M49 motorway
The M49 motorway is just long and forms a link between the M5 motorway west of Bristol at junction 18A and the M4 motorway at junction 22 before the Second Severn Crossing (now officially renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge). It was constructed at the same time as the bridge in 1996. It is unique in that it is only accessible from other motorways. Route. The M49 begins at junction 18A of the M5 and then heads roughly north and northwest before it reaches its terminal junction with the M4 at junction 22, just before the Second Severn  Crossing at Pilning Interchange. It cuts journey times for traffic to and from Avonmouth docks, Central and southern Bristol and South West England. Compared to driving via the M4/M5 interchange, using the M49 cuts the distance travelled by 6.2 miles. Having a two-way grade separated roundabout junction with the M4, it also fulfils the additional role of providing a bypass for the busy stretch of the M5 between the Avonmouth Bridge and the M4 in case of that route being shut. Original plans provided for an intermediate junction with the A403, to serve an expanded industrial area and  Severn Beach, construction of Junction 1 commenced summer 2018 and was completed late in August 2020. Despite this, the junction is not currently connected to the local road network, so cannot be used to access the motorway. The M49 is anomalously numbered, as it is entirely to the south of the M4 and should therefore begin with a 3. Junction 1 link road dispute. After the junction itself was completed in August 2020, disputes arose over who should construct the road linking the new Junction 1 to the local road network. The dispute initially emerged between Highways England, South  Gloucestershire Council, and the development company Delta Properties, as a result of privately owned land on the development which surrounds the junction. In February 2021, the West of England Combined Authority agreed to supply £1 million towards the construction of the link road, but by May a further deficit of £1 million had arisen. As of July 2021, the situation remains unsolved. Junctions. Data from driver location signs are used to provide distance and carriageway identifier information. !|miles !|km ! abbr="North-west bound"|North-west bound exits (B carriageway) !|Junction ! abbr="South-east bound"|South-east bound exits (A carriageway) "Information above  gathered from Advanced Direction Signs May 2011"