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A4067

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A4067
Location Map ( geo)
Cameraicon.png View gallery (11)
From:  Oystermouth (SS615882)
To:  Sennybridge (SN927291)
Via:  Swansea, Ystradgynlais
Distance:  35.8 miles (57.6 km)
Meets:  B4433, B4593, B4436, A4216, B4290, B4489, A483, A4217, B4603, A48, B4625, M4, B4603, B4291, A474, B4603, B4599, A4068, A4221, A4215, A40
Former Number(s):  B4293, A4068, B4298, B4297
Old route now:  B4593, B4290, B4603
Primary Destinations
Highway Authorities

Neath Port Talbot • Powys • Swansea

Traditional Counties

Brecknockshire • Glamorgan

Route outline (key)
A4067 Caswell - Oystermouth
A4067 Oystermouth – Tawe Bridges, Swansea
(A4217) Tawe Bridges – Landore
A4067 Landore – Sennybridge

Route

The A4067 runs from Oystermouth, at the southern end of Swansea Bay, through the southeast side of central Swansea, and then up the Swansea Valley into the Brecon Beacons National Park, terminating on the A40 near Sennybridge. Ranging in standard from urban highway with grade-separated interchanges to mountain road, it includes a number of interesting oddities, including a formerly dualled section now returned to a single carriageway and a junction that was once, but is no longer, partially grade-separated.

Oystermouth - Ynysforgan

Commencing at a mini-roundabout junction with the B4433 and the B4593 at Oystermouth Square in the Mumbles, the road follows the Swansea Bay shoreline, passing West Cross and Blackpill as a two-lane (S2) single-carriageway road before broadening out to a four-lane (S4) configuration. After a signal-controlled junction with the A4216, the road passes Swansea University and the St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground.

Close to the the junction with the B4436 St Helens Road, the steps of the former Slip footbridge can be seen, orphaned by the gradual deterioration of the bridge itself, which has been removed and now lies on the foreshore adjacent to the A4067 a few hundred yards west near the Brynmill Lane junction.

Oystermouth Road

The A4067 continues east-north-east along Oystermouth Road, passing the prison on the left and Swansea Civic Centre opposite. The road layout at the West Way junction (close to the Marina and main shopping district) was modified in around 2009 to accommodate the Swansea Metro, a new bendy-bus service (withdrawn in 2015) running partly on dedicated roads from Singleton Hospital, adjacent to the University, to Morriston Hospital, largely following the A4067 corridor.

The A4067 meets the A483 and A4217 at the Tawe Bridges complex, where it is subsumed by the latter road for just over a mile as the route turns left to start its northward run beside the Tawe. Close to the Liberty Stadium the road resumes its own identity, passing beneath the Landore railway viaduct, and from here continues north on new-build alignment (dating from 1994) to a grade-separated junction with the A48 and to junction 45 of the M4 at Ynysforgan. The old A4067 up the valley from the Hafod, Swansea, as far as Cilmaengwyn, northeast of Pontardawe, is today the B4603.

Ynysforgan - Sennybridge

The A4067 continues north from M4 junction 45 along a relatively new single-carriageway alignment, mostly on the eastern bank of the River Tawe. There are roundabout junctions with the B4291 at Glais, the A474 at Pontardawe (this is technically a GSJ as the mainline of the road crosses the bridge over us), the B4603 at Cilmaengwyn, and the B4599 (the old road through the eastern part of Ystalyfera and Ystradgynlais, although not all of this was ever the A4067).

The road now enters Brecknockshire and there is a roundabout junction with the A4068 which strikes off northwestward to Brynamman. Various improved S2 sections, partly on old railway and canal alignments, now take us past Ystradgynlais itself (to the right) and Abercraf (to our left), and near the end of the Abercraf bypass there is a junction with the A4221 heading towards Glynneath. We enter the Brecon Beacons National Park, and for nearly 3 miles the A4067 reverts to its original narrow and somewhat twisty course through Pen-y-cae and Craig-y-nos. The National Speed Limit will not apply again until, after passing Craig-y-nos Castle and Country Park on our right and approaching the site of the Dan-yr-ogof show caves on our left, the road suddenly straightens out into a relatively recently improved stretch (1970s?) which makes a dash for the foot of the climb up out of the Swansea Valley just beyond Glyntawe.

As part of the same improvement a short stretch at the foot of the climb was dualled by the building of a new carriageway for the uphill northbound traffic, while downhill traffic continued to use the original carriageway. A few years ago, however, the southbound carriageway was closed and now the road is a single carriageway once more, although now on the newer alignment. Google Streetview has managed to photograph much of this length: disused A4067 carriageway

Looking southwestward near the head of the Swansea Valley

Although continuing to run northeastward, the road now leaves the Swansea Valley proper, following a side stream of the Tawe up into the district of the Brecon Beacons known as Fforest Fawr. After reaching the head of the pass at Bwlch Bryn-rhudd (369 m), below Fan Gyhyrich on our right, the road gradually drops down past the Cray Reservoir. This reservoir stands at the head of Afon Crai, a tributary of the River Usk which flows down past Brecon to the Bristol Channel at Newport; however, the bulk of the water stored here is piped "uphill" and through the watershed to supply Swansea and the Tawe valley.

After passing the A4215 junction at Defynnog we reach another junction oddity, this time with the A40. Historically, the A4067 met the A40 at a junction in the middle of Sennybridge after passing under a railway bridge on the outside of the village. The railway headed east from the A4067 and passed over the A40 to the east of Sennybridge before continuing onwards to Brecon. After the railway closed in 1963 and the tracks were lifted, the A40 to the east of Sennybridge was realigned and the A4067 junction was moved a short distance to the east, the old railway bridge being used for northbound A4067 traffic turning right onto the A40 to ease the traffic flow, it being cheaper to lay a road over it than it was to demolish it.

At this time, the A40 trunk road was one of the main routes into west Wales as there was no M4 and the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road was only partly completed. By the mid-1990s, the old railway bridge had become unsafe and now the cheaper option was to demolish it rather than repair it, so it was subsequently removed. The A40 was much less important by this time and a conventional junction was considered adequate.

History

The Swansea Valley in 1932 before the A4067 reached it

In 1922, the A4067 went only from the Mumbles to Morriston, where it ended on the A48. Its route through Swansea was that of the present B4290 and B4603, with the present route partially the B4293. From Morriston onwards, the road was numbered A4068 to Ystalyfera, then B4298 to Gurnos and finally the B4297 took us to Sennybridge. The whole route to Sennybridge was subsequently upgraded and renumbered A4067 thoroughout in or around 1935. Much of its original alignment, especially in the Swansea Valley, has been bypassed in more recent years.

The road was also extended at the other end around 1935, taking on a formerly unclassified road to Caswell Bay. This was downgraded again in about 1970, becoming what is now the B4593.

Opening Dates

Year Section Notes
1950 Swansea, The Kingsway The 0.5 mile dual carriageway was opened on 1 November 1950 by Princess Margaret. It had been built across the town's bomb damaged streets and cost £80,000. Later renumbered B4290.
1964 Godre'r-graig Bypass From Cilmaengwyn to Church Road. Completed in 1964 per the Wales 1964 Report.
1970 Abercraf Bypass Opened in 1970 by Tudor Watkins, County Council Chairman, per the opening plaque.
1987 Clydach Bypass Southern section from M4 J45 Ynysforgan Interchange to B4291 at Glais. A letter in the South Wales Daily Post of 13 July 1987 described it as a white elephant since traffic was still using the old road. Construction had been reported in the 2 January 1987 edition. Contractor was Wimpey Construction U.K. Ltd., cost £7 million.
1994 Morriston Eastern Bypass The 2.2 mile dual carriageway from M4 J45 Ynysforgan Interchange to Cwm Level Road Roundabout was opened on 19 November 1996 by Dilys Davies and David Jones, the oldest lifelong residents of the town. Contractor was Edmund Nuttall, cost £35 million.





A4067
Junctions
Crossings
Roads
Places
Related Pictures
View gallery (11)
A4067 Mumbles Road In Swansea - Coppermine - 11061.jpgCilmaengwyn roundabout - Geograph - 1212655.jpgA4067 nears Gurnos Road overbridge - Geograph - 3282022.jpgA 4067 & Swansea to Mumbles (ex) Railway Bridge - Coppermine - 11069.jpgAbercraf bypass opening plaque - Geograph - 3151330.jpg
Other nearby roads
Swansea
A48(M) (Morriston Bypass) • A465 • A475 (Swansea - Carmarthen) • A483 • A484 • A4068 (Morriston - Ystalyfera) • A4069 (Swansea) • A4070 • A4118 • A4216 • A4217 • A4230 • A4240 • B4247 • B4271 • B4290 • B4291 • B4292 • B4293 (Swansea) • B4294 (Gower) • B4295 • B4296 • B4433 • B4436 • B4489 • B4593 • B4603 • B4620 • B4625 • B5444 (Swansea) • E30 • E105 (London - Fishguard) • EuroVelo 1 • M4 • NCN4 • T10 (Britain) • T18 (Britain)
A4000-A4099
A4000 • A4001 • A4002 • A4003 • A4004 • A4005 • A4006 • A4007 • A4008 • A4009 • A4010 • A4011 • A4012 • A4013 • A4014 • A4015 • A4016 • A4017 • A4018 • A4019
A4020 • A4021 • A4022 • A4023 • A4024 • A4025 • A4026 • A4027 • A4028 • A4029 • A4030 • A4031 • A4032 • A4033 • A4034 • A4035 • A4036 • A4037 • A4038 • A4039
A4040 • A4041 • A4042 • A4043 • A4044 • A4045 • A4046 • A4047 • A4048 • A4049 • A4050 • A4051 • A4052 • A4053 • A4054 • A4055 • A4056 • A4057 • A4058 • A4059
A4060 • A4061 • A4062 • A4063 • A4064 • A4065 • A4066 • A4067 • A4068 • A4069 • A4070 • A4071 • A4072 • A4073 • A4074 • A4075 • A4076 • A4077 • A4078 • A4079
A4080 • A4081 • A4082 • A4083 • A4084 • A4085 • A4086 • A4087 • A4088 • A4089 • A4090 • A4091 • A4092 • A4093 • A4094 • A4095 • A4096 • A4097 • A4098 • A4099
Earlier iterations: A4008 • A4013 • A4015 • A4020 • A4032 • A4040 • A4041 • A4044 • A4045 • A4047 • A4050 • A4051 • A4052 • A4053 • A4057
A4060 • A4062 • A4066 • A4068 • A4069 • A4071 • A4072 • A4073 • A4074 • A4080 • A4082 • A4084 • A4085(N) • A4085(S) • A4087 • A4090

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