Bridge Closures
The Prince of Wales Bridge has been closed a few times due to very bad weather.
- On February 6, 2009, it closed for the first time because falling ice hit some vehicles.
- In December 2009, it closed again for the same reason.
- On February 18, 2022, both the Prince of Wales Bridge and the Severn Bridge closed during Storm Eunice due to extremely high winds. This was the first time the Prince of Wales Bridge closed because of wind.
- On December 7, 2024, both bridges closed again due to high winds from Storm Darragh.
When there are strong winds or thick fog, temporary speed limits are put in place. Electronic signs tell drivers about these limits. Because of its modern design, the Prince of Wales Bridge is much better at handling strong crosswinds than the older Severn Bridge.
Renaming the Bridge
On April 5, 2018, the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, announced that the bridge would be renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge. This was to honor His Royal Highness (who was then Prince Charles) for his 60 years as The Prince of Wales.
Many people signed an online petition against the renaming. Some politicians also criticized the decision because there was no public discussion about it. However, the First Minister of Wales did not object to the change. The bridge was officially renamed on July 2, 2018. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall (now Queen Camilla) unveiled a plaque. The total cost for renaming the bridge, including new signs and the ceremony, was over £216,000.
See also
- List of bridges in Wales
- List of crossings of the River Severn
