M4 Eastbound Traffic
If you are heading east on the M4 — from South Wales through Swansea, Cardiff and Newport, over the Severn, past Bristol, Swindon and Reading towards Heathrow and London — this page covers your side of the motorway. Traffic on a motorway is rarely the same in both directions, and neither is the news.
Heading the other way? See M4 westbound traffic »
Search all the latest M4 traffic news
Latest accident or incident on the M4 eastbound
The most recent accident or incident on the M4 eastbound that we are aware of.
Latest active roadworks on the M4 eastbound
Roadworks live on the M4 eastbound right now.
M4 eastbound Jct 19 to Jct 18 hard shoulder running 174/6-170/5
23:499 Oct 2026reported 8 min ago
- Location
- M4 eastbound between J19 and J18
- Direction
- Eastbound
- Lanes closed
- Hard shoulder closed
- Reason
- Roadworks
- Schedule
- 20:53 Fri 9 Oct 2026 → 06:00 Sat 10 Oct 2026
+ 1 more active roadworks - search all M4 traffic news →
Latest planned roadworks on the M4 eastbound
The next planned roadworks scheduled on the M4 eastbound.
M4 both directions Jct 15 to 22 - mobile lane closure
23:499 Oct 2026reported 8 min ago
- Location
- M4 eastbound between J18 and J17
- Direction
- Both directions
- Lanes closed
- Lane closures
- Reason
- Maintenance work
- Schedule
- 20:00 Fri 9 Oct 2026 → 06:00 Sat 10 Oct 2026
Forecast - not confirmed
Search all the latest M4 traffic news
Updated 23:57 Fri 9 Oct 2026
Powered by National Highways’ Transport Data Feeds.
Check the M4 before you set off
Everything currently reported on the M4, both directions together, is on our latest M4 traffic news page, updated through the day. You can also check M4 roadworks, M4 accidents and M4 closures tonight.
Where the M4 eastbound goes
The main interchanges you pass, in the order you meet them eastbound:
- J49 — Pont Abraham, where the M4 begins, for Llanelli and Ammanford
- J29 — the A48(M) for Cardiff (east)
- J21 — the M48 and the old Severn crossing
- J20 — Almondsbury, for the M5 to the Midlands and the South West · M5 traffic
- J19 — the M32 into Bristol city centre
- J13 — Chieveley, for the A34 to Oxford and Southampton
- J4b — the M25, the London orbital · M25 traffic
- J1 — Chiswick, where the M4 meets the A4 and the North Circular in London
How busy is the M4?
The Department for Transport counted the M4 at 81 points in 2025. Its busiest point carried 156,491 vehicles a day, and the average across all of them was 90,328 — both directions together.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.