The Road Junction You Can't Use - A449 Newport
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- Опубликовано: 7 окт 2024
- #rydercup #wales #infrastructure #a449 #newport
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It's not clickbait... this road junction, found on the A449 was built for the Ryder Cup in 2010 when Newport (Wales) was nominated to host this important golf competition. It's so important, they built a new road junction especially for it, and despite promising it would benefit the city of Newport, they closed the junction for ever more having only used it for a single weekend.
Is it a waste of money? Maybe. Will it be reopened? Maybe.
The other thing they did for ryder cup was to bring card payments for the severn bridge crossings. They then removed them after and didn't reappear for another 12-18 months. Brilliant.
Why the hell they put it there not the Belfry near Birmingham or somewhere near Heathrow in Surrey or Berkshire.
@@dave8484able it's probably who bids the most money.. the Celtic Manor even built an entire new course for it.. which they make a fortune out of now letting people play on it etc.. I expect the Welsh Assembly put some dollar up to help..
So a council lied about using something used for an event to benefit the community later 😳 absolutely no surprise.
Sometimes when things like this happens it's because there was a case of "Not My Invention" and personal pride being damaged.
Bung.
4:08 - the finale that we've all been waiting for! :D
As someone who’s familiar with that part of the A449 the safety argument goes out the window when you look at the next junction north for Usk which is a tight trumpet with no lanes hatched out 🤦🏼♂️
Yep I used that junction about 5-6 times a day in my job
A few signs saying "golf event next weekend, expect delays" might have been quite a bit cheaper.
As someone who has had to deal with Gwhatever meetings and COP20odd in the past, that’s always a good idea. Put up a big sign, and you know what I’ll do? I’ll just stay out the way for the duration. There’s a Point to Point racing course near me that has huge meetings a couple of times a year. It causes traffic chaos on the nasty little A road I live just off, so on that day, I just don’t turn right out of my house. Problem solved. Millions saved.
@@southcalder The problem with that event in your area is that it returns regularly. Additional road infrastructure would see enough use to eventually require maintenance, and we can't have that(!) :)
It was briefly reopened in 2014 for the NATO summit in Cardiff/Newport. The old collection point was used for a police checkpoint for the Celtic Manor. Myself and probably hundreds of others drove coaches in and out of there transporting the police to various locations for the event. It was closed again straight after. 🤘
I believe it was also used to the G8 Summit a few years back. I live locally. You should have seen the frenzy of road repairs going on. It was lovely. But for one small detail. The repairs were only for the main roads and not for the roads that actually neeed repairing. It was done simply for appearances.
Potemkin Roadworks
NATO Summit 2014, not G8/G7
I thought of that. Didn't realise but I gave the area a wide berth at the time.
How nice of them to treat our "leaders" so kindly.
ITM
We just had an " international cycle event" come though our town. All the roads were repaired. A few months later the pot holes are back. 😅
Thank you Jon for bringing this “ineptitude” to a wider audience. No wonder councils across the country are going bankrupt one by one. 🥴
@bombaymolotovBy ‘Central Government’ you mean those who ‘know who to forward bribes to’ surely?
@bombaymolotovcouncils rely on central government funds as well as council tax. This is a genuine white elephant though, not HS2! If wasting money on road projects was an Olympic sport we would top the medal table!
@@Mmmmetro Yes, but motorways & trunk roads are funded centrally, so it would have been a 'job for the boys' at that level.
Waste - the only thing the public sector does really well at.
No that's tory thievery.
Great place to park up for the night in a truck. Regularly used to pull across the on slip and reverse down to the gates where he’s standing for a quiet night away from the traffic.
I've driven past this junction while on the A449 a few times and always wondered why it was there and why it was closed and planned to at somepoint go have a look. You've sratched that itch!
Ooops, time for a breakdown.
I assumed it was formerly quarry access or something. In fact I think I commented on a previous vid (or FB post) that I’d like to see a video on it.
You can actually get to the bottom by the lights if you co through one of the nearby villages. I did it years ago and can't remember the details.
Yup access to the road that goes under the A449 is from Caerleon or Usk, both towns being of roman origin and, as a result, have very narrow roads.
Hello John, just a little video idea, maybe do something on the history of the heads of the valley Road (A465). I find it very interesting how it’s been upgraded in the last 20-25 years, and the current section they are duelling now through some difficult terrain
If ever a golfer complains about councils spending money on under-used cycle lanes, I now have the perfect come back. Thank you Jon!
The slip roads are a popular overnight stopping location for many an HGV driver, who pull over onto and then reverse down the on slips from the A449. But it's too dangerous for cars to use them for their intended purpose 👀 🤣
It also gets used a lot for activities that may be named similarly to a household pet (if you know what I mean) a friend of mine is in the police and it is regularly patrolled for such activities
I’ve passed this junction numerous times when I drove for a living and often wondered why it was closed. Thanks for clearing it up.
have you seen the rest of the traffic around Newport - this is design excellence compared to most of the traffic planning in Newport! In fact this is exactly what the traffic planners in Newport ought to be allowed to work on - roads that go nowhere and no one uses. If they put their effort in on such roads and left the rest of us alone the world would be a much better place.
Perhaps the City Council would like to take notice of that too I wonder of course?!
I worked on the 2010 rydercup. Someone stole every single TV in the stands and hospitality suits. Every lorry that left after they found out had to be checked and unloaded then reloaded!!! 😂
I believe the tradition is to sing "Day-o, day-o - Daylight come and me wan' go home" in a tunnel. Thanks for the alternative lyrics! :)
The me of 4 minutes ago never cared about any part of the a449. But now I do.
Jon you’ve done it again!
Help! RUclips algorithm sent me to this channel about 12 hours ago, and I can't stop learning about UK roads.
There is a rumour that it was also used for the g8/g20 summit held not long after the ryder cup as a way of getting notable attendees into the site without having to drive through the main entrance. It was accompanied by a massive fence built around the entire celtic manor resort!
They had to surround the whole venue with security fencing for the summit which cost a fortune and disrupted the section of the M4 for months,
The slip roads were never good enough to feed the local roads as they were all single carriage way roads with passing places Also it was used by the police in the parking area for the G8 summit.
The Welcome to Newport signs boast of it being the host of the 2024 NATO Summit
@@huwlewis9059 2014, yes
@@huwlewis9059 It states the 2014 NATO Summit.
"Are you actual mongs, or what?" Another priceless one liner there Jon 😂
I find it great that you seem to ensure that it is raining during filming recently, an unexpected, but probably unique, signature feature. I feel compelled to watch to the end after you have suffered so much to produce a video!
Love the content Jon, keep it up!
I think he's secretly waterproof. A rare occurrence in humans
I've been wondering about this junction for quite some time, even suspecting a secret military bunker access. Thankyou for this simple (though ridiculous) explanation.
It's time for the Motorway guy during the week when he doesn't talk about motorways
I'm so glad you've covered this. I pass it regularly, I saw it being built. It's a complete scandal that it's closed. OPEN IT!
For who...
@@bizzarebanana3041All vehicular traffic.
It only goes into the golf course so would serve no one being reopened
You missed a trick - that section of the A449 was reconstructed 25 years ago in whisper concrete which was innovative at the time. It was I believe the largest stretch of whisper concrete laid in the UK.
In the late 80's I think that whole end of the road was made from different experimental surfaces to see which one would last the longest (or maybe it was just haphazard repairs !). Returning to Newport late at night I got good at estimating how far out I was by the different road vibrations of my car.
whisper concrete - it was the loudest road surface ever
I collected some of the seating and stages from the golf cup in Liverpool Ellesmere last summer. According to the forkie, it took 3 month to build and would take 6 weeks to dismantle and send back up the road..... For a weekend. Posh golf must have a lot of money in it for the big wigs lol
No, collectively British taxpayers have a lot of money which can be spent looking after the elite few.
Something that wouldn't happen under a Labour government. Oh, wait...😮
I literally passed this the other day and thought when a video would be made on it, what a nice surprise. Great work as usual.
Worth the wait until the very end! 👍
Thats just madness built for a weekend of Golf! Another fantastic episode Jon.
See also: the newport road to nowhere near that was supposed to be the LG factory and was a pop-up landfill for a good few years.
Been waiting for someone to cover this, been wondering for years what it was for. Thanks for the video ❤. Go to Talbot green opposite McDonalds A473 and have a look at the abandoned road to no where with lights and signs but the road is closed. Apparently a supermarket was going to go there
I've always wondered what those ghost slips were for. A revelation. Another hole in one for John.
From living in the surrounding areas for quite a while , i have used these junctions on a few occasions , apart from the Ryder Cup , have sneakilly used them when the NATO summit came to the Celtic Manor in 2014 when there was a massive security fence around the entire celtic manor estate . Shame to see that they have gone to waste now , but thats Newport Council for you
Thank you Jon. I drove past this last Sunday and wondered why it was blocked off, now I know. Perfect!
Definitely a shocking waste of road now! Thanks for another informative video as always Jon :)
Your final outro comment was Gold!
Thanks for the shout-out to Wayne at the end!
Thank's Jon, I often wondered about this "Ghost" junction, been on this road many a time and always thought why is this closed off, and what is the junction for.I use this road A449 to Cardiff for the rugby. As always great video😁🛣🏉👍
"What a waste of taxpayer money".. I sense an entire series based on that one phrase alone.
If he ever felt like renaming this channel, that would work too.
I love little oddities like this and the ending is perfection 😂😂😂
I always wondered why these slip roads were abandoned and never got round to looking it up. Thanks Jon!
That final word made me spit out my coffee! Outstanding.
It does get used. The 'exit' slip roads are used most nights for trucks to park up on. They'll pull across and back down the tracks to the bottom and park for the night. Once you've dropped below the level of the active road, its a much nicer quieter rest break ;)
My question is, after that tournament why didn't they redesign the junction for All purpose usage once everything was done, instead of letting it sit , for events that may never happen?
Because then it would encourage traffic flow. And that's terrible!
Just in case!
Because nobody offered enough bribes/backhanders to keep it open?
@@WhiteDieselShed The power of brown envelopes full of lovely, untraceable readies...
@@karlharrison6544 As long as the poor people don't get hold of any then it's all good.
I investigated a scooter rental scheme in Bristol. A newly setup company with that did zero trade until they won the contract.
Investigating the company the owner was the father of someone that had recently done legal work for the government.
They had zero knowledge of the product and a brand new company yet won the contract... Stinky or what???
Thanks Jon for looking into this strange road anomaly!
That last end scene 😂
Cool. We've got on of those "road junctions you can't use" here in the QEOP (where I live!). Junction of Temple Mills Lane and Northwall Road. From London 2012.
Best line I've ever heard on this channel - 'Are you actual mongs or what'? I was literally ROFL 🤣😂🤣
Drove past there today and wondered what it looked like and why it wasn't used anymore, then this video came along!
I've seen that junction on Google maps and wondered why it didn't seem to be open. Thanks for explaining the story.
I love your scathing commentary on this!
Legend has it. If you enter under the bridge, you can still hear the faint echo's of eeeerr
The organisers of the golf set up a special diversion for St. Andrews, and everything works out very well.
Look forward to these videos and wow have literally just been here the past few days.
Have passed that so many times and always wondered why it was there.. Now I know. Cheers, dude. 😎
I clicked the 👍 just for the last second of the video!
I park there once a week in my truck. Me and my colleagues call it piano lay-by because on the Southbound side, right down the bottom there used to be both an upright and a baby grand piano fly tipped down there! 😂
This is the best video I've ever seen about anything
Another great episode, thank you. PS, in my humble opinion the trouble with golf is golfers.
“What a waste of taxpayers money “ : never heard that phrase before! This is Britain and our money is always spent very carefully and never ever wasted. Oh I’ve just woken up from my dream about a sensible world. Interesting video as usual.
I've driven past this loads of times and wondered why its closed and where it goes. Cheers for the info 👍
I always wondered what it was for...... thanks for the video!
Jon, I think it's time for you to enjoy some shenanigans on the delightful road they call the A4053, aka Coventry Ring road 😉😆
That's "fun" - especially with the huge Eastern junction with freeflow sliproads crashing into a roundabout - apparently the original intention was a connection to the Coventry North-South Motorway (think A444 + missing link, but as a motorway).
@@mittfh I don't know much if it's history, I need Jon for that, all I do know is everyone drives in the wrong lane! 😄
Still the scariest road I've ever driven.
@@AutoShenanigans 😄 Just keep right unless you are exiting, it works if people follow this simple rule
The big problem with the junction is that it doesn't really serve anywhere much. It joins a very small B or C road that goes from Usk (literally the next junction up the A449) to Caerleon (which is no great distance from the Celtic Manor M4 junction) which has a few scattered dwellings and farms on it. I stopped to have a shufti a few years ago and one of the slip turns would, I also suspect, be un-navigable by an HGV.
Yeah it's an unclassified road that is popular with cyclists avoiding the Caerleon to Usk B road and the buses and HGVs that use it.
Realy this channel is informing us of how much of our hard earned money is wasted by corrupt officials on themselves & their corrupt corporate frineds 🤬🤬
I live close to here 😂 and I've always wondered why this was closed!😂 Love when you do videos near where I live 😂👍 great work
Very impressed with the last word
i cannot tell you how fricken sweet awesome this video is. I have driven past this junction countless times and always wondered what it was for and now i know my life is complete thank you.
I used to ride my bike along that lane (Bulmore Road) in the 1960s and 1970s. I remember the new A449 being built. That juction was always there as a maintenance vehicles only access. I don't doubt that the car parking was added for the Ryder cup, but they made use of some existing infrastructure. Those "too tight" slip roads date back to the original construction.
I’ve always wondered what that junction was all about when going west from Monmouth. Now I know.
I even googled it once to find a forum dedicated to this sort of stuff. All I found out from that was what a ‘trunk’ road means
That junction also had a food bridge going over it. If traveling south youll see part of the bridge on the left side
Newport has a history of doing stuff like this, for example the dual carriageway behind Imperial Park that was only used for fly tipping until recently.
Someone needs to go there at night with a digger and just reopen it completely. If you cannot drive in a junction like that (even without the lights) you probably shouldn´t have a license to begin with. It´s easy.
So glad I watched to the end 😂
thank you, for once again, making me feel a little better about our local governments decision making abilities on this side of the pond....
Used to drive along here a lot, always wondered why it was the way it was
Well that's answered a question for me thank you, iv driven past that junction a few times and always wondered why it's closed.
What I like about your videos is how consistantly good they are.
Another consistant about your videos is the lack of colour in your wardrobe. lol
Red, I dare you. A scarf?
Now that’s a strange junction on the A449 in South Wales. No wonder it’s considered to be very dangerous and of course used for events such as the Ryder Cup. It does need a massive upgrade and to be reused for local traffic to use the A449.
I drove that bridge in Newport, Great fun and very quiet, not good at cornering. Cheers
I think that jon is right about them reopening the a449 junction for hgv use as there'll be fewer heavy goods traffic in Newport
Lovely addition at the end. 🤣🤣
Ayy. I've always wondered about this on my way past. Seems especially strange to put all that work in and then...not use it.
Wow i notice the drawings of the BMW 7 series on your wall 🙂.
.
Around 2010 ... i chatted with a man who bought one with an MOT for £325 🙂
.
Very good cars those ....... to say the least !!!
Cool cars, hope to have mine back on the road soon.
In Canberra ACT, there's a u-turn on a motor way(ish) that specifically says its for use to get to a gun club.
'Are you actual Mongs, or what..?..' spat my brew out at that!!
It would be a useful exit off the A449 southbound when there is an accident at the Coldra. (Quite often). Otherwise the traffic gets backed up to the next junction 8 miles away.
Aha! Every time I drive down the A449 I wonder what that abandoned junction is for. Now I know! Cheers
The trouble is, if they open the junction, people from nearby towns would use it and the roads are not suitable for the increased traffic. The lanes surrounding this area are pretty narrow and there are little villages and the odd house dotted around, there would more likely be an accident, whereas Usk has wider roads more suited to that sort of traffic. Rush hour would be a nightmare for the people who live in that area
The ending and subject reminded me of an old Monty Python sketch. The man being interviewed for a spoof sporting event is asked about his hobbies. He replies "Strangling whippets, golf and masturbating". Then the voiceover comes in: "He's let himself down there with the hobbies. Golf isn't very popular around here".
I dove past there a couple of times and I wonder why it’s shut xx
Great. video, John, you said the end ‘ it’s a waste of taxpayers money’ but surely the millions of pounds that were brought in by the supporters of the golf game, nice term, paid for it.
The siting was always impossible, it's a steep incline to get onto the high speed A449 from there and goods vehicles would struggle to get past 30mph before merging into the traffic. That said, everything has to come to a stop at the motorway junction after another half mile or so anyway so they could have made it 50 for that section without costing anyone any time
Good watch
Went past that junction last week.
Always wondered about this waste of a modern junction. Interestingly they held a world leader summit at same hotel a few years ago. Around 40 miles or so of security fencing was employed along A449/M4 & neighboring properties.
And no, they didn't open the unused junction. 🤔 4:16
This is actually quite interesting, this is where skaters have built some stuff to skate :)
I believe it's been destroyed now but pretty cool use of space
IVE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT THIS FOR AGES
I wondered where this went when I drove past there last year.