The
A48 is a major
trunk roadA trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
in
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It runs from the
A40The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
at
HighnamHighnam is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. It is three miles northwest of the city on the A40, on its way to Ross, west of Alney Island and Over Bridge. The parish includes the villages of Lassington and Over...
3 miles (4.8 km) west of
GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
to the A40 at
CarmarthenCarmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
. Before the construction of the
M4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
and the first
Severn BridgeThe Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. For most of its journey through Wales, it runs almost parallel to its successor. Before the construction of the
Second Severn CrossingThe Second Severn Crossing is a bridge which carries the M4 motorway over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales to augment the traffic capacity of the original Severn Bridge built in 1966...
, during times of high winds at the Severn Bridge the A48 was used as part of the diversion route, and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
The
A48 is a major
trunk roadA trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
in
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. It runs from the
A40The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
at
HighnamHighnam is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. It is three miles northwest of the city on the A40, on its way to Ross, west of Alney Island and Over Bridge. The parish includes the villages of Lassington and Over...
3 miles (4.8 km) west of
GloucesterGloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
to the A40 at
CarmarthenCarmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
. Before the construction of the
M4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
and the first
Severn BridgeThe Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into
South WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. For most of its journey through Wales, it runs almost parallel to its successor. Before the construction of the
Second Severn CrossingThe Second Severn Crossing is a bridge which carries the M4 motorway over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales to augment the traffic capacity of the original Severn Bridge built in 1966...
, during times of high winds at the Severn Bridge the A48 was used as part of the diversion route, and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
From Gloucester the A48 runs through the villages of
MinsterworthMinsterworth is a village in Gloucestershire, UK. It lies on the border of Gloucester, on the north bank of the River Severn and on the A48 road between Gloucester and Chepstow, at...
,
Westbury-on-SevernWestbury-on-Severn is a rural village in England that is the centre of the large, rural parish, also called Westbury-on-Severn.-Location:The village is situated on the A48 road and bounded by the River Severn to the south and west.The village has a large parish church which is distinctive as the...
, connects to a link road to
CinderfordCinderford is a small town on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. A population of 8,116 people is recorded in the 2001 census....
in the
Forest of DeanThe Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
then through
NewnhamNewnham on Severn is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. It lies near the Royal Forest of Dean, on the west bank of the River Severn, approximately 10 miles south-west of Gloucester and three miles southeast of Cinderford, at . It is on the A48 road between Gloucester and Chepstow,...
,
BlakeneyBlakeney is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It is the largest village in the parish of Awre. It has views of the Forest of Dean.It dates back to AD 75, and was home to Thomas Sternhold, a groom of King Henry VIII's Robes.-References:*...
and bypassing the town of
LydneyLydney is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located on the west bank of the River Severn, close to the Forest of Dean. The town lies on the A48 road, next to the Lydney Park gardens with its Roman temple in honour of Nodens.-Transport:The Severn Railway...
(the bypass was built in the 1990s) on the west bank of the
River SevernThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. Crossing the Wales-England border at
ChepstowChepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
and continuing west close to the South Wales coast, it connects
NewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
,
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
,
CowbridgeCowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...
,
BridgendBridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
,
PylePyle is a village and community in Bridgend county borough, Wales. Pyle railway station is on the Cardiff - Swansea section of the London - South Wales main line....
,
Port TalbotPort Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
,
NeathNeath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
,
SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
before terminating at Carmarthen.
There is a motorway section (the
A48(M)The A48 is a motorway in Wales between Cardiff and Newport. It is a spur off the M4 into eastern Cardiff. It is long and is a 2-lane motorway throughout its length. At St Mellons it runs continuously into a further of the dual-carriageway A48, which also features hard shoulders.It opened in...
) which is a spur of the M4 starting at junction 29 and ending with the main A48 at
St MellonsSt Mellons is a district and suburb of eastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.-History:St Mellons began as a small commercial centre in the historic county of Monmouthshire, relying heavily on rural agriculture, farming and travel...
,
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Just before Junction 44 of the M4 motorway, there is an abandoned dual carriageway trunk road, just to the left side of the motorway.
This formerly was home to two service stations, both of which have been demolished.
Part of the A48 forms a section of the unsigned
EurorouteThe international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe . The network is numbered from E 1 up and its roads cross national borders...
E30European route E 30 is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from the southern Irish port of Cork in the west to the Russian city of Omsk in the east...
.
History of the road number
The original (1923) route of the A48 was
WorcesterThe City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
to Carmarthen via
MalvernMalvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
,
LedburyLedbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...
,
Ross-on-WyeRoss-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
,
MonmouthMonmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
, Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend, Neath and
LlanelliLlanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
. In 1935 it was rerouted east of Newport, replacing the A437 between Newport and Gloucester. The road from Worcester to Newport became part of the
A449The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire....
, apart from the section between Ross and Monmouth (which became part of the A40).
Road safety
In June 2008, a 44 km stretch of the A48 between Chepstow - Gloucester was named as the most dangerous road in the South West of England. This single carriageway stretch had 45 fatal and serious injury
car accidentA traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
collisions between 2004 and 2006, and was rated as medium risk in the
EuroRAPEuropean Road Assessment Programme is a non-profit road safety organisation which aims to reduce death and serious injury on Europe's roads...
report publish by the Road Safety Foundation.