Travel disruption expected as Severn bridge and tunnel due to close

Highways England warned commuters they will face delays until autumn. Credit: PA Images

Travellers on the busiest routes between south Wales and England will face disruption in July as both the M4 Severn Bridge and Severn rail tunnel will close for repairs on various dates between Wednesday 3 July and Friday 19 July.

While GWR services will operate as usual between Pembroke Dock and Newport, all services via the Severn Tunnel will be affected.

Trains from south Wales to London will be rerouted via Gloucester. Limited replacement buses will be available between Bristol Parkway and Newport but only on Sundays.

All services via the Severn Tunnel will be affected. Credit: PA Images

When are the closures?

The disruption is scheduled from Wednesday 3 July to Thursday 18 July, and then again on the weekend of July 27 and 28.

Highways England, which maintains the two Severn bridges, warned commuters they will face delays until autumn as there will be a two-lane contraflow on the bridge so workers can do resurfacing work.

It means that on these days, the only main route between south Wales and the south west of England will be over the M48 bridge linking Chepstow and Aust.

  • On Monday and Tuesday, 8 and 9, July - the M4's westbound carriageway will be shut between 9pm-5am on the bridge each night - as well as the tunnel being closed.

  • On Wednesday and Thursday 10 and 11 July - the M4's eastbound carriageway will be shut between between 9pm and 5am each night - as well as the tunnel being closed.

  • On Saturday 20 July - the M4's westbound carriageway will be shut from 9pm . Then on Sunday 21 July from 5am there will be a two-lane contraflow in each direction and a reduced speed limit on the bridge through the summer.

The highways operator has said the closure is because of "scheduled structure maintenance".

Why are the Severn bridge and tunnel shutting?

Highways England said that because the road surface on the M48 Severn Bridge is much narrower than a typical motorway, there is less space for maintenance to be carries out - resulting in them having to close the Severn Bridge more often than most other motorways.

The closures will allow workers to "keep them in a safe and serviceable condition."

Network Rail said they'll be "replacing track over 4 miles of track in the Severn Tunnel to keep train services safe and reliable along this busy route."

The team will also install 10,800 sleepers and more than 22,000 tonnes of new ballast and remove 21,000 tonnes of spoil.

It will be closed for 16 days between Wednesday 3 July until the early hours of Friday 19 July, when train services are due to resume.

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