A465 Heads of the Valleys Road - Footbridges

The A465 'Heads of the Valleys Road' improvement project is a major highway corridor scheme developed in sections by the Welsh Government. It provides connection between the communities of the South Wales valleys between Abergavenny and Merthyr Tydfil. The upgrade of this key east-west connection was considered vital to improve safety and support social and economic regeneration.

The route is defined by a landscape that is both beautiful and challenging. It comprises new junctions, highway bridges and retaining walls. There are numerous new bridges for cyclists and pedestrians, linking to public transport connections and providing new recreational routes.

Knight Architects worked with Atkins Jacobs JV and Costain on the 9km-long Section 2 between Gilwern and Brynmawr, a green and steep route including the distinctive Clydach Gorge. This passes through the heavily designated environment of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Knight Architects' role included concept, scheme and detailed designs, community engagement and securing stakeholder support for the numerous bridges and major retaining walls.

The team designed a series of footbridges to improve local access to public transport along the corridor as well as to link recreational routes in the surrounding countryside. The weathering-steel structures form a ‘family’ of bridges, which provide visual continuity across the route. The bridges include a sequence of torsion-beams whose curvaceous forms sweep out over the valley, as well as simple through-beam structures providing access to local schools and communities.