A4176
A4176 | ||||
Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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From: | Hotwells (ST562733) | |||
To: | Durdham Down (ST572748) | |||
Distance: | 1.2 miles (1.9 km) | |||
Meets: | A4, B4467, A4018 | |||
Former Number(s): | B4468 | |||
Primary Destinations | ||||
Highway Authorities | ||||
Traditional Counties | ||||
Route outline (key) | ||||
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The A4176 is a short A-road to the west of Bristol city centre.
The road starts on the A4 in the shadow of the Clifton Suspension Bridge at such a sharp angle that there is only access between the A4176 and the A4 to/from the south. The road runs up Bridge Valley Road alongside and parallel to the A4 for the first 100 m or so, albeit starting the climb out of the Avon Gorge, meaning that links between the A4 in the other direction are impossible. Bridge Valley Road then diverges slightly, climbing up through the trees before turning sharply to the right and skirting along the south eastern side of Clifton Down, with the now closed former site of Bristol Zoo on the right for a short distance. After meeting the B4467 the road then ends, little more than a mile after it started, at the complex roundabout/one-way system with the A4018 at Durdham Down.
History
Bridge Valley Road was originally built in 1822 to provide improved access to the springs at Hotwells from Clifton. It later provided access to Hotwells Railway Station, where a railway ran north to Avonmouth. When the A4 Portway was built in the 1920s, it was constructed over the line of this railway.
The A4176 was originally unclassified along Bridge Valley Road and Clifton Down, while Upper Belgrave Road was the B3125. The whole route later became part of the B4468, and was upgraded to A-road in the 1970s.