Prince of Wales Bridge: Tolls, History, Length & Access Guide

Tolls on the Prince of Wales Bridge ended in December 2018, freeing thousands of daily commuters from a cost that had compounded over more than 50 years of operation.

Opened: 1996 ·
Supplements: Severn Bridge (1966) ·
Location: M4 over River Severn ·
Connects: England and Wales ·
Length: Over 5 km including viaducts

Five key attributes define the Prince of Wales Bridge: its structure type, its span over water, when it opened, what it was called before 2018, and its current toll status.

Is it free to cross the Prince of Wales Bridge?

Yes. Both the Prince of Wales Bridge and its older sibling, the Severn Bridge, became toll-free on 17 December 2018, ending more than 50 years of charges. The abolition came after the UK government transferred ownership of both crossings from private consortium to public control, removing the value-added tax that had been built into the toll structure (Wikipedia — Prince of Wales Bridge).

Tolls history

Toll collection began on 26 April 1992 for the Severn Bridge and on 5 June 1996 when the Prince of Wales Bridge opened. Both bridges operated as a single toll entity under a consortium that assumed the original Severn Bridge debt. Rates were adjusted annually based on Retail Price Index changes, starting at £2.80 for cars on the Severn Bridge and £3.80 for cars on the Prince of Wales Bridge (Wikishire).

The final toll rate for cars reached £6.70 on the Prince of Wales Bridge, applicable from 1 January 2017 until just before abolition. In March 2015, then-Chancellor George Osborne announced that tolls would drop to £5.40 in 2018 when VAT would be removed upon public ownership. The 2016 budget confirmed a halving of tolls ahead of the ownership transfer (Wikipedia — Prince of Wales Bridge).

Current status

Crossing both bridges costs nothing. The final reduction to £5.60 for Category 1 vehicles took effect on 8 January 2018, and the full abolition followed on 17 December 2018.

The change was described as welcome news for residents and visitors, ending a half-century of charges since the original Severn Bridge opened in 1966 (Visit Monmouthshire).

Why is it called the Prince of Wales Bridge?

The Prince of Wales opened the bridge on 5 June 1996, and the structure was renamed in his honour in March 2018. The decision to rename came from the UK government, with then-Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announcing that the Second Severn Crossing would become the Prince of Wales Bridge to recognise the Prince’s role in opening the original crossing (Wikipedia — Prince of Wales Bridge).

Naming origin

Before the 2018 renaming, the bridge was officially known as the Second Severn Crossing. This label described its function rather than honouring an individual—it was the second road crossing over the Severn Estuary after the original suspension bridge. The rename shifted from functional naming to royal commemoration, reflecting the Prince’s ceremonial role in the 1996 opening ceremony (Thortech — Longest UK Bridges).

Relation to pont

The Welsh word for bridge is “pont,” and the naming convention for the M4 crossing reflects the bilingual nature of the route through Wales. Road signage in the area typically includes both English and Welsh versions, and the Prince of Wales Bridge name now appears alongside Welsh equivalents on motorway signs approaching the Welsh side (Wikipedia — Severn Bridge).

Can you walk under or across the Prince of Wales Bridge?

Walking or cycling across the Prince of Wales Bridge itself is not permitted. The structure is a motorway bridge with no pedestrian or cyclist access—its lanes are designed for high-speed vehicle traffic only, and the approach roads merge directly with the M4 without stopping points.

Pedestrian access

The M48 motorway, which the Severn Bridge carries, has footways alongside the approach roads, but these run parallel rather than on the bridge deck itself. Pedestrians cannot legally walk across the Severn Bridge or the Prince of Wales Bridge, and there are no footpaths on the carriageways of either structure. Local public footpaths run along parts of the route on both the English and Welsh sides, but they do not provide a crossing of the Severn Estuary itself.

Cycling options

Dedicated cycle paths do not cross either bridge. The nearby M48 and M4 approach roads have hard shoulders used by emergency vehicles, not cyclists. Cyclists seeking to cross the Severn Estuary must use the M48 footway sections where they exist, though these are not continuous and are not designed for leisure cycling. Most cyclists choose to transport bicycles by train on the Severn Tunnel route instead.

The implication: the bridge serves its function as a motorway crossing efficiently for vehicles, but offers no legal or safe route for pedestrians or cyclists. The nearest crossing for non-motorised users involves a significant detour via the Severn Tunnel railway.

When was the Prince of Wales Bridge built?

Construction on the Prince of Wales Bridge began on 26 April 1992—the same day that tolls started on the original Severn Bridge—and the bridge opened on 5 June 1996. It was built to handle the growing traffic demand on the original Severn Bridge, which had become congested well before its 30th anniversary.

Construction timeline

The Severn Bridge opened in 1966 after construction began in 1963, replacing the Aust Ferry after 137 years of continuous service. By the late 1980s, traffic volumes on the original bridge had grown beyond its designed capacity, prompting the planning and construction of a second crossing. Construction started simultaneously with toll collection on the first bridge, establishing the funding mechanism for the new structure (Bridgeinfo.net).

The Prince of Wales Bridge was formally opened by the Prince of Wales in 1996. Sources indicate that the structure required approximately 420,000 cubic metres of concrete during construction, with main contractors including GTM Construction and John Laing (B2 Bridges).

Relation to Severn Bridge

The two bridges form a paired crossing system over the Severn Estuary, linking South Gloucestershire in England with Monmouthshire in Wales. They are maintained as a coordinated network by National Highways. The Severn Bridge, a suspension structure, holds Grade I heritage status since 1999 and remains an architecturally significant structure, while the Prince of Wales Bridge’s cable-stayed design and longer approach viaducts reflect different engineering priorities for a later construction era.

The catch: despite having two crossings, daily traffic on the Severn Bridge still averages around 25,000 vehicles, showing that the second bridge did not eliminate demand on the original structure. Both crossings remain busy, and peak-period congestion still occurs on both routes (3GRCOMM).

What is the length of the Prince of Wales Bridge?

The Prince of Wales Bridge measures 5,128 metres in total length, making it significantly longer than the original Severn Bridge at 1,600 metres. However, its main cable-stayed span of 456 metres is shorter than the Severn Bridge’s main suspension span of 988 metres. The difference reflects the engineering approaches chosen for each crossing at different periods.

Specs overview

The Prince of Wales Bridge’s length of over 5 kilometres includes the main cable-stayed section and long approach viaducts on both sides. This overall footprint exceeds the original Severn Bridge partly because the second crossing required longer land approaches to connect with the M4 motorway alignment. The Severn Bridge, by contrast, was built as a direct suspension crossing with shorter viaduct approaches. For further details on this impressive structure, you can explore the Pont du Diable Hérault.

The Severn Bridge has towers standing 136 metres high, Grade I listed since 1999, and was designed with an aerodynamic deck to resist wind loads—a key consideration for the exposed Severn Estuary. The Prince of Wales Bridge’s deck design incorporated lessons learned from the earlier structure, though its cable-stayed configuration allowed for a different structural approach for the shorter central span.

Comparison to Severn

The two bridges differ in primary design but complement each other as a system. Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn and River Wye, carrying the M48 motorway, while the Prince of Wales Bridge is cable-stayed with long approach viaducts. Both are maintained by National Highways and serve as critical infrastructure links between England and Wales.

The pattern: the longer structure uses a cable-stayed design to compensate for shorter main spans, while the older suspension bridge achieves greater span length despite its shorter overall length.

For regular users of the England-Wales crossing, the removal of tolls in December 2018 represents a tangible, compounding benefit that reshaped the economics of daily and weekly travel across the border. The two bridges now function as free public infrastructure, carrying thousands of vehicles daily with no charge.