Severn Bridge to have weight restrictions

The restrictions start May 27 when heavy goods vehicles must use the nearby cable-stayed M4 motorway Prince of Wales Bridge between England and Wales.
By David Arminas April 15, 2025 Read time: 2 mins
Since the bridge opened nearly 60 years ago, the size and weight of heavy goods vehicles have increased significantly, some increasing rising from 22 tonnes to 44 tonnes (image courtesy National Highways)

England’s road agency National Highways is introducing a 7.5 tonne weight limit for vehicles using the Severn Bridge after inspections showed deterioration to the supporting cables.

The suspension Severn Bridge, which opened in 1966, carries the M48 motorway over the Severn River which separates England and Wales. National Highways said there has been concern about the state of the cables since inspections in 2022 and 2023. Further laboratory testing has revealed that the main cables are deteriorating.

The weight restrictions come into force May 27 which means heavy goods vehicles will have to use the nearby 30-year-old cable-stayed M4 motorway Prince of Wales Bridge to travel between England and Wales. The weight restriction will remain in place for an estimated 12 to 18 months, depending on further investigations and while National Highways develops and installs a medium-term solution.

National Highways also said that it is considering installing automatic number plate recognition (APNR) to support enforcement of the new weight restriction.

According to the road agency, the weight restriction will remain in place for 12 to 18 months, depending on further investigations and while National Highways develops and installs a medium-term solution.

“While the bridge remains safe, it was not designed and built for today’s levels or weight of traffic,” said Chris Pope, programme delivery manager for National Highways. “Vehicles have got heavier and traffic levels have increased significantly over the last 60 years putting greater load on the cables. “As with all our structures, we will continue to monitor the bridge and ensure it remains safe for users.”

The Severn Bridge carried around 32,000 vehicles daily in 2024, 3,270 of which were heavy goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, meaning around 10 percent of traffic will be diverted via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge once the restrictions are in place.

The size and weight of heavy goods vehicles - trucks - have increased significantly due to evolving transport demands, some rising from 22 tonnes to 44 tonnes. Since the tolls were removed on the bridge in 2018 there has been a 34% increase in traffic and these changes mean a substantial increase in weight over the bridge, for which it was not designed, noted National Highways.
 

Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Norway drops tender plans for second Sotra fixed link
    February 18, 2019
    Statens Vegvesen, the Norwegian Road Administration, has cancelled tender plans for a new Sotra fixed link project that were scheduled for the spring. Jon Georg Dale, minister of transport, recently told the Norwegian Parliament that the geology near Lake Storavatnet along the route of the project, of which the second bridge would be a part, has caused concern among planners. Also, reconstruction of a high-voltage power cable has come under questions. Helge Eidsnes, a regional manager of Statens Vegve
    Read More
  • How Croatia tackles its weight problems
    July 19, 2012
    Karin Junker, Regional Sales Manager Eastern Europe and Russia, HAENNI Wheel Load Scales, Switzerland, looks at weight enforcement in Croatia Croatia's modern period in history began in 1990 with the country's change of political and economic system, and the achieving of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June, 1991. The country remained war torn during the 1990s but regained stability and economic growth after the turn of the millennium. During a recent trip to Croatia to visit HAENNI's distributor in t
    Read More
  • Major project to construct landmark Bay Bridge in California
    October 31, 2012
    Iconic California crossing will offer seismic safety – Adrian Greeman reports A unique single-span single-tower suspension bridge is the iconic centrepiece of a dramatic renewal of the eastern Bay Bridge in California, crossing from San Francisco to Oakland. Tourists in San Francisco sometimes mix up their bridges, identifying as the famous Golden Gate, the double suspension bridge which runs across the wide San Francisco Bay. These serially linked bridges in fact form the Bay Bridge east to Oakland whereas
    Read More
  • The Lessons of the Genoa bridge collapse
    April 23, 2019
    The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s
    Read More

Highlighted Content