The new Usk River Crossing is a 187m landmark bow string arch structure which forms the centre piece of Newport’s Southern Distributor Road (SDR). The 9.5km SDR links M4 Junction 24 (Coldra roundabout) to Junction 28 (Pont Ebbw roundabout). Construction will last 2½ years and at £55m the project is the largest local Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme in Wales.

The bridge will form a major landmark and gateway to Newport and closely follows the line of the formerly proposed Usk Barrage. At concept stage several options were considered with the arch finally being selected as most appropriate both symbolically and technically for its urban setting and historical context. The project is significantly placed between George Street Bridge (Britain’s first major cable stayed bridge - 1964) and the Newport Transporter Bridge (one of only examples in the UK - 1906). The arch form adds to City’s family of notable bridge types and ties in with the city’s desire to develop a riverside walk which has been given a “bridge” theme. Newport’s industrial heritage is reflected by the choice of steel for bridge’s construction

Client: Newport City Council (NCC)  NCC Nominee: Capita Gwent Consultantcy  Engineer: Faber Maunsell 
Contractor: Morgan-Vinci Construction Joint Venture  Steelwork Fabricator: Fairfield Mabey
 

RIVER USK CROSSING, NEWPORT SDR – SOUTH WALES

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