A470 road

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A470 shield
A470
A547
ToLlandudno
Location
Country
Primary
destinations

Pontypridd
Merthyr Tydfil
Brecon
Builth Wells
Rhayader
Llangurig
Dolgellau
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Betws-y-Coed
Road network
A472

The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road)[1] is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at 186 miles (299 km) and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast.[2] While previously one had to navigate the narrow roads of Llanidloes and Dolgellau, both these market towns are now bypassed due to extensive road modernisation[when?]. The 26 miles (42 km) from Cardiff Bay to Merthyr Tydfil are mainly dual carriageway, but most of the route from north of Merthyr to Llandudno is single carriageway.

Route

National parks

The road travels through two of the

Snowdonia National Park starting just south of Dinas Mawddwy
.

Cardiff Bay – Merthyr Tydfil

North Road (Cardiff) tidal flow system, a 3-lane single carriageway

The southernmost point of the route is in

A472 from Ystrad Mynach and Pontypool finally the A4054 from Quakers Yard, and Merthyr Tydfil
.

From Quakers Yard roundabout (locally known as "Fiddlers Elbow"), 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of dual carriageway takes the road to the Pentrebach roundabout where the A4060 links, and then to the Merthyr Tydfil roundabout where the road meets the

Taf Fawr reservoirs of Llwyn-on, Cantref and Beacons takes the road to its highest point at Storey Arms on the pass over the Brecon Beacons before a long descent to Brecon
.

Merthyr Tydfil – Builth Wells

The A470 at Bwlch Oerddrws [cy], between Dinas Mawddwy and Dolgellau

The remainder of the route north of Brecon consists of older routes now renamed "A470". This artificiality is apparent as a driver following the entire route north to south must diverge from the main line of respective stretches of road no fewer than five times. A short three lane stretch heads north east before a sharp left turn is required to stay on the road. From this point on the road becomes narrow and twisting and overtaking is problematic except at a few straight sections. Another sharp left turn at a stop sign in Llyswen takes the road alongside the River Wye into Builth Wells.

Builth Wells – Mallwyd

The A470 snaking across Bwlch Oerddrws seen from Maesglase

The road continues to follow the Wye to the busy crossroads where it meets the A44 in the centre of

Girl Guides Wales. Another anomalous left turn at a level crossing sets the path for Caersws, Carno and Llanbrynmair. Just beyond the village of Talerddig the road descends and crosses under the Shrewsbury–Aberystwyth railway line. The long descent towards Commins Coch is a relatively new stretch of road that replaced a set of road-works that had traffic light controlled single lane working for over 10 years because of unstable ground conditions. The river bridge at Commins Coch is so narrow and set at such an angle that only one vehicle at a time can pass. At Cemmaes Road the road joins the A487 at a roundabout. A right turn at the roundabout takes the road on to Mallwyd where the A458
joins at yet another roundabout.

Mallwyd – Llandudno

The country becomes more forested and the road climbs up through

A547
.

Junctions

This list is for the section between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil.

A470 (T)[4]
Northbound exits Junction Southbound exits
A4054
M4 Junction 32 – Coryton Interchange[5] Start of A470 (T)[further explanation needed]
A4054, Radyr
B4262
Taff's Well Interchange[6]
A4054, Radyr
B4262
A468
Nantgarw Interchange[7]
A468
A473
Upper Boat Interchange[8]
A473
A473
)
Glyntaff Interchange[9] No access
A4058
Broadway Interchange[10] No access
No access Bridge Street Interchange[11]
A473
)
Abercynon B4275 Abercynon Interchange[12] No access
Abercynon Roundabout[13]
A472
A465
)
Abercanaid Roundabout[14]
A465
)
Rhyd-y-car
A4102
Orbit Roundabout[15] Rhyd-y-car
A4102
A4102
Swansea Road Roundabout[16]
A4102
A465, Brecon
A470
Cefn Coed Roundabout[17] Start of A470 (T)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

History

Taff's Well Interchange during construction in November 1971

Modern route

The modern route of the A470 arose from a campaign in the 1970s by the Western Mail for a single route connecting North and South Wales, in the lead up to the 1979 Welsh devolution referendum. It was successful, and in 1978, the Welsh Office discussed a potential course of the road roughly through the centre of the country, which was implemented the following year.[18]

Original route

The route from Cardiff to Brecon was the original A470.[19] It originally ran into Brecon town centre and joined the A40 road. The old A470 between the by-pass and the town, along Newgate Street, is now the B4601. A4062 was the number for the section from the junction of the A40 and the B4601 – the Brecon (eastern) bypass to B4602 section. The B4601 was originally the A40 which ran through the town of Brecon. Similarly, the B4602 was originally the westernmost part of the A438.

The A470 passing through Rhayader

Original road numbers

Brecon – Llangurig

The A438 was the original number for the road from the junction with B4602 to the sharp left turn where A470 turns north in the vicinity of

Llanfilo. The A438 continues on from there to Hereford and Tewkesbury. From north of Llanfilo to Llyswen was the A4073. A479 originally linked the A40 west of Crickhowell to the A44 road at Rhayader. The A479 now runs only from Crickhowell to Llyswen. The stretch from Rhayader to Llangurig was the A44. Officially, this is now part of the A470,[20] but some local signage shows A44/A470.[citation needed
]

Llangurig – Mallwyd

From Llangurig to Moat Lane (east of Caersws), it was once part of the A492, which originally ran from Llangurig to Newtown.[21] The section Moat Lane to Newtown has since been renumbered A489, and from Moat Lane to Glantwymyn the A470 replaced the A489 which ran all the way from Machynlleth to the A49 road north of Craven Arms in south Shropshire. Now the A489 designation applies to two roads separated by 17 miles (27 km) of the A470. The stretch between Glantwymyn to Mallwyd was called the A4084.

Dolgellau

Originally starting at the Cross Foxes near

Ruabon – Morfa Mawddach railway
.

Gellilydan – Llandudno

Gellilydan via Llan Ffestiniog to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Congl-y-Wal) was not originally allocated a number. The section from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Betws-y-Coed was the B4407, and from there to Llandudno was the A544.[22] By 1946, the A496 had become extended to Llandudno.[23]

The section of road from Glan Conwy corner to Llandudno is a new well aligned direct route to Llandudno. The old A496 has been renumbered A547 between Glan Conwy and Llandudno Junction and A546 between Llandudno Junction and Llandudno. The A496 now numbers only the Dolgellau – Blaenau Ffestiniog coast road.

Cultural references

In 2014, Cerys Matthews presented a documentary on the A470 on BBC Radio 4, journeying from the north of the country to Cardiff Bay.[24][25] The programme described the road as "the M1 motorway of Wales", despite most of the road being rural single-carriageway, with Matthews stopping off at places like Llanrwst and Rhayader.[26]

In March 2022, Arachne Press published A470: Poems for the Road / Cerddi’r Ffordd, a bilingual English and Welsh book of poems about the A470, edited by Siân Northey and Ness Owen.

St. David's Day, by June of that year it had its second reprint.[28]

Other references in Welsh popular culture include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road (A470) (Gelligemlyn Improvement, Side Roads) Order 201-". Welsh Government. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. ^ "A470: Images of Wales's longest road from south to north". BBC News. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. ^ Evans, Edward A. (1996). "The Nelson branch". Backtrack. pp. 12–17. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  4. ^ "A470". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  5. ^ "A470 Coryton Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ^ "A470 Taff's Well Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  7. ^ "A470 Nantgarw Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  8. ^ "A470 Upper Boat Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  9. ^ "A470 Glyntaff Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  10. ^ "A470 Broadway Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  11. ^ "A470 Bridge Street Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  12. ^ "A470 Abercynon Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  13. ^ "A470 Abercynon Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. ^ "A470 Abercanaid Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  15. ^ "A470 Orbit Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  16. ^ "A470 Swansea Road Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  17. ^ "A470 Cefn Coed Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  18. ^ Osmond, John (26 March 2010). "A Road to Love For". IWA. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  19. ^ "MOT Map". Ordnance Survey. 1923. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  20. ^ "1:250,000 Road Map". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  21. ^ "One Inch Seventh Series". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  22. ^ "MOT Map Sheet 11". Ordnance Survey. 1923. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Ten Mile Map of Great Britain". Ordnance Survey. 1946. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  24. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – the Welsh M1, 2. Welshness".
  25. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – the Welsh M1, 1. Heading South".
  26. ^ "The A470 – a route into the Welsh psyche". Wales Online. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Review: A470: Poems for the Road/Cerddi'r Ffordd". Institute of Welsh Affairs. 31 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Bilingual poetry book about A470 sets Welsh hearts racing". The Guardian. 3 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Geraint Lovgreen a'r Enw Da – 1981-1998 – Music – Sain Records – Music from Wales". sainwales.com.
  30. ^ "The A470: free of motels and road movies". BBC News. 25 March 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  31. ^ "Picture gallery: A470 exhibition". BBC News. 25 March 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  32. .

External links

  • "A470". SABRE.
    Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts
    .