Overview
The A4 Portway transport corridor project is a vital step towards creating a more sustainable and connected Bristol.
By improving roads for public transport and encouraging active travel, we will not only address congestion and air quality issues but will also promote healthier lifestyles and reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
The A4 Portway project sets out to reduce congestion, improve the reliability of buses and promote walking, wheeling and cycling along this major transport route.
Plans include:
- more green space and tree planting where possible
- new 24-hour bus lanes to increase bus use
- reducing speed limits and improving some junctions
About
We are working to improve bus journeys and the walking, wheeling and cycling environment along the northwestern section of the A4 Portway.
Buses connect people to education, employment, sport and leisure activities, and are integral part of a sustainable transport network.
Through infrastructure changes, we can achieve greater bus reliability, improved bus punctuality, growth in people travelling by bus, and a step change in the quality of bus services along the route.The vision includes:
Work includes creating:
- new 24-hour bus lanes to increase bus use
- wider pavements for shared use by pedestrians and cyclists
- reducing speed limits and junction improvements
- more green space and tree planting where possible
- Resurfacing the route
The route
- The A4 in Bristol links two of the city’s Park & Ride sites: one in Portway and the other in Brislington.
- The A4 Portway route, included in this project, is a roughly six-mile route that goes from the Portway Park & Ride, via Avon Gorge, to Hotwells ending before the Mardyke Wharf car park.
- This project does not include Dowry Place, Oldfield Place or the Cumberland Basin road system, as these are part of the longer-term vision included in the Western Harbour regeneration zone that will follow in the future.
Buses
This project will benefit bus services that travel along the A4 Portway, such as the Portway Park & Ride (9), X1, X4, X6/X7, X8/X9, and U2, 13, and 505.
Improving the Portway Park & Ride site
Through a separate but linked project, we remodelled the bus entrance to the Portway Park & Ride site.
This work was completed in September 2025, and the number 9 Park & Ride bus service is now using the new entrance and bus stops for pick-ups and drop-offs.
Work included:
- widening and reconfiguring the bus junction
- adding more wayfinding
- building a pedestrian crossing next to the bus junction
The new layout opens up opportunities to develop the number 9 service and improve the connection between Avonmouth and the city centre. It also means that the 3, 4, 10 and 11 bus services could stop at the site, allowing people travelling to Southmead from North Somerset to use the Park & Ride or train station in the future.
In August 2023, we opened Portway Park & Ride station, connecting the Park & Ride site with the Severn Beach railway line.
How we got here
We held an early engagement exercise in August 2022, which asked people about the issues they face when travelling along the A4 Portway.
Towards the end of 2023 we carried out further engagement on proposals to improve the A4 Portway. This was designed to capture views from residents, businesses, and anyone who uses the route.
Download the detailed engagement report.
This was followed by a statutory consultation in June 2025 on the third phase of the A4 Portway transport corridor project, which includes sections of 24-hour bus lanes, reducing some speed limits, and improving junctions along the route.
These plans have since been approved and work on phase 3 of the project is expected to start early in 2026, which also includes resurfacing the A4 Portway. These works are programmed in to take up to 14 months.
Investment and funding
The A4 Portway project is being funded by the UK government as part of the Department for Transport’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
Construction
We are delivering the A4 Portway project in phases
We are delivering the A4 Portway project in phases, which includes:
- Phase 1: Essential maintenance along the route including drainage works – completed
- Phase 2: Pavement widening and resurfacing, kerb realigning, new lighting – started June 2025 and is ongoing
- Phase 3: Building 24-hour bus lanes, reducing some speed limits, improving some junctions, and resurfacing the route – to start early 2026
Phase 2 – ongoing
The second phase of a project got underway on in June 2025.
Work includes:
- widening and resurfacing pavements (some of which are shared by pedestrians and cyclists
- re-aligning kerbs
- improving street lighting along the route
Access for pedestrians and cyclists and all road users will be maintained throughout, but lane closures, reduced speed limits, and temporary walkways will be needed at times.
The work was expected to take up to nine months, but this has been extended. We are working with the contractor to limit the impact on the overall programme.
Phase 3 – early 2026
Plans for this phase have been approved. Work is expected to get underway in early 2026.
This includes:
- Building 24-hour bus lanes
- Reducing some speed limits
- Improving some junctions
- Resurfacing the route
We will update this page once the programme has been confirmed.
Events
Below you will find a series of upcoming events
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News and updates
All the latest news and updates
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Construction Update
3 September 2025
A4 Portway
Portway Park & Ride’s remodelled bus entrance to reopen
Work to remodel the junction that buses use to access the Park & Ride on the A4 Portway is almost complete, and the number 9 bus will be able to stop at the site from 12 September 2025.
5 June 2025
A4 Portway
Improving accessibility along the A4 Portway
The second phase of a project – to reduce congestion, improve the reliability of buses, and promote active travel along a major transport route in Bristol – will get underway from Monday 16 June 2025.