The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.
There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).
Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.
A new £68m five-mile road is being opened to tackle a notorious transport bottleneck and accident blackspot in west Wales.
The upgraded route for the A477 between St Clears and Red Roses includes bypasses for Llanddowror and Red Roses.
Walking and cycling routes have also been built as part of the project.
Transport minister Edwina Hart says it will improve safety and boost access for ferry traffic and tourists visiting south Pembrokeshire.
It is the latest section of the A477 to be upgraded since the early 1980s as a major route not only for tourists but also for military vehicles, industrial equipment and abnormal loads.
.
.
.
The new section consists of 5.4 miles of new road between Pont Newydd Bridge, east of Llanddowror, and Red Roses, and a further half-mile of improvements between Pont Newydd Bridge and the St Clears roundabout.
Although a single carriageway, over half of the new road has three lanes offering overtaking opportunities in both directions.
A foot and cycle path has also been built to link the communities of St Clears and Llanddowror.
Last edited by AAndy on Tue May 17, 2022 17:23, edited 1 time in total.
Oh, hallelujah! I saw this was well under way last October coming back from Ireland. It takes a surprisingly long time to get from Pembroke Dock to the M4, and although I don't think there's much in it time-wise compared to Fishguard, this might tip the balance. While helping tourist traffic is nice, it's HGVs for the ferry that will make a real difference.
Perhaps they could reroute the A40 this way, then via Narberth toward Haverfordwest? Oh, wait....
-- SABRE Maps - all the best maps in one place....
Drove along this yesterday - a very bold alignment with some impressive cuttings. However, heading east, there's the best part of three miles being on the +1 side of S2+1 with double whites approaching St Clears, which can be very frustrating. How much extra would it cost to build a proper D2, or even an S4 with double whites and a yard of red hatching between them?
I also spotted that the whole of the old road through Llandowror and Red Roses had been cut to 40 (30 through the villages), even though most of it is of pretty standard rural A-road quality. Is this an attempt to deter drivers from stealing a march on slow HGVs on the bypass?
“The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.” – Robert A. Heinlein
It was 8 years ago!!... anyway.. I've done a video northbound showing the spectacular view as you drop 640' down Brandy Hill to st clears. https://youtu.be/z1M_WD5wEUU
AAndy wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 16:19
It was 8 years ago!!... anyway.. I've done a video northbound showing the spectacular view as you drop 640' down Brandy Hill to st clears. https://youtu.be/z1M_WD5wEUU
I was surprised to see this in my feed, and with only half a dozen posts as I thought it had been open for several years - as indeed it has. I'll watch the video later, but I remember being impressed on the one time I drove the road a few years back.
Simon
Did you know there's more to SABRE than just the Forums? Add your roads knowledge to the SABRE Wiki today!
Have you browsed SABRE Maps recently? Try getting involved!
Please contact me if you want to know more
AAndy wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 16:19
It was 8 years ago!!... anyway.. I've done a video northbound showing the spectacular view as you drop 640' down Brandy Hill to st clears. https://youtu.be/z1M_WD5wEUU
I was surprised to see this in my feed, and with only half a dozen posts as I thought it had been open for several years - as indeed it has. I'll watch the video later, but I remember being impressed on the one time I drove the road a few years back.
It's a great piece of road, in fact the the whole of the A477 south of the A40 is pretty good now.
The only thing that grates is couldn't they have bypassed the village and pub on a new alignment instead of the twisty short 40mph bit between the A40 and the new road
The road is always a surprise to me! If you are driving from Pembroke and you travel though mostly flat countryside and as you head for the gentle summit of Brandy hill you may not even realise you are 672' up with no hint of the view of carmarthenshire fields that await just over the top or how the road sweeps down 650' in front of you.... it is quite a drop for anywhere in the UK.
It surprises me that this road was only finished in 2014, given the important connections to a massive power station, oil refineries and onshoring terminals. It also surprised me quite how steep some of the gradients were - I found myself going down the gears quite a bit on the climbs!
I never drove this way on the old A477 as it predates me driving. Was it particularly low quality? I'm just a little stunned that Valero, Pembroke PS etc were all built where they were without good connectivity.
I drove this for the first time earlier this year. Very enjoyable and easy to keep a high (!) speed along. It reminded me in some ways of driving somewhere outside the UK where well-engineered single carriageways are more common.
DB617 wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 11:52
It surprises me that this road was only finished in 2014, given the important connections to a massive power station, oil refineries and onshoring terminals. It also surprised me quite how steep some of the gradients were - I found myself going down the gears quite a bit on the climbs!
I never drove this way on the old A477 as it predates me driving. Was it particularly low quality? I'm just a little stunned that Valero, Pembroke PS etc were all built where they were without good connectivity.
DB617 wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 11:52
I never drove this way on the old A477 as it predates me driving. Was it particularly low quality? I'm just a little stunned that Valero, Pembroke PS etc were all built where they were without good connectivity.
I think the connections to the sea via the Milford Haven waterway to import the oil took priority over the onward road connections.
There were also some other poor-quality roads that have been improved in the last few decades even though huge lorries and tankers have been serving the area for 50 or so years.
One of the first I can remember was the early 1990's improvements to St Daniels Hill in Pembroke, the B4319. Before it was the wide straight climb it is now, it was very narrow with several bends. Here is the current road:
ChrisH wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 12:05I drove this for the first time earlier this year. Very enjoyable and easy to keep a high (!) speed along. It reminded me in some ways of driving somewhere outside the UK where well-engineered single carriageways are more common.
That bit of Wales seems to specialise in them. Some of the A40 improvements west of St Clears and around Llandeilo are similarly very enjoyable.
