Llanfoist to Abergavenny Active Travel Bridge and Links
Welcome to the website for the Llanfoist to Abergavenny Active Travel Bridge and Links scheme, hosted by construction partner Balfour Beatty.
Image credit: Knight Architects
Artist’s impression of the proposed active travel bridge, crossing the River Usk from Merthyr Road, Llanfoist to Castle Meadows, Abergavenny, downriver of the existing road bridge.
This scheme is developed by Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) and funded by Welsh Government. MCC’s Active Travel Strategy focuses on journeys of three miles or less. This means making active travel the first natural choice for local journeys by improving walking and wheeling infrastructure to connect people to key destinations within communities.
MCC has prioritised the development of alternative active travel provision ATNM route MCC-A01A, proposing a walking, wheeling and cycling (‘active travel’) bridge downriver of the Usk Bridge. Usk Bridge, the vehicle bridge between Llanfoist and Abergavenny on Merthyr Road, has long been identified as a severance point for active travel, and alterations to the historic road bridge are not possible, due to it being a listed structure.
Monmouthshire County Council has secured £10.4m from Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund for the construction of the bridge and connecting routes. Construction of the bridge will start in 2026, with phased work continuing into 2028.
The timings of works are affected by river levels and ecological restrictions.
The work will include:
- An accessible pedestrian and cycling bridge across the River Usk. This will be steel framed, with a U-shaped cross section, supported by ramps on either riverbank, and a central pier
- Ramped paths from bridge landings to connections to Merthyr Road and Castle Meadows paths
- Bilingual wayfinding signage
- Improvements to connections to Llanfoist and Abergavenny
- Social Value activities
The active travel bridge will be of steel beam construction with wooden cladding. Click here for the technical drawings section.
Accessible ramps will be constructed to connect the bridge to the paths on Castle Meadows and the footway on Merthyr Road, Llanfoist. The bridge will become the main river crossing for walking, wheeling and cycling between Llanfoist and Abergavenny, as an alternative to the existing road bridge, and encourage modal shift as a result.
The bridge structure has been designed to have a positive and respectful relationship with the neighbouring stone bridge and the surrounding environment, and will be robust and resilient in a floodplain that is subjected to regular, significant flooding. The deck will be above the 1-in-100-year flood level, and the bridge landing ramps will be parallel to the water flow and read as a subtle alteration of the existing topography.
Flythrough of full Llanfoist to Abergavenny Active Travel Bridge and Links scheme vision.
Current construction is focused on delivering the active travel bridge.
