Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Peter_L]

There will no doubt be fellow members, who can remember the start of the bridge building age. As traffic increased, ferries could no longer cope.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-37037733

[Penman]

Hi
Something which puzzles me about these river crossings.
Apart from the 2 Severn crossings they are all, so far as I know, classified as ordinary roads.
The 2nd Severn crossing has to be M'way as there is no junction to leave it on the Welsh side of the river, BUT why on earth hasn't the original bridge, now the M48 been downgraded to allow non motorway traffic to use it; there is full access at either end.
_________________
Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[Peter_L]

Hi Penman. I thought there were also cycle ways and footpaths across the bridge ?

[Bitumen Boy]

Yes, there are foot and cycle paths over the old Severn bridge. They're mostly for maintenance vehicles, so anyone using them should stay alert! As a point of interest, the cycle path is also open to mopeds under 50cc, I once visited Chepstow that way when we lived at Berkeley on the other side.

Now I don't know if this is still the case - or even if it ever really was - but apparently although that first bridge has always been classified as a motorway, the normal motorway regulations don't apply. That, at least, is what my dad told me, and he was involved in a small way with the maintenance of the bridge through his work as a highway inspector with the old Avon county council. This came out while I was learning to drive, I'd picked up a tatty old Mini locally and at the weekends we would go out with me driving, and one day we headed for the Forest of Dean - outbound via Gloucester then down the Wye valley and home via Chepstow and Thornbury. Coming down to Chepstow I said we'd better change places to cross the bridge as I was still on L plates, then dad said there was no need and I should just keep going, giving the preceding explanation.

Of course it might just have been that it was a cold day and he didn't fancy getting out, and figured that the chance of getting pulled by the fuzz was minimal, but I'm still inclined to believe there could have been a variation in the normal regulations in this case. Where modern bridges have replaced long-established ferries it's not unknown for a legal obligation placed on the bridge owners to maintain the passage across the river and that could necessitate such a workaround. I suspect, too, that that's the reason for the maintenance lanes on the bridge still being open to pedestrians and cyclists which is obviously not ideal in terms of modern health & safety.

The M48 classification is, I suspect, for the sake of neatness more than anything else. Yes, the bridge itself could be classified as A403 or A466, or even find it a unique number of its own - but that would leave the two stubs of motorway either side that only lead back onto the M4, and what on earth would you classify those as?

[peter scott]

[Bitumen Boy]