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A403 road

Infobox road instances in EnglandInfobox road maps tracking categoryRoads in BristolRoads in EnglandRoads in Gloucestershire
Transport in South Gloucestershire DistrictUse British English from February 2013
UK road A403
UK road A403

The A403 is a main road linking Bristol with the Severn Estuary. It runs from junction 1 of the M48 at Aust to the docks at Avonmouth. After the Severn Bridge was opened in 1966, the A403 was constructed in 1969 and 1970 to provide a direct route between the M4 motorway and Avonmouth. It is an important route for the local industries, allowing easy access between Wales and this part of England. It was financed by Gloucestershire County Council with a £387,000 grant from the Ministry of Transport and was initially known as the Avonmouth Aust Coast Road.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article A403 road (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

A403 road
Severn Road,

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Wikipedia: A403 roadContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.55237 ° E -2.66547 °
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Address

Severn Road

Severn Road
BS10 7SD , Pilning and Severn Beach
England, United Kingdom
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UK road A403
UK road A403
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Seabank Power Station
Seabank Power Station

Seabank Power Station is a 1,140 MW gas-fired power station at Hallen Marsh in Bristol, England. It is situated beside the A403 road and Severn Estuary, just north of Avonmouth and south of Severn Beach, close to the boundary with South Gloucestershire. It is next to the former Terra Nitrogen Severnside fertiliser works, which was closed by Growhow UK in January 2008.The £435 million plant is run as Seabank Power Ltd. The initial partners in the company were BG Group (former part of British Gas) and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), however in 2010 BG Group, as part of its reorganisation sold its 50% share of the plant to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited The company is now owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited, and SSE. It was built by Siemens Power Generation and initially opened in 2000. It was built in two parts, with Seabank 1 (755 MW) started in January 1996 and completed in March 2000. Seabank 2 (385 MW) was started in January 1999 and was completed in January 2001. The station has a number of step up transformers that allow connection to the National Grid high voltage electricity transmission system via the Seabank 400 kV GIS substation. The power plant provides enough electricity for approximately 1.6 million people.Seabank is a Combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) type power station that runs on natural gas. The Gas is supplied to the station via the company's own 74-bar 42-inch (1,100 mm) pipeline that runs from a gas compressor station near Abson in Pucklechurch, Bristol through South Gloucestershire to the station. The station can also utilise the local gas connection, that was used to connect the previous Seabank Naptha/Gas Cracking station that occupied the site prior to the power station. The section first built consists of two Siemens V94.3A gas turbines with two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and a steam turbine. The next built section consists of one V94.3A gas turbine, an HRSG and a steam turbine. It has a 55% thermal efficiency. The HRSGs were built by Standard Fasel Lentjes (known as SFL and now owned by NEM Energy) and Stork Power Services, both Dutch companies.

New Passage Pier railway station
New Passage Pier railway station

New Passage Pier was the original terminus of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway, located on the south bank of the River Severn at New Passage, South Gloucestershire, England. At New Passage, passengers would disembark from trains and use a boat across the Severn. New Passage had been the site of a ferry from England to Wales including the use by mail and passenger coaches between Bristol and to Portskewett in south Wales. In 1825 the New Passage Association formed, using the 30-ton steamboat "St Pierre". However, the sponsorship by the Dukes of Beaufort of the Aust route, with faster boats and a pier, meant that by 1830 mail coaches were diverted there, and the New Passage declined.Construction of the new railway started in 1858 and the single-track 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge line opened from South Wales Junction, half a mile east of Bristol Temple Meads, as far as the landward end of New Passage Pier on 8 September 1863, a distance of 11 miles (18 km). The distance by rail between Bristol and Cardiff was reduced from 94 miles (151 km) to 38 miles (61 km). The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway built new piers for the ferry, that at New Passage being 546 yards (499 m) long.A steam ferry, the Saint Pierre had been built by Pride and Williams for the New Passage crossing in 1825 and it worked there until 1831. The B&SWUR bought a new steamer, the Gem in 1863 but it proved unsuitable and was soon replaced by the Relief. John Bland, a carrier and shareholder in the railway, was contracted to operate the ferry. The next vessel purchased was the Dragon Fly, this had been used by the contractors to build the piers but was too small to work as the ferry. Instead, two paddle tugs, the Ajax and the Atlas were hired in to cover for the Relief.A new paddle steamer arrived in June 1864, named Christopher Thomas after the chairman of the B&SWUR, it had been built for the company by Henderson, Coulborn and Company at Renfrew in Scotland. A slightly larger vessel named the Chepstow arrived from the same shipyard on 11 February 1875. These two continued in service until the Severn Tunnel was opened in 1886. They were sold to WS Ogden at Cardiff in 1880, the Chepstow being renamed the Rover. The funnels were generally painted black with a red band.The station became redundant in 1886 following construction of the Severn Tunnel, and was closed. The pier was demolished by 1888. A plaque now marks the site, and although the building of new piling for flood defences and new concrete castings mean there is little to no trace of the railway on the land side, at low water, some remains of wooden piling can be seen below the plaque site.