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A465
Route information
Maintained by English local authorities and South Wales Trunk Road Agency
Length	66 mi (106 km)
Major junctions
West end	Llandarcy 51°38′57″N 3°50′55″W / 51.6492°N 3.8486°W / 51.6492; -3.8486 (A465 road (western end))
Major intersections	M4 Junction 43 A48 A474 A4230 A4109 A4061 A4059 A470 A4054 A4060 A469 A4048 A4046 A4047 A467 A4077 A4143 A4042 A40 A49
East end	Bromyard, Herefordshire 52°11′13″N 2°30′50″W / 52.1870°N 2.5139°W / 52.1870; -2.5139 (A465 road (eastern end))
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Primary destinations	Neath Merthyr Tydfil Abergavenny Hereford
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones
← A464 → A466

The A465 is a trunk road that runs from Bromyard in Herefordshire, England to Llandarcy near Swansea in south Wales. The western half in Wales is known officially as the Neath to Abergavenny Trunk Road, but the section from Abergavenny to the Vale of Neath is more commonly referred to as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it links the northern heads of the South Wales Valleys. That section was also the subject to an improvement programme which sections 1 to 4 are complete (Abergavenny to Dowlais Top), and sections 5 to 6 under construction (Dowlais Top to Hirwaun). The upgrade program is due to finish in 2025. Approximately following the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Ordnance Survey Pathfinder guide describes it as the unofficial border between rural and industrial South Wales. The A465 provides an alternative route between England and the counties in South West Wales and to the ferries to Ireland.

Route

The A465 runs south-west from Bromyard towards the River Lugg, from where it runs concurrently with the A4103 for a short distance before entering Hereford. After a short distance on the A49, it crosses the River Wye, the River Monnow and the border into Wales. The A465 meets the A40 trunk road in Abergavenny and continues west through the 'Heads of the Valleys' region past Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Tredegar, Rhymney, Merthyr Tydfil, Hirwaun, Glynneath and Aberdulais.

Even before the construction of the Heads of the Valleys road began in the 1960s, there were concerns and complaints regarding the capacity and safety of a single carriageway, three-lane design. The Abergavenny–Neath trunk road opened in 1964.

Until 1996, the A465 ran for most of its length between Glynneath and Aberdulais along a narrow single carriageway road, now redesignated as the B4242. The high collision rate on this stretch was the main factor in leading to the construction of the dual carriageway between these points. The section of the A465 from Hirwaun to Llandarcy is all dual carriageway.

The highest point (signposted) of 1,350 feet (410 m) is on the Ebbw Vale section which is now dual carriageway and slip roads between Dowlais Top and Tredegar via Rhymney. At Dowlais Top there are link roads such as the A4060, which runs down to the south end of Merthyr Tydfil and links with the A470, and the A4054 which goes through Merthyr Vale and Aberfan. Another link is the A4102 which leads into Dowlais and Merthyr Tydfil town centre. The A465 passes Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and then continues to Cefn-coed-y-cymmer and the A470 link. It then continues down the floor of the Vale of Neath, bypassing Resolven, Neath and Skewen, before terminating at junction 43 of the M4 at Llandarcy.

Major upgrade

In 1990, a regional traffic study identified the need for improvements to the A465. In 1994, alternatives were presented for public consultation for the improvement of the 25-mile length between Abergavenny and Hirwaun, connecting the existing A465 dual carriageway link from Swansea to the A40, which is an important part of the route to the M50. In July 1995 the then Secretary of State for Wales announced the preferred route. This mainly consisted of widening the existing road to provide a dual carriageway standard with grade-separated junctions (and extra climbing lanes on certain hills) between Abergavenny and Hirwaun. The design was developed and a draft line order was published in 1997. This was tested at public local inquiry in 1998 after which the Secretary of State for Wales announced the decision to proceed with the scheme in 1999.

Much of the land on the route is undulating, but despite this, the preferred route alignment is considered to be of high standard and as such allows most of the route to have the national speed limit.

Initially, the upgrade was split into seven sections. Later, sections 6 and 7 were combined into a single scheme for the purposes of construction. Construction of sections 5 and 6 have also been treated as a single scheme.

Sections 1 to 4

The A465 between Llandarcy and Hirwaun was initially constructed to dual carriageway standard, and as such will not see a major upgrade. Construction work began on section 4 (Tredegar to Dowlais Top) in early spring 2002, and was completed by November 2004.

Construction of Section 1 (Abergavenny to Gilwern) began in February 2005. This was primarily an on-line upgrade of the existing single-carriageway road, and was completed on 22 May 2008.

The contract for Section 3 (Brynmawr to Tredegar) was awarded to Carillion in March 2010. In August 2012, it was announced that approval for the scheme to commence had been given and that construction would commence by the end of 2012.

Planning for Section 2 (Gilwern to Brynmawr) started in June 2011, with construction beginning in January 2015. The project was due to be finished in 2018. However, this section saw several delays and cost overruns, and was completed in December 2021.

Sections 5 and 6

On 10 November 2020, the Welsh Government announced that the contract for Section 5 & 6 (Dowlais Top to Hirwaun) had been awarded to Future Valleys Construction, a consortium which 'comprises large international construction companies alongside established financial investors'. Site clearance works began shortly thereafter, and major construction work commenced in May 2021. Completion of the scheme is programmed for mid-2025.

See also

• Trunk roads in Wales

References

1. "A465 HEADS OF THE VALLEYS DUALLING SECTION 3: BRYNMAWR TO TREDEGAR" (PDF). Carillion plc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
2. OS Pathfinder Guide, Brecon Beacons and Glamorgan. Ordnance Survey 1994.
3. Welsh Government – A465 (Heads of the Valleys Road) – Dualling Scheme Archived 16 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Heads of the Valleys Road". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 February 1960.
5. "A465". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 8 June 1992.
6. "Cymdeithas Hanes Resolfen History Society: Where is Resolfen?".
7. "New higher speed limits for lorries in England and Wales". THE HIGHWAY CODE.
8. ^ "Request for Information - ATISN 18667" (PDF). Welsh Government. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
9. "Green light for next stage of widening project | A465 Section 2". Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
10. "Written Statement: A465 Dualling Section 2 (Gilwern to Brynmawr) Project Update". Welsh Government. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
11. ^ "A465 section 5 and 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun". Welsh Government. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
12. "A465 section 5 and 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun". Welsh Government. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
13. "A465 Road Dualling Scheme Brynmawr to Tredegar". Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
14. "A465 Section 2 Project Website". Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
15. "Heads of the Valleys road section opens three years late". BBC. 30 December 2021.
16. "A465: Contract awarded for A465 improvements". 10 November 2021 – via gov.wales.
17. "A465: Section 5 & 6 Dowlais Top to Hirwaun Overview". 8 July 2021 – via gov.wales.

External links

Download coordinates as:

• KML
• GPX (all coordinates)
• GPX (primary coordinates)
• GPX (secondary coordinates)

• Welsh Government: A465 dualling scheme

v t e A roads in Zone 4 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A4 A40 A41 A42 A43 A44 A45 A46 A47 A48 A49
	A400 A403 A404 A405 A406 A412 A413 A414 A415 A417 A418 A419 A420 A421 A422 A423 A426 A427 A428 A429 A431 A432 A433 A441 A442 A444 A445 A446 A448 A449 A452 A453 A454 A456 A458 A461 A465 A466 A468 A469 A470 A473 A474 A475 A476 A477 A478 A479 A482 A483 A485 A486 A487 A489 A490 A491 A493 A494 A496 A498 A499
	A4005 A4006 A4008 A4010 A4018 A4032 A4042 A4050 A4053 A4054 A4055 A4059 A4060 A4061 A4063 A4069 A4074 A4076 A4080 A4085 A4086 A4103 A4107 A4109 A4110 A4113 A4117 A4118 A4119 A4123 A4130 A4133 A4135 A4136 A4138 A4142 A4144 A4146 A4148 A4150 A4155 A4160 A4161 A4174 A4200 A4202 A4204 A4214 A4216 A4221 A4226 A4230 A4232 A4234 A4240 A4241 A4260 A4361 A4400 A4536 A4540
List of A roads in Zone 4 List of B roads in Zone 4

v t e Transport in Caerphilly County Borough
Road
Bus operators	Newport Bus NAT Group Stagecoach South Wales
Bus stations	Caerphilly station Blackwood interchange Bargoed interchange
Railway operators	South Wales Metro Transport for Wales Rail
Railway stations	Ebbw line Risca Crosskeys Newbridge    Rhymney line Caerphilly Aber Energlyn Llanbradach Ystrad Mynach Hengoed Pengam Bargoed Brithdir Tir-phil Pontlottyn Rhymney
Cycling	Taff Trail Celtic Trail (including NCR 46 and NCR 47) NCR 4:Newport to Llanelli section NCR 465 NCR 466 NCR 467 NCR 469 NCR 475
Walking	Cistercian Way Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk Sirhowy Valley Ridgeway Walk Taff Trail
Waterways	Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
Transport portal Wales portal

v t e Transport in Neath Port Talbot
Road	M4 motorway European route E30 A48 road A465 road A474 road A483 road A4063 road A4107 road A4067 road A4069 road A4109 road A4221 road A4230 road A4241 road
Bus	First Cymru National Express Neath bus station Neath railway station Port Talbot bus station
Cycling	National Cycle Route 4 National Cycle Route 43
Railway lines	South Wales Main Line Swansea District line
Railway stations	Skewen Neath Briton Ferry Baglan Port Talbot Parkway Margam Knuckle Yard
Sea	Port of Port Talbot River Neath
Canals	Neath and Tennant Canal
Transport portal Wales portal

v t e Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Roads	M4 motorway European route E30 A465 A468 A470 A473 A4054 A4058 A4059 A4061 A4093 A4107 A4109 A4119 A4222 A4223 A4225 A4233
Bus	Stagecoach South Wales First Cymru NAT Group Fflecsi (TfW)
Cycling	NCR 4 Taff Trail Lôn Las Cymru Celtic Trail
Railway lines	■ Maesteg Line ■ Merthyr line ■ Rhondda line South Wales Main Line
Railway stations	Abercynon Aberdare Cwmbach Dinas Rhondda Fernhill Llanharan Llwynypia Mountain Ash Penrhiwceiber Pontyclun Pontypridd Porth Quakers Yard Taffs Well Ton Pentre Tonypandy Treforest Treforest Estate Trehafod Treherbert Treorchy Troed-y-rhiw Ynyswen Ystrad Rhondda
Transport portal Wales portal

v t e Transport in Monmouthshire
Road	M4 motorway European route E30 M48 motorway A40 road A449 road A465 road A472 road A4042 road A4136 road A48 road
Bus	Stagecoach South Wales Stagecoach West Newport Bus
National Cycle Network	Celtic Trail National Cycle Route 4 National Cycle Route 47 National Cycle Route 42
Railway lines	South Wales Main Line Gloucester–Newport line Welsh Marches line
Railway stations	Abergavenny Caldicot Chepstow Severn Tunnel Junction
Waterways	Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal River Wye

51°50′39″N 3°00′00″W / 51.8442°N 2.9999°W / 51.8442; -2.9999 (A465 road)

• Transport in Blaenau Gwent
• Roads in Caerphilly County Borough
• Roads in Herefordshire
• Roads in Merthyr Tydfil
• Roads in Monmouthshire
• Roads in Neath Port Talbot
• Roads in Rhondda Cynon Taf
• Vale of Neath
• Brecon Beacons National Park