Some facts you may not know about building roads in Wales

• Responsibility for road maintenance in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Government.
• The landscapes of Wales have often posed challenges to road construction, but this has sometimes brought about leaps in construction techniques. Thomas Telford took on the construction of what is now largely the A5 in North Wales. It was massively superior to other roads of the time with his self-imposed challenge to construct the road with gradients no worse than 1:30 which was no mean feat for the topography. While his involvement is probably most remembered for the bridges along the way, it was often his construction techniques that were most ground-breaking. Of course, most of the original road is now buried under modern materials!
• 7% of roads in Wales are reported as being in poor condition.
• The steepest road in Wales is found in Snowdonia and is called Ffordd Pen Llech. It hits a gradient of 35%+ in places and in some sections cars aren’t even allowed! It’s widely thought to be the steepest public, paved road in the UK.
• As part of Wales’ bid to become a zero waste nation by 2050, the Welsh Government has trialled using recycled nappies to resurface a stretch of road on the A487 between Cardigan and Aberystwyth. GD Harries were involved in the project and produced and laid the asphalt, working closely with Nappicycle.

How many miles of roads are there in Wales?

There are 21.1 thousand miles of road in Wales. This means if we stretched them all out, Welsh roads could go up and down the border with England 66 times! The highest amount of dual carriageway road length is around Swansea. Gwynedd is the area with the most single carriageway in the country, and indeed the most road length overall.

The A470 is the longest road in Wales at 185 miles (300 km) in length. It runs from Cardiff in the south to Llandudno in the north.

Where can I source asphalt in South Wales?

At GD Harries we supply asphalt from our plants in South Wales throughout the country. Find out more about South Wales asphalt and get in touch.

We have four asphalt plants in Altgoch (Cwrtnewydd), Blaencilgoed (Ludchurch), Bolton Hill near Haverfordwest and in Llandarcy near Swansea. We supply a range of different types of asphalt depending on your projects requirements.

GD Harries – surfacing and road resurfacing in South Wales

As an experienced asphalt contractor, we carry out a range of schemes, from domestic surfacing projects to significant highways work. Our highly skilled road surfacing and paving team have extensive experience in laying new roads for major infrastructure projects as well as resurfacing and repairing existing roads, all to Local Authority approved standards.

How many miles of roads are there in Wales?

There are 21.1 thousand miles of road in Wales. This means if we stretched them all out, Welsh roads could go up and down the border with England 66 times! The highest amount of dual carriageway road length is around Swansea. Gwynedd is the area with the most single carriageway in the country, and indeed the most road length overall.

The A470 is the longest road in Wales at 185 miles (300 km) in length. It runs from Cardiff in the south to Llandudno in the north.

Where can I source asphalt in South Wales?

At GD Harries we supply asphalt from our plants in South Wales throughout the country. Find out more about South Wales asphalt and get in touch.

We have four asphalt plants in Altgoch (Cwrtnewydd), Blaencilgoed (Ludchurch), Bolton Hill near Haverfordwest and in Llandarcy near Swansea. We supply a range of different types of asphalt depending on your projects requirements.

GD Harries – surfacing and road resurfacing in South Wales

As an experienced asphalt contractor, we carry out a range of schemes, from domestic surfacing projects to significant highways work. Our highly skilled road surfacing and paving team have extensive experience in laying new roads for major infrastructure projects as well as resurfacing and repairing existing roads, all to Local Authority approved standards.