Powick Roundabout - Malvern Road - A4440

Many thanks to Worcestershire County Council for facilitating and capitally funding this camera's installation. Positioned at Powick Roundabout, the camera looks south-west along Malvern Road towards Powick and provides a live visual view of this busy approach to Worcester, including road and weather conditions at a location close to the River Teme floodplain. Powick Roundabout forms the western end of Worcester's A4440 Southern Link Road and is an important junction for traffic travelling between Worcester, Malvern, Upton upon Severn, Herefordshire and the M5. The surrounding road network has undergone substantial redevelopment in recent years as part of the Southern Link Road improvements. The final phase included dualling the route between Ketch and Powick roundabouts, alterations to Powick Roundabout itself, improvements to the Malvern turn and new walking and cycling facilities. The landscape around Powick has always been shaped by its rivers. Immediately to the north, Malvern Road crosses the River Teme before continuing into Worcester, while the low ground around Powick Hams forms part of the broad floodplain where the Teme approaches its meeting with the River Severn. Modern improvements to the Southern Link Road have therefore included substantial bridge and viaduct works across this landscape. There is also considerably more history around this junction than its modern appearance suggests. Nearby Powick Old Bridge was built before 1447, originally by monks from Malvern Priory, and became the scene of the Battle of Powick Bridge in September 1642, regarded as the first significant cavalry action of the English Civil War. The same area was again caught up in fighting during the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the final major battle of the English Civil Wars. The present Malvern Road crossing of the Teme also has its own history. Powick New Bridge was constructed in 1837, with sandstone abutments and a cast-iron central span, carrying what is now the A449 across the river towards Worcester. The result is an unusual meeting point of medieval history, nineteenth-century engineering and a thoroughly modern strategic road network, all within a short distance of the camera.