Skip to main content

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.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Act FAST when it comes to bridge maintenance, argues Cliff Weston
    February 27, 2017
    Deck waterproofing remains critical to a bridge’s structural integrity for its design life, explains Cliff Weston, director of Stirling Lloyd To properly maintain deck waterproofing there must be a willingness to look at solutions based on whole-life costing rather than just short-term initial costs. There are lessons to be learned from examples of prematurely failed infrastructure due to a focus on initial short-term costs.
  • Grimsby’s Corporation Bridge work extended
    March 6, 2024
    Refurbishment of the nearly 100-year-old bascule bridge in northern England is being done by Spencer Group with project management by Equans.
  • Rotenberg’s Mostotrest to fight for $5 billion Russia’s road-building contract
    December 2, 2013
    Interest is strong in one of Russia’s premier projects for road infrastructure - Eugene Gerden reports The State Company Russian Highways (Avtodor) has officially announced a tender for the construction of the sixth - and longest - section of the Moscow - St Petersburg highway. Avtodor is Russia’s leading company in the field of development of national road infrastructure, while this is one of the largest and most controversial projects in Russian road building in recent years. The 6th section of the
  • Northern Spire wins award from UK’s Association for Project Management
    November 30, 2018
    The Northern Spire bridge in Sunderland, northern England, has beaten off stiff competition to win another national construction and engineering award. The Spire, which opened in August this year at a cost of €132 million, was named Project of the Year: Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure 2018 by the UK’s Association for Project Management. The award is the latest honour for Sunderland’s 105m-tall cable-stayed bridge which links Castletown on the north side of the River Wear with Pallion.