M32 (spur from M4 to Bristol)

By George Weeks

The M32 runs from Junction 19 of the M4 into central Bristol and provides a quick route (outside rush hour) in and out of town. I am not sure quite when it was built, but I would presume mid-60s, about the time that the M4 was built and urban motorways were fashionable. The junction with the M4 is a small, roundabout style affair, which can get horribly congested. J1 comes literally after about 300 yds and links the M32 with the congested Avon Ring Road. After J1, the motorway loses a lane and winds through semi-rural scenery for several miles. It then begins to enter urban Bristol and is elevated for about a mile, with a huge Tesco and IKEA on the right hand side. J2 is located beneath this elevated section. The motorway then becomes three-lane for a short while and enters a concrete-walled cutting before J3, where it loses the third lane. As the slip road from J3 joins, the road becomes the Newfoundland Street dual carriageway. Soon afterwards, this road terminates at Bristol's inner ring road - Bond Street. The juction is a single-level, signal controlled giant T-junction and the rush hour queues can stretch back almost as far as J1. The government once said something about detrunking the M32, but I haven't heard about this for ages. I would presume that this has been put on ice.


Christopher Larsen adds:

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