M4 Prince of Wales bridge resurfacing

We’re resurfacing a section of the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge to extend the life of the road surface, providing smoother and safer journeys for motorists.

Start date Summer 2024

End date Autumn 2024

Cost TBC

Latest updates

02 July 2024

Closure information for the M4 Prince of Wales bridge

We’ve made some changes to our closures to set up the contraflow on the M4 Prince of Wales bridge, please see latest information below.

Remember to plan ahead and check before you travel.

Monday 8 to Friday 12 July: the eastbound and westbound carriageways will be reduced to one lane between 9pm and 6am each night.

Monday 15 & Tuesday 16 July: the westbound carriageway will be fully closed, and eastbound reduced to one lane between 10pm and 6am each night. When the road opens Wednesday 17 July, the westbound carriageway will be reduced to two lanes.

Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18 July: the eastbound carriageway will be fully closed between 9pm and 6am each night. When the road opens Friday 19 July, the eastbound carriageway will be reduced to two lanes.

Saturday 20 July: the westbound carriageway will be fully closed between 10pm and 6am. The eastbound carriageway will also be closed at junction 22 between 9pm and 6am – traffic will be diverted off via the exit slip and use the roundabout to rejoin.

Saturday 27 July: the westbound carriageway will be fully closed between 10pm and 6am. The eastbound carriageway will also be closed at junction 22 between 9pm and 6am – traffic will be diverted off via the exit slip and use the roundabout to rejoin.

During the full closures, a diversion will be in place via the M48 – please follow the ‘bridge’ symbol.

From 6am Sunday 28 July, there will be a contraflow and a reduced speed limit on the bridge. Two lanes will be open in each direction.

Signage on both sides of the bridge will provide live travel information for the M4 and M48 to help you plan your journeys.

We’ll need some overnight closures as our work progresses to allow us to move the contraflow, ensuring we can carry out work across the full width of the carriageway. Keep an eye on our social media channels and webpage for more details.

Here's a quick summary of what we're doing

We’re resurfacing and carrying out concrete repairs on the Prince of Wales Bridge that carries the M4 over the Severn Estuary.

This work will be carried out using a mixture of overnight and lane closures. There will be a temporary contraflow and reduced speed limit on the bridge to keep two lanes open in each direction.

We’ll start with some overnight closures in July for preparation work and to set up the contraflow. The contraflow will then be in place until our work is finished. This is currently expected to be at the end of autumn, but we’ll be doing everything we can to get the work done as quickly as possible.

Doing this work in the summer reduces the risk of the M48 bridge being closed due to weather, providing an alternative route for anyone crossing the river.

See more updates

Project information

The M4 Prince of Wales Bridge is one of two crossings over the River Severn, providing a vital connection between England and Wales.

We need to re-waterproof and resurface a 1km stretch of the cable stay bridge to extend the life of the road surface.

We aim to maintain as much capacity as possible by keeping 2 lanes running in both directions and offering the M48 Severn bridge as an alternative route. We need to carry out this work during times when the M48 bridge is least likely to be closed due to wind.