WHEN THEY BUILT A ‘ROAD IN THE SKY’
The M4 flyover in Port Talbot was hailed as ‘one of the sights of Wales’ when it opened in 1966. Geraint Thomas reports on the road’s construction and its legacy
TODAY it’s seen as a bottleneck but when the stretch of M4 above Port Talbot opened, a little over half a century ago, it was hailed as a £5m miracle that helped cut the driving time between Swansea and Cardiff by 20 minutes.
Opened in 1966 the futuristic looking project came at a cost to the town itself as it saw the destruction of three chapels and more than 200 houses despite being known locally as “the road on top of a town”.
Such is the geography of the particular part of south Wales, space was at a premium because of the mountains almost touching the sea. As a result, it would seem, the planners looked to the sky for inspiration and built the stretch of road on stilts resulting in what some, at the time, described as “one of the sights of Wales”.
Explaining the significance of the project, Dr Martin Johnes, a history lecturer at Swansea University said: “The A48 snaked through the town on a route that dated back to the days of horse and carts.
“It had to cross a railway which meant it was shut for three hours a day, causing tailbacks of several miles. The result was that for a 5.5 mile stretch on the A48 the average car speed was 18mph. Traffic was worsening too after the town’s new steelworks opened in 1951.
“Building a motorway was not quick and it was not until 1966 that the 4.5 mile A48(M) opened. It cut the journey time between Swansea and Cardiff by 20 minutes. For those who were not having to contemplate living beside the motorway, it was difficult not to be impressed by how it ran over the town on 45-foot-high gleaming white concrete pillars.
“The Western Mail produced a sixpage supplement to mark its opening, called it a ‘£5m miracle’ and claimed that it would become ‘one of the sights of Wales’.
“The road was thus a symbol of progress, a modern marvel that saved time and demonstrated the practical benefits to ordinary people of the age’s technological developments. It also hastened demands for further motorways.”
Sally Jones, chairwoman of Port Talbot Historical Society, said the motorway had changed the town in at least two significant ways.
She said: “One way, of course, is that part of the old town was knocked down, including landmarks like Vivian Square and one side of Llewellyn Street – as noted in Michael Sheen’s Passion, when the Llewellyn Street ghosts told their stories.
“That made it easier to demolish all of the old central Port Talbot. It probably wouldn’t have been quite so wholesale otherwise.
“The other point was that it reorientated the town. When I arrived in March 1967, just after the motorway and the Neath river bridge had opened, the town still looked east towards Bridgend and Cardiff; it was still one end of the Vale. There were buses to Cardiff every half hour for example. Then, with the bridge making access to Swansea much easier and quicker, and no need to go round via Neath, everything turned round, so that now people look towards Swansea and not the other way, where the bus routes have been slashed.”
Port Talbot councillor Dennis Keogh added: “I was only around 10 years old when it was built so I don’t have much recollection but I do remember a friend of my sister’s had to move because their cottage was demolished.
“There was no thought given to it when it was built and it split the town into two communities. I suppose it would be in a different position if they built it today, as it’s become something of a millstone around the town’s neck; the whole thing is not fit for purpose.”