Motorway Mayhem - M4 J28. Traditional Cache
Motorway Mayhem - M4 J28.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Another cache-and-dash in the Motorway Mayhem series. There is adequate parking close to the cache, but for cars only.
The M4 around Newport was built in 1967. This short section of motorway is remarkable both for the number of junctions serving the town** of Newport and for the fact that it passes through the only set of bored tunnels on any motorway in the UK.
Since there are so many junctions, the citizens of South Wales have historically used the motorway as a ring-road around Newport, entering and leaving at any of the junctions as appropriate. Very soon after the opening of the motorway, this was identified as a problem, as the volume of traffic using the stretch between Junctions 24 and 28 swelled way beyond previously projected estimates. This is particularly relevant to the Brynglas Tunnels which were originally expected to cope with traffic volumes into the new millenium - but by the mid-eighties it had already become apparent that the volume of traffic was exceeding the capacity of the road resulting in frequent periods of "gridlock".
Several solutions to this problem have been considered. The obvious solution was to increase the capacity of the tunnels. One plan called for the building of a third tunnel alongside the existing two, so that one tunnel could be eastbound, one westbound, and the third switched to either eastbound or westbound according to demand. This however, was declared to be impossible because of the geology of the Brynglas Hill through which the tunnels run.
Another proposal was the building of a complete new supplemental motorway running south of Newport along the Severn Estuary. This proposal has been under consideration for many years but was officially abandoned in 2008 due to cost and environmental concerns.
The closure of the westbound on-slip and eastbound off-slip at Junction 25 together with the construction of Heidenheim Drive which carries traffic out of Newport to the North, have eased the traffic-flow temporarily. But more needs to be done, and the complete closure of Junction 27 has been considered.
The cache, which issmaller than a 35mm pot but larger than an nano, has been placed so as to be wheelchair-accessible and contains a log-sheet only. PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN PEN OR PENCIL. You will notice that in simple distance terms, it is actually closer to Junction 27 than Junction 28. So why is it called Junction 28? You will know when you find it. Please note that the cache is not on church property.
AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR YOU WILL FIND THAT THE CACHE IS PROTECTED BY "NATURE'S GUARDIAN'S". BRING GLOVES.
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**Newport is, of course, a city. But it was only granted city status in 2002, so it was a town at the time of the construction of the motorway.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba gur bgure fvqr bs gur ebnq sebz Uneel Orina.
Treasures
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