A4232 Road - History

History

The road was conceived in the early 1970s and planning began in the late 1970s, by South Glamorgan County Council. The road at that stage was planned to be completed by 1995 and would relieve Ely, Grangetown, Butetown and East Moors of through traffic and as a fast link to the national motorway network via the M4 and A48(M). The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road between Newport Road (A4161 road) and the Eastern Avenue (A48 road) in 1978 and the last section of the PDR, the Butetown Link Road, was opened to the public in 1995.

The former chairman of the South Glamorgan County Council environment committee, Councillor Paddy Kitson, called the road a "necklace of opportunity" due to its shape and also the opportunities for regeneration. By 1 April 1996 the responsibility for the road was transferred from South Glamorgan County Council to the unitary authority of Cardiff Council. Much of the funding for the road had been grant aided from the European Community and the UK Government on the basis that it would improve the economic viability of the area and bring in new jobs and industry. However, since the completion of the Butetown Link Road, funding for further developments have been at a stand still, and to date 22 kilometres (14 mi) including spurs are open to traffic with plans for a further 5.53 km (3.44 mi). The "missing link", the Eastern Bay Link Road, is still to be built.