Road building was central to planning policy for much of the 20th century in Bristol, England. The planned road network evolved over time but at its core was a network of concentric ring (or circuit) roads and high-capacity radial roads.
The Inner Circuit Road formed a ring around Bristol's central area and was completed in 1970. The Outer Circuit Road was intended to form an outer ring concentric with this, but the only substantial part to be completed was the 1.3 km-long Easton Way. The two ring roads were to be complemented by 8 radial roads, some of which would follow new routes while others would be made by widening existing roads.
These schemes had for the most part been abandoned by the early 1990s, and subsequently much of what was built has been decommissioned.
Planning and construction
The inter-war period was one of rapid growth in Bristol, with 22,000 private homes and 12,000 council houses being built around the city. In addition, Bristol was at the focus of a number of through routes, with growing volumes of traffic concentrated into a highly constrained area in the city centre. To address this, in 1923 the city council set up a town planning committee chaired by B F Brueton, which developed into the Bristol and Bath and District Joint Regional Planning Committee. Brueton co-authored Sir Patrick Abercrombie's 'Bristol and Bath Regional Planning Study' of 1928, out of which the plan to ease Bristol's traffic congestion using concentric ring roads grew.
Inner Circuit Road (A4044) The Inner Circuit Road was intended as a primary distributor road for local traffic in the central area of Bristol. Construction started in 1936 with the laying out of Temple Way and Redcliffe Way, and by 1937 the dual carriageway of Redcliffe Way had been cut diagonally through Queen Square leaving the Rysbrack statue of William III stranded on a traffic island and, ironically, requiring the demolition of the City Engineer's offices at No.63. At The Centre, construction of a culvert to cover over the River Frome and accommodate the new road was underway, and at Redcliff Backs a bascule bridge was being built. Work continued despite the outbreak of World War II, and by the end of 1940 the Inner Circuit Road was largely complete from The Centre to Temple Way. Further developments were suspended for the duration of the war.
Construction work restarted in the early 1960s with Phase 3 from St James Barton to Wellington Road. A 318m re-erectable flyover was constructed at Victoria St in 1967, and the Temple Way Underpass was completed in 1968. By 1970, with the construction of the last few links at Lewins Mead and Rupert St, the Inner Circuit Road formed a complete 3.4 km ring.
Elevated pedestrian infrastructure
The later phases of the Inner Circuit Road, from Old Market to the northern end of The Centre, attempted to vertically segregate pedestrians from motor traffic through the construction of interconnected pedways in a manner consistent with modernist architectural styles of the era. At Old Market roundabout, escalators led up to a system of bridges and decks leading through to Castle Park; a similar elevated pedestrian system was partially completed at Lewins Mead and Rupert Street, whilst at St James Barton pedestrians were consigned below the roads in what became known as the Bearpit. This vertical segregation infrastructure, consisting largely of unattractive concrete steps and walkways with poor accessibility, was never popular with pedestrians and much of it has subsequently been removed. Conceived as part of the 1966 Bristol City Centre Policy Report, this system aimed to allow uninterrupted vehicle flow at street level while pedestrians accessed shops and offices via bridges and raised decks, which has retrospectively been termed in local media as a "city in the sky".
The pedestrian decking system was a response to post-war planning ideals and traffic forecasts that anticipated increasing vehicle congestion. The scheme was influenced by Colin Buchanan's 1963 report, Traffic in Towns, which highlighted the destructive potential of unchecked car use and recommended elevated pedestrian routes in city centres. In practice, only parts of the plan were implemented. Walkways were constructed at Lewins Mead, Rupert Street, Nelson Street, and Old Market roundabout, but the full network envisioned at the time of the 1966 plan was never completed. The resulting bridges and decks connected office blocks and shopping areas but were often poorly integrated into the wider urban environment. A planned central pedestrian piazza linking Broadmead to The Centre was never realised. An additional walkway connecting to the podium of the Colston Centre, also unrealised by the time it was constructed, was in consideration during the building's initial design phase.
Due to limited foot traffic and accessibility issues, these elevated structures quickly fell out of favour. By the early 2000s, many were described as underused and unsafe, and some became associated with anti-social behaviour. From 2011 onwards, sections of the remaining infrastructure were repurposed. The Nelson Street footbridge, for instance, had been incorporated into the See No Evil street art project. By the mid-2010s, the city council began dismantling the remaining walkways, starting with those at Lewins Mead and Old Market, citing structural decline, maintenance costs, and urban integration concerns. The final demolition of the Old Market escalator buildings and footbridge took place between May and June 2017 as part of a broader public realm improvement scheme funded by Bristol City Council, the Quorum, and the Government’s Cycle Ambition Fund.
Outer Circuit Road (A4320)
Bristol's post-war development plan of 1952 contained plans for an Outer Circuit Road forming a circuit of Bristol's inner suburbs. These were refined following an origin and destination study conducted in 1963 and published, together with plans for eight enhanced radial routes, in the Bristol City Centre Policy Report of 1966. The Outer Circuit Road was designed to take long-distance through traffic as well as local cross-city traffic, thus allowing the Inner Circuit Road to fulfil its intended function as a purely local distributor road. Although it was proposed to build the Outer Circuit Road as a free-flowing two-lane dual carriageway of urban motorway standard, it was nonetheless anticipated that by 2010 some sections, such as Cheltenham Road to the M32, would be operating at capacity. Therefore, the 1966 report proposed that the road would have to be widened to three-lane dual carriageway along its entire length, and that five of the junctions with the main radial roads would need to be grade separated.
The development plan for the Outer Circuit Road obtained ministerial approval in 1969.
Whilst the route of the Inner Circuit Road passed through mostly commercial property, the Outer Circuit Road's route required large-scale demolition in residential suburbs. Construction was to be phased, starting with the section through Easton from the M32 to Lawrence Hill. This was an area which was already undergoing redevelopment and traffic forecasts suggested that this part of the route was most needed. It also passed through an area where property was cheap, the topography was straightforward, and local opposition was poorly organised.
Opposition grew as more people became aware of what was planned. In Clifton, Cotham and Montpelier the topography was more difficult and local opposition was wealthier and more articulate. A Campaign against the Outer Circuit Road was established, and begun to put pressure on the Secretary of State and local politicians. Despite this, construction of Easton Way was completed, and in steeply-hilled picturesque Totterdown more than 500 terraced Victorian houses and businesses were demolished in preparation for a huge new roundabout that was never built.
By the early 1970s, public opinion of urban roadbuilding had changed and pressure groups were starting to have an impact; but more than anything it was the economic climate that halted development.
A38 St James Barton to Cheltenham Road
The 1966 report proposed to widen this route to form a two-lane dual carriageway, with an almost continuous central reservation to restrict right-hand turns. Following the enlargement of St James Barton Roundabout to form today's Bear Pit, a second phase of construction would have seen this roundabout replaced by a two-way underpass connecting North Street (the southern extension of Stokes Croft) with the north-west section of the Inner Circuit Road, leading towards The Centre. At the northern end of Cheltenham Road, a two-level interchange would connect with the Outer Circuit Road using Cotham Hill and new link roads near Arley Hill and Station Road.
With the exception of the Full Moon, a 17th-century coaching inn, all properties on North Street were demolished for the construction of this road and its junction at St James Barton. Post-war reconstruction on Stokes Croft was set back behind a generous road widening line.
M32 (The Parkway)
The M32 forms the main link between central Bristol and the M4 and M5 motorways. Its construction in the 1970s involved the destruction of historic parkland at Stoke Park and a large railway viaduct at Muller Road, and at its southern end extensive demolition was required. However, as with Easton Way this was linked with redevelopment and 'slum clearance'. Several streets of Georgian properties, some listed, were cleared for Newfoundland Way which formed the final link from St Pauls Roundabout to the Inner Circuit Road at Bond Street.
The M32 is an overwhelming barrier to mobility and accessibility for residents of St Pauls and Easton, with the main links between the areas consisting of grade-separated dual carriageway intersections and narrow footbridges crossing the motorway at a dizzying height.
A420 Old Market Street and Lawrence Hill
In the 1966 report, a three-lane dual-carriageway road was planned to replace the West Street one-way system, giving a direct high-capacity link between the Inner Circuit Road at Temple Way and the Outer Circuit Road at Easton Way. These plans heralded decades of planning blight in Old Market Street and West Street.
A4 Bath Road and A37 Wells Road
The A4 from its junction with the Inner Circuit Road to its junction with the Outer Circuit Road and the A37 Wells Road in Totterdown was to become a three-lane dual carriageway. At Victoria Street the junction would be developed in stages, starting with a temporary flyover linking Temple Way with Redcliffe Way, and ultimately becoming a multi-level interchange. The original Bath Bridge would be replaced with a new span to the east, allowing for a flyover across Bath Bridge Roundabout for through traffic. At Three Lamps, space was made available to accommodate a large junction connecting the A37, A4 and Outer Circuit Road. Again it was intended that the junction could be expanded as demand increased.
A38 Redcliff Hill and Bedminster By-Pass
Properties on Redcliff Hill, including the historic Redcliffe Shot Tower, were demolished in 1968 to make way for the northern end of a proposed dual carriageway connecting with the A38 south-west of Bedminster. The new route was to be an elevated road running in a straight line parallel to East St and West St, crossing under the Bristol to Exeter railway west of Bedminster Station, then continuing to a flyover intersection with Outer Circuit Road at Sheene Road before joining the A38 at Bridgwater Rd near its junction with Bishopsworth Rd.