A470 road
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A470 | ||
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A547 | ||
To | Llandudno | |
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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
Cardiff Bay – Merthyr Tydfil
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
The southernmost point of the route is in
.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
Merthyr Tydfil – Builth Wells
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 road continues to follow the Wye to the busy crossroads where it meets the A44 in the centre of
Mallwyd – Llandudno
The country becomes more forested and the road climbs up through
Junctions
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(December 2021) |
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
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.
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
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
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.
Other references in Welsh popular culture include:
- a 1993 song by Geraint Lövgreen[29]
- a video and photo exhibition in 2001[30][31]
- a bi-monthly magazine, subtitled What's on in Literary Wales[32]
See also
References
- ^ "The Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road (A470) (Gelligemlyn Improvement, Side Roads) Order 201-". Welsh Government. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "A470: Images of Wales's longest road from south to north". BBC News. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ Evans, Edward A. (1996). "The Nelson branch". Backtrack. pp. 12–17. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
- ^ "A470". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Coryton Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Taff's Well Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Nantgarw Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Upper Boat Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Glyntaff Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Broadway Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Bridge Street Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Abercynon Interchange". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Abercynon Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Abercanaid Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Orbit Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Swansea Road Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "A470 Cefn Coed Roundabout". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Osmond, John (26 March 2010). "A Road to Love For". IWA. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "MOT Map". Ordnance Survey. 1923. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "1:250,000 Road Map". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "One Inch Seventh Series". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
- ^ "MOT Map Sheet 11". Ordnance Survey. 1923. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "Ten Mile Map of Great Britain". Ordnance Survey. 1946. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – the Welsh M1, 2. Welshness".
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – the Welsh M1, 1. Heading South".
- ^ "The A470 – a route into the Welsh psyche". Wales Online. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Review: A470: Poems for the Road/Cerddi'r Ffordd". Institute of Welsh Affairs. 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Bilingual poetry book about A470 sets Welsh hearts racing". The Guardian. 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Geraint Lovgreen a'r Enw Da – 1981-1998 – Music – Sain Records – Music from Wales". sainwales.com.
- ^ "The A470: free of motels and road movies". BBC News. 25 March 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ "Picture gallery: A470 exhibition". BBC News. 25 March 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ISBN 1599632306.
External links
- "A470". SABRE. Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts.