Severn Bridge resurfacing complete

Contractor Hanson has completed the latest phase of its resurfacing work on the Severn bridges following the removal of the toll booths and barriers. The contract for Highways England started in December 2018, when the tolls were abolished on the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and M48 Severn Bridge, and resurfacing was needed for the new road layout. The move to provide free access for drivers from England into Wales is aimed at boosting the Welsh economy. Over the last few weeks Hanson has laid more than
April 30, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Resurfacing work is complete for the Severn bridges
Contractor 2644 Hanson has completed the latest phase of its resurfacing work on the Severn bridges following the removal of the toll booths and barriers.


The contract for 8100 Highways England started in December 2018, when the tolls were abolished on the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and M48 Severn Bridge, and resurfacing was needed for the new road layout. The move to provide free access for drivers from England into Wales is aimed at boosting the Welsh economy.

Over the last few weeks Hanson has laid more than 10,000tonnes of base, binder and surface course material to complete the remodelling of the westbound side of the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge. The contracting team laid the final 2,200tonnes overnight in just 12 hours – more than double the amount usually handled on a regular motorway nightshift.

As well as resurfacing the toll booth area, the work has included 950m of the westbound carriageway and a new emergency access road.

Next month (May), the Hanson team will start a similar job on the M48 Severn Bridge; resurfacing the toll booth plaza as well as 1.5km of carriageway on both sides of the bridge.

Hannah Milliner, Severn Bridges General Manager at Highways England said: “This is a significant project for the region and Hanson has worked collaboratively with Highways England and its contractors to ensure that we deliver these works both safely and to schedule. Hanson has played an important part in making toll removal a success. We are currently reaching the final stages of the scheme and drivers will soon be able to benefit from free-flowing motorways.”

Asphalt milling, paving & compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rebuilding the busy Frankfurt Airport in Germany
    September 12, 2017
    Handling up to 450 take-offs/day, Runway West is Frankfurt Airport’s busiest runway. Over 50% of the aircraft taking off from the airport uses Runway West, and a point worth noting is that this German airport is one of the busiest in Europe. In 2016, Frankfurt Airport handled nearly 61 million passengers, surpassed by Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Europe’s third and second busiest airports respectively. Meanwhile London’s Heathrow remained Europe’s busiest airport
    Read More
  • Set the ALARM for repairs in England and Wales
    January 10, 2019
    More than 3,900km of roads in England and Wales will need essential maintenance within the next year, according to the annual ALARM survey* Cash-strapped local governments are reporting that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they needed for repairs and maintenance was almost €639 million. This equated to an average shortfall of €3.75 million for every authority. It would take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, but only if adequate funds and resources wer
    Read More
  • Launch soon for the Sunderland Bridge’s deck across the Wear
    March 24, 2017
    The team constructing the New Wear Crossing near the English city of Sunderland is preparing for the final launch of the 300m bridge deck. In recent weeks, the legs of the 100m-tall centrepiece have been secured to the foundations within the riverbed and most of the rigging used to raise it into place has been removed. While the bridge deck was being painted, the bottoms of both pylon legs were filled with 175tonnes of concrete, The next major process will be to slowly pull the bridge deck out acr
    Read More
  • Greater Manchester's smart motorway M60 now fully-operational
    August 6, 2018
    Drivers using the M60 in the greater Manchester area now using the region’s first smart motorway, according to Highways England. The technology, which went line on July 31 on the final M60 section, includes electronic signs to guide drivers along at a variable but steady speed. Other technology includes an extra running lane in each direction along the M62 between junction 18 and junction 20 and CCTV cameras. The removal of narrow lanes and completion of the project will allow key sections of the M60
    Read More

Highlighted Content