View source for M49 motorway

[[File:UK-Motorway-M49.svg|right|200px]]
[[File:M49 Dyer's Common.jpg|right|215px|thumb|Looking north at Dyer's Common with the Prince of Wales Bridge in the background.]]
The '''M49 motorway''' is a five-mile motorway in [[Gloucestershire]] to the west of [[Bristol]], that forms a link between the [[M5 motorway]] at Junction 18, and the [[Prince of Wales Bridge]], on the [[M4 motorway]] at Junction 22. It was constructed in 1996,<ref>[http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m49/ CBRD Motorway Database – M49]</ref> at the same time as the bridge and is unique as it is only accessible from other motorways. Original plans provided for an intermediate junction with the A403, to serve an expanded industrial area and [[Severn Beach]], but neither have come to fruition.<ref>[http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m49/ Pathetic Motorways – M49]</ref> The M49 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the south of the M4, its number should therefore begin with a 3.<ref>[http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m49/ Pathetic Motorways – M49]</ref>

==Route==
It begins at junction 18A of the M5 and then heads roughly north and north west before it reaches its terminal junction with the M4 at junction 22, just before the Second Severn Crossing.  It cuts journey times for traffic to and from [[Avonmouth]] docks, Central and southern Bristol and the South West. Having a two-way grade-separated roundabout junction with the M4, it also fulfils the dual role of providing a bypass for the busy stretch of the M5 between the [[Avonmouth Bridge]] and the M4 in case of that route being shut.

Construction of an intermediate junction commenced summer 2018 and was completed late in August 2020.<ref>[https://highwaysengland.co.uk/projects/m49-avonmouth-junction/ Highways England - M49 Avonmouth junction]</ref> Despite this, the junction is not currently connected to the local road network, so cannot be used to access the motorway.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Hannah|date=2020-08-18|title=New £50M junction on M49 finished – but traffic can't actually use it|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-50m-junction-m49-finished-4434730|access-date=2021-07-22|website=BristolLive|language=en}}</ref>

==Junctions==
{| style="margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em; color:black; font-size:95%;" class="wikitable"
|-  style="background:#0080d0; text-align:center; color:white; font-size:120%;"
| colspan="5" | '''M49 motorway junctions'''
|-
!scope=col|miles
!scope=col abbr="North-west bound"|North-west bound exits (B carriageway)
!scope=col|Junction
!scope=col abbr="South-east bound"|South-east bound exits (A carriageway)
|- align="center"
| rowspan="2"| 0.0
| [[Bristol]], [[London]] M4(E)
| rowspan="2"| M4 J22 <br> ''terminus''
| The South West, [[Avonmouth]] M49
|- align="center"
| South Wales, [[Cardiff]], [[Newport, Monmouthshire|Newport]] [[M4 motorway|M4(W)]]
| ''Start of motorway''
|- align="center"
|rowspan="2"|5.3
| ''Start of motorway''
| rowspan="2"| ''Terminus'' <br> A4, M5 <br> J18 & J18A
| [[Avonmouth]], [[Bristol]], [[Bristol Airport|Airport]] A4
|- align="center"
| South Wales, [[Cardiff]], [[Newport, Monmouthshire|Newport]] ([[M4 motorway|M4(W)]]) M49
| The South West, [[Weston-super-Mare|Weston-s-Mare]], [[M5 motorway|M5]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Outside links==
* [http://www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m49/ CBRD Motorway Database – M49]
*[http://pathetic.org.uk/current/m49/ Pathetic Motorways – M49]

{{UK motorways}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0049}}
[[Category:Roads in Gloucestershire]]