Newport M4 relief road.

[vindaloo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-39052153

 

Now I'm pretty much for a re-pathing of the M4, as the existing route threaded the needle of the city/geography (it is not exactly flat) and a working docks (which is mostly not there any more). Main reason, of course, is that I live in Bucks and family and friends live around the Cardiff and Swansea areas. Little bro lives near Pontypridd and works in Newport. Traffic is utterly crap and dependent on one road at rush hour. Any problem on the M4 clogs up everything else.

 

Is a crystal ball needed to guess what the transport infrastructure might be in 50 years? I see electric cars making local journeys. I can see fossil fuelled and in particular diesel lorries and vans banned in major towns and cities. At the least, a major uptake in hybrid vehicles.

[octyal]

Going on where you say your relatives live, I would be inclined to come up the A419 via Swindon, take the M50 to Ross, follow the A40 to Raglan, then squirt across to Abergavenny and pick up the A465 down to Neath from there (as an alternative). Most of the road from Abergavenny down to the M4 is now dual carriageway (final stretch being done in next few years). You could even peel off at Merthyr and follow the valleys down through the A470 to Cardiff from there as well. Slightly longer by about 40 miles ish, but probably quicker with less traffic to contend with at the bridge and around Bristol/Newport tunnels