A48 road

The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam 3mi west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the first Severn Bridge in 1966 it was the principal route between South Wales and South West England. For most of its journey through South Wales, it runs almost parallel to its successor. Before the construction of the Second Severn Crossing, during times of high winds at the Severn Bridge the A48 was used as part of the diversion route, and is still marked as a Holiday Route.From Gloucester, the A48 runs through the villages of Minsterworth, Westbury-on-Severn, connects to a link road to Cinderford in the Forest of Dean then through Newnham, Blakeney and bypassing the town of Lydney (the bypass was built in the 1990s) on the west bank of the River Severn. Crossing the Wales-England border at Chepstow and continuing west close to the South Wales coast, it connects Newport, Cardiff, Cowbridge, Bridgend, Pyle, Port Talbot, Neath, Swansea before terminating at the junction with the A40 near the centre of Carmarthen.