At Junction 32, at the northern end of Cardiff, is one of the UK’s biggest roundabouts – the Coryton roundabout. There’s something about this one roundabout that’s different from all others in Wales, and bears resemblance to only one other in the UK – and a motorway fanatic has pointed it out.
The Auto Shenanigans YouTube channel plays host to a series of videos giving fun facts on the UK’s huge roster of motorways. In one video, the channel’s host Jon points out loads of the M4’s quirks, including slip roads that go nowhere and the last remnants of the Prince of Wales Bridge toll booths.
But the Coryton roundabout is especially unique in Wales – Jon points out that, on the junction’s west side, the A470 crosses over the roundabout, but dips underneath it on the eastern side – all the while, the M4 sails above both the A470 and the roundabout.
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Where it crosses the roundabout in the west, the A470 continues up to Pontypridd and ends all the way up in Llandudno, making it Wales’ longest road by quite a margin. On the east of the roundabout it becomes Northern Avenue, travelling through Whitchurch before merging into Manor Way then North Road, heading towards the city centre.
There’s no other known example of a roundabout like this in Wales – and only one other in the UK. On a roundabout near Birmingham Airport, the A45 does the same thing. Where it meets the M42 at Junction 6, the Bickenhill Interchange, the A45 crosses under the roundabout on the west side and pops out above it on the east.
Auto Shenanigans can be found on YouTube, where in his latest videos Jon details the secrets of Scotland’s M77 and the history of the first ever traffic lights. He’s gathered almost 100,000 subscribers on his channel, on which he first posted two years ago.
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