A477

The A477 provides the link from A40 at St Clears to the holiday venues on the Pembroke peninsula and the ferry port of Pembroke Dock (this part being part of the Trans European Road Network linking Europe to Ireland). It then connects the Pembroke peninsula to the area north of the Milford Haven estuary via the Cleddau Bridge which opened in 1975. The route prior to the bridge required either a ferry crossing to Neyland or a 40-mile detour on the A477, A4075 and A40 via Canaston Bridge and Haverfordwest.

Most of the A477 is primary. The Cleddau Bridge is not and is possibly the most strategic part of the whole route.

Route

St Clears - Johnston

Construction of the Kilgetty and Stepaside bypass prior to opening in 1984

A present-day view of the bypass

The A477 starts at a roundabout at the end of the A40 St Clears bypass. The roundabout is significant as it marks the end of the dual carriageway route from London. Passing through wooded countryside, the A477 route heads southwest along a single-carriageway via Red Roses towards Kilgetty. At Red Roses, a left turn along the B4314 leads to Pendine Sands, the site of various land speed record attempts. At Kilgetty, we reach the boundary of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Kilgetty itself is bypassed; the road passes through a rock cutting and under a concrete arched bridge before arriving at a roundabout with the A478. A left turn takes you towards Saundersfoot and Tenby, a right takes you towards Narbeth, and eventually towards Cardigan if you stay on it for long enough. The A477 itself continues straight on towards Carew Castle, passes to the north of Pembroke (as it always has) then to Pembroke Dock where it once terminated. The road continues towards Haverfordwest crossing on the (former toll) Cleddau Bridge. Built during the 1970s, it replaced a ferry. The road ahead which was the B4324 for many years, finally became the A477 not long before the bridge opened. The route terminates on the primary A4076 linking Milford Haven and Haverfordwest.

History

The section from St Clears to the A4075 at Nash (west of Milton) was made a trunk road in 1968.

Kilgetty, Stepaside and Begelly Bypass was reported as open in the October 1984 edition of RAC World magazine. It was 3.9 miles, including a 0.5 mile D2 section south-east of Kilgetty. It required 1.6 mile of cuttings, up to 32m deep, across the undulating coastal topography.

Red Roses to St. Clears improvement, including the Red Roses and Llanddowror Bypass, was reported as being opened by BBC on 16 April 2014. It included 5.4 mile of new road between Red Roses and Pont Newydd Bridge, east of Llanddowror, plus a 0.5 mile improvement between Pont Newydd Bridge and St Clears Roundabout. More than half was S2+1, the rest S2. A foot and cyclepath was built to link Llanddowror and St. Clears. Designer was Ramboll UK Ltd., contractor SRB Civil Engineering UK Ltd., cost £68 million.

Castell Heli Bridge, 1.3 mile south-west of Red Roses, was completed in 1979 per Hansard. Cost £1.4 million.