M32 Eastville Viaduct 40mph Statutory Instrument Consultation

Overview

This consultation provides an opportunity for you to share your comments on our proposed introduction of a permanent 40mph speed limit on the M32 in both directions from a point 83 metres north of the northern mechanical join of the Eastville viaduct to a point 22 metres north of the Severn Beach railway line overbridge.

The M32 Eastville Viaduct is an elevated 1.1km section of the M32 - a 7.1km-long motorway that links the M4 at junction 19 (Hambrook Interchange) with Bristol city centre. It is part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) owned and maintained by National Highways and carries 65,000 vehicles a day.

The structure was built in the 1970s to design standards of the day. If the structure was built today with its geometry causing limited forward visibility and narrow hard shoulders, the speed limit would be set at 40mph.

A review of the structure found the design doesn’t meet current standards and as such a reduced speed limit is necessary to ensure the speed matches the design geometry. 

The permanent 40mph speed limit will ensure that this stretch of the M32 conforms to current design standards. It will also replace the temporary 40mph speed limit that is currently in place on this section of the M32.

Map of the affected stretch of the M32 motorway

The speed limit changes are required due to the geometry of this section of the motorway. The elevated section of the motorway around junction 2 has limited forward visibility and narrow hard shoulders which doesn’t meet the design standards of today’s motorways. In addition, junction 2 and junction 3 are located close together, which results in a high level of weaving traffic (i.e. manoeuvring between traffic lanes). The proposed speed limit changes are required on safety grounds and to help ensure a smooth-running network.

This consultation will run from Monday 2 December 2024 to Sunday 26 January 2025. It's important you respond by 23:59 on Sunday 26 January 2025 as responses received after the consultation closes may not be considered.  

If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, it would be helpful if you could make this clear. Please also indicate the nature of the organisation, how many individuals’ views are included in the response and ways in which these views were gathered.

What happens next

All responses received within the consultation period will be considered.

Following the consultation, a summary report will be published here within 12 weeks of the consultation ending. The summary report will provide an analysis of the responses received and our feedback on these.

Subject to results of the consultation, we envisage the proposal would be implemented by the end of summer 2025.