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113-671: The Second Severn Crossing ( Welsh : Ail Groesfan Hafren ), officially named the Prince of Wales Bridge ( Welsh : Pont Tywysog Cymru ) since July 2018, is the M4 motorway bridge over the River Severn between England and Wales , opened in 1996 to supplement the traffic capacity of the Severn Bridge built in 1966. The bridge is operated by England's National Highways . It has a total length of 5,128 metres (16,824 ft). It

226-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under

339-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified

452-629: A bank account. Outside the United States, these savings clubs can be formal and have proper legislation. In some countries, like Brazil, consórcios are an integral part of the traditional banking system, where there are clubs for purchasing real estate and cars, and even for plastic surgery costs. Over seven million people have engaged in these formal savings associations over the past years, adding to over U$ 10 billion in credit. Since these clubs have up to thousands of members, products purchased are awarded through lottery and bidding processes and

565-456: A barrier between the Bristol area and South Wales . The estuary has a maximum tidal range of 14.5 metres (48 ft), amongst the highest in the world, and during a rising or falling tide there are strong currents of up to 8 knots (4.1 m/s). Much of the estuary is mud flats that are exposed at low tide; these have been designated a Special Protection Area . The central part of the estuary

678-504: A car ferry since 1926), or use the scheduled car shuttle train service through the Severn Tunnel between Pilning and Severn Tunnel Junction , which operated from 1926 until 1966. Otherwise, the detour via Gloucester would add 57 miles (92 km) to the journey. In 1966, the first Severn road bridge , a four-lane suspension bridge , was opened, carrying the M4 motorway between England and South Wales. By 1984, traffic across

791-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had

904-467: A common fund. On every installment the common fund reaches the goal value and someone is awarded this sum and from this point forward this person own the association the remaining amount, just as in a loan. This process repeats until every member is awarded the entire sum. These informal associations are specially popular among immigrants since they are a cheaper alternative to traditional financing and usually require no formal papers, credit history or even

1017-466: A consortium to cooperate on areas non-strategic for their core businesses. They prefer to reduce their costs on these non-strategic areas and compete on other areas where they can differentiate better. For example, the GENIVI Alliance, now called COVESA, is a not-for-profit consortium between different car makers in order to ease building an In-Vehicle Infotainment system. Another example is

1130-485: A for-profit consortium is a group of banks that collaborate to make a loan—also known as a syndicate . This type of loan is more commonly known as a syndicated loan . In England it is common for a consortium to buy out financially struggling football clubs in order to keep them out of liquidation . Alyeska Pipeline Service Company , the company that built the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in

1243-413: A height of 149 metres (489 ft) above the river bed or 101 metres (331 ft) above the bridge deck. Cable vibrations were experienced during construction and secondary cables were added to eliminate this. To avoid detracting from the aesthetics of the primary cables, the secondary cables are very slender and are not very noticeable. During the summer of 1994 the bridge deck launching gantry fell onto

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1356-453: A new company, Airbus SAS. In return, they got 80% and 20% shares respectively. BAE would later sell its share to EADS. The Tornado was developed and built by Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace (previously British Aircraft Corporation), MBB of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy. The aircraft first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multi-role design, it

1469-620: A non-profit consortium is the Appalachian College Association (ACA) located in Richmond, Kentucky . The association consists of 35 private liberal arts colleges and universities spread across the central Appalachian mountains in Kentucky , North Carolina , Tennessee , Virginia , and West Virginia . Collectively these higher education institutions serve approximately 42,500 students. Six research universities in

1582-401: A segment of the regular activities of these entities, based on an unnamed contract and characterized by a temporary nature, minimization of institutionalization, and lack of separate property , the need to specify how the parties participate in the joint venture and the intention not to establish a "community" with partly own interests (the partnership as such). According to this concept, despite

1695-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into

1808-451: A structure simply referred to as the "consortium." In the Polish legal system, the legal nature of the consortium agreement is disputed. According to the prevailing approach, a consortium is a form of cooperation, different from a civil law partnership, undertaken between economically independent entities already operating on the market in order to implement a specific undertaking that is

1921-572: A three-tier pricing system: Tolls could be paid by cash, major credit or debit cards, or by use of the Severn TAG system, which was a wireless electronic toll collection system that did not require vehicles to stop. Motorcycles and UK disabled badge holders travelling in a vehicle were exempted from paying a toll. Toll prices were reviewed annually on 1 January, in accordance with the Severn Bridges Act 1992. In late 2008, UK VAT

2034-978: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave

2147-645: Is a Latin word meaning " partnership ", "association", or "society", and derives from consors ("shared in property"), itself from con- ("together") and sors ("fate"). The Big Ten Academic Alliance in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S., Claremont Colleges consortium in Southern California, Five College Consortium in Massachusetts, and Consórcio Nacional Honda are among the oldest and most successful higher education consortia in

2260-552: Is a navigable channel which, at the site of the bridge, is known as "The Shoots". The bridge is upstream from Avonmouth and the Port of Bristol , but downstream from the Port of Sharpness . The Gloucester Harbour Trustees have responsibility for controlling navigation in the estuary's tidal waters upstream from the bridge. Until 1966, road travellers could either use the Aust Ferry , which had operated since medieval times (and as

2373-406: Is a purely contractual cooperative contract that does not entail the creation of a third party. The consortium has no legal personality or legal capacity . The contract is concluded between two or more natural or legal persons who undertake to carry out certain works in order to implement a joint project which consortium members would not be able to carry out themselves. The consortium agreement

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2486-554: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Consortium Consortium

2599-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to

2712-598: Is far less prone to such restrictions caused by crosswinds than the first Severn Bridge. On 18 February 2022, both the Prince of Wales Bridge and the Severn Bridge were closed during Storm Eunice , due to high winds. It was the first time that the Prince of Wales Bridge had been closed because of winds. On 5 April 2018, the Secretary of State for Wales , Alun Cairns , announced that the crossing would be renamed as

2825-559: Is not explicitly regulated by the French legislator, but it is admissible in the light of the principle of freedom of contract interpreted from articles 6 and 1134 of the French Civil Code . Neither consortium nor joint venture have a legal definition in U.K. law . The second term is usually used to describe various types of agreements where two or more parties cooperate in conducting business activities. This manifests e.g. in

2938-424: Is of cable-stayed design and the central span (between the bridge pylons) is 456 metres (1,496 ft) in length. The approach viaducts are of a segmental bridge design. The crossing forms a very slight reverse "S" curve – the roadway has an approximate east–west alignment at each of the portals, while the central bridge follows an alignment approximately WNW to ESE . The Severn Railway Tunnel passes under

3051-523: Is southwest of the Severn Bridge and because it is more closely in line with the rest of the M4, it reduces the length of the journey between England and Wales. The junctions at each end are designed for most traffic to use this crossing, and in order to use the old Severn Bridge, one has to leave the M4 at junction 21 and join the M48 near Aust or at junction 23 near Magor . The new crossing carries more traffic than

3164-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain

3277-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows

3390-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in

3503-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in

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3616-629: The Apollo and Space Shuttle at Cape Kennedy ) onto a barge (the SAR3), prior to being floated out on the high tide to the site. The 37 bridge pier foundations on the approach viaducts are 98.11 metres (321.9 ft) apart, and consist of open concrete caissons weighing up to 2,000 tonnes, which were founded on the rock of the estuary bed. The decking consists of 3.6-metre (11.8 ft) post-stressed match cast sections, weighing 200 tonnes (200 long tons; 220 short tons) each. The cable-stayed section of

3729-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol

3842-704: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and

3955-417: The Prince of Wales Bridge at a ceremony later in the year. He said that the renaming would be "a fitting tribute to His Royal Highness in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation". An online petition, heavily shared via social media, against the renaming had received more than 30,000 signatures by 8 April. Some politicians criticised

4068-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has

4181-857: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) , which is a consortium that standardizes web technologies like HTML , XML and CSS . The Institute for Food Safety and Health is a consortium consisting of the Illinois Institute of Technology , the Food and Drug Administration 's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition , and members of the food industry . Some of the work done at the institute includes, "assessment and validation of new and novel food safety and preservation technologies, processing and packaging systems, microbiological and chemical methods, health promoting food components, and risk management strategies." Commonly known in

4294-439: The ringed plover , redshank and whimbrel , while the curlew , dunlin and grey plover winter in the area. The birds feed on ragworm , lugworm and other invertebrates. Saltmarsh is found along the fringes of the coast. Beds of eelgrass occur on the more sheltered mud- and sandbanks. In 1976, in recognition of the importance of the estuary as a wetland used by migrating birds, an area of 247 km (95 sq mi)

4407-594: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for

4520-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in

4633-405: The 1970s, initially was a consortium of BP , ARCO , ConocoPhillips , Exxon , Mobil , Unocal , and Koch Alaska Pipeline Company. Airbus Industries was formed in 1970 as a consortium of aerospace manufacturers. The retention of production and engineering assets by the partner companies in effect made Airbus Industries a sales and marketing company. This arrangement led to inefficiencies due to

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4746-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,

4859-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for

4972-472: The Claremont Colleges) consists of Pomona College , Claremont Graduate University , Scripps College , Claremont McKenna College , Harvey Mudd College , Pitzer College , and Keck Graduate Institute . These consortia have pooled the resources of their member colleges and the universities to share human and material assets as well as to link academic and administrative resources. An example of

5085-479: The English side of length 2,103 m (6,900 ft; 1.307 mi), a 24 span viaduct of length 2,077 m (6,814 ft; 1.291 mi) on the Welsh side and the bridge itself, a 948 m (3,110 ft; 0.589 mi) structure with a 37 m (121 ft) navigational clearance, giving a total length of 5,128 m (16,824 ft; 3.186 mi). The central section, called the Shoots Bridge,

5198-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published

5311-642: The Gwent viaduct, causing the 200-tonne (200-long-ton; 220-short-ton) bridge deck unit to fall onto the deck below. Although this delayed the project by ten weeks, the builders still completed the bridge on schedule two years later. The crossing passes over mudflats in the Severn Estuary with part of the eastern approach viaduct sited on the English Stones , a rocky outcrop uncovered at low tide. The estuary wetlands are home to migrating birds such as

5424-475: The Severn Bridge, which is still in use. It is wider than the Severn Bridge, having three lanes and a narrow hard shoulder each way, compared to the two lanes, cycle path and narrow footpath of the original crossing. It is a cable-stayed bridge , whereas the Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge . The position of the bridge is close to that of the Severn Tunnel , which has carried the railway line beneath

5537-408: The United States as a rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) and also called Savings Clubs, Christmas clubs , sousou or even money circles, they are typically informal associations of people saving money together with a commonly shared goal: buying something with the same value. In this association its members contribute by paying equal amount installments (usually monthly or weekly) towards

5650-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,

5763-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither

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5876-667: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of

5989-526: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer

6102-487: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to

6215-630: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of

6328-431: The approach roads and toll plaza resulted in the permanent loss of some wet pastureland. Field surveys carried out in 2003 and 2004 reported that the bridge had little effect on the flight paths of the various birds – it was noted that when curlews, dunlins and lapwings approached the bridge, they would change course to gain height and fly over the bridge, but that oystercatchers and turnstones would fly under

6441-449: The bridge for a specified period. The consortium would also take over the management of the old bridge and the associated £100 million debt. Tenders were invited in 1989; and in 1990 the concession to build the bridge was awarded to Severn River Crossing plc. Construction work started on 26 April 1992 and the bridge was opened by Prince Charles (the future Charles III , then the Prince of Wales), on 5 June 1996. The chief architect of

6554-630: The bridge was Ronald Weeks of the Cardiff-based Percy Thomas Partnership , with the detailed engineering design by the Halcrow Group and the French consultancy SEEE  [ fr ] . The bridge has portals close to Sudbrook , Monmouthshire on the Welsh side and Severn Beach in South Gloucestershire on the English side. It has three principal sections – a 25 span viaduct on

6667-406: The bridge was closed due to bad weather for the first time since its opening, after a number of vehicles were hit by falling ice. Bad weather, and again falling ice, repeated this in December 2009. Temporary speed limits are put in place due to high winds or thick fog, with drivers informed by the electronic signs. Because of the more advanced aerodynamic design of the later bridge, the Second Crossing

6780-560: The bridge while the absence of other waders was attributed to the rocky nature of the foreshore. The consortium consisting of two civil engineering firms and two banks that funded and built the bridge had a 30-year concession to redeem its outlay from tolls collected from users of the bridge. At the end of the concession period in January 2018, the bridge passed into public ownership, and is now managed by National Highways . Tolls were collected from westbound traffic only, near Rogiet , 2 miles (3.2 km) in Wales. Tolls charges were based on

6893-449: The bridge. The surveys also showed that the bridge had minimal impact on the roosting habits of most birds, though a flock of mallards were seen to be roosting directly under the bridge, with many positioning themselves on the dry concrete base on one of the pillars. Likewise, it was noted that the bridge had little impact on the birds' feeding habits – turnstones and lapwings were recorded as feeding on mudflats directly under

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7006-535: The cable pylons, for bridge maintenance . It can carry up to four passengers plus two tonnes of equipment in its trailer, with an integral crane and safety features such as interlocks , emergency battery propulsion capable of returning to either end of the crossing, and a dead man's switch . During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rapid Access Train was initially disused for a number of years due to rail faults, but has subsequently been returned to service. Travelling access gantries are also present underneath each segment of

7119-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of

7232-456: The common fund administrators charge a fixed fee in order to take responsibility and guarantee the integrity of the process. In France , the consortium, considered a sub-type of joint venture , has important theoretical and practical significance. The French legal system does not provide a definition and does not explicitly use the concept of a joint venture or consortium ( groupements momentanés d’entreprises ). The consortium agreement in France

7345-406: The consortium and the pool. Cooperation agreements concluded under German law are not of a uniform legal nature. There is a great wealth of legal forms of cooperation that could be cautiously qualified as consortium agreements. This is in particular a civil law partnership in its internal and occasional variants ( Gelegenheitsgesellschaft ), as well as a partnership of building contractors ( ARGE ) and

7458-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within

7571-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of

7684-411: The crossing is over 1,044.7 metres (3,427.5 ft) long, consisting of a 34.6-metre (113.5 ft) wide deck made from steel plate girders with a composite reinforced concrete slab. These were prefabricated on shore and put in place using balanced cantilever methods. There are two high twin-leg, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete pylons carrying 240 cables which support the bridge deck, rising to

7797-400: The crossing to allow for inspection and maintenance across the full width of the structure, with hydraulic lift platforms capable of reaching multiple levels. The crossing was built by a business consortium under a public-private partnership . A company called Severn River Crossing plc, led by John Laing plc and GTM-Entrepose, was formed to build the new crossing. This company also took over

7910-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over

8023-415: The end of 2018, claiming that this would boost the South Wales economy by around £100m a year. In September 2017, Cairns confirmed that tolls would be reduced in January 2018 as VAT is removed. As announced on 2 October 2018, tolls were abolished on 17 December 2018. The toll levied was always identical to that on the Severn Bridge . The bridge was built at a cost of £330 million (excluding VAT) and

8136-482: The estuary bed on a line which is generally about 500 metres (1,600 ft) upstream of the bridge, but which passes under the line of the bridge close to the English shore. The deck, which carries three lanes of traffic in each direction, is 34.6 metres (114 ft) wide. The sides of the bridge are fitted with 3-metre (10 ft) baffle plates to reduce lateral wind loads coming from the Severn Estuary onto

8249-425: The first Severn Bridge had tripled and it was projected that by the mid-1990s, the old bridge would be running at capacity. A study was commissioned into building either a second bridge or a tunnel. The consultants reported back in 1986, recommending that a new bridge be built downstream from the existing bridge. In 1988, it was announced that tenders would be invited from private consortia to fund, build and operate

8362-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of

8475-891: The general law of contract, similar to an ordinary partnership agreement , does not create a separate entity. In Germany the view prevails that the consortium is a type of internal civil law partnership (§ 705–740 of the BGB ). In external relations, consortium members may decide on joint and several liability regulated by § 421 BGB, while internally there is sometimes a release from this liability. Joint ventures often include credit syndicates (Kreditkonsortien), securities issuing consortia, including mainly shares ( Emissionskonsortien ), construction consortia ( Baukonsortien ) also referred to as investment ( Investitionskonsortien ) and profit pools ( Ergebnispools ). Sometimes, special purpose partnerships established to jointly use construction facilities ( Planungsgesellschaften ) are listed in one category with

8588-469: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval

8701-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to

8814-456: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period

8927-495: The immediate damage from construction work and the effects of long-term pollution from a projected increase in car traffic. The construction process resulted in a temporary increase in turbidity of the Severn waters. Although eelgrass is reasonably tolerant to short-term high turbidity and consequent loss of light, the bed of eelgrass in the river was observed to decline considerably during the period of construction. The construction of

9040-589: The inherent conflicts of interest that the four partner companies faced; they were both shareholders of, and subcontractors to, the consortium. The companies collaborated on development of the Airbus range, but guarded the financial details of their own production activities and sought to maximize the transfer prices of their sub-assemblies. In 2001, EADS (created by the merger of French, German and Spanish Airbus partner companies) and BAE Systems (the British partner company) transferred their Airbus production assets to

9153-433: The joint distribution of profit, sharing cash, assets, knowledge or abilities. As there are no legal provisions regulating in detail the consortium or joint venture, the relations between the parties participating in this type of agreement—when choosing a joint venture as a collaboration agreement or a special partnership —are subject to common law or the provisions of the partnership law . A consortium agreement governed by

9266-595: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for

9379-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to

9492-555: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c.  600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )

9605-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in

9718-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,

9831-613: The outstanding debt on the original Severn Bridge and to operate the two bridges as a single entity. Tolls were set annually by the government based on the previous year's change in the Retail Price Index . On the expiry of the concession in January 2018, the consortium was required to hand the bridge over to public ownership. The tolls on both bridges were subsequently scrapped in December 2018. The Severn Estuary presented

9944-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to

10057-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,

10170-488: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase

10283-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over

10396-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by

10509-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in

10622-535: The proposed renaming and the lack of public consultation on it, but it was confirmed that the First Minister of Wales , Carwyn Jones , had raised no objection to the proposal. The bridge was formally renamed on 2 July 2018 where a plaque was unveiled by the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall , which was followed by a reception for local dignitaries and business leaders at the nearby Celtic Manor Resort . There

10735-488: The region ( University of Kentucky , University of North Carolina , University of Tennessee , West Virginia University , University of Virginia , and Virginia Tech ) are affiliated with the ACA. These institutions assist the ACA in reviewing grant and fellowship applications, conducting workshops, and providing technical assistance. The ACA works to serve higher education in the rural regions of these five states. An example of

10848-583: The repayments were likely to continue until the early 2020s due to the introduction of a revised settlement to the operator in return for accepting payment by debit and credit cards. The announcement said that even after repayment was complete the toll charges would likely remain at the same levels. However, in July 2017 it was announced that the toll would be abolished, In July 2017, the Welsh Secretary , Alun Cairns , announced that tolls would be scrapped at

10961-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of

11074-447: The responsibility of managing and maintaining the old Severn Bridge crossing, as well as managing and maintaining the new crossing. The cost of constructing the new crossing was to be paid for by tolls collected from motorists using the two crossings. Work on the new crossing began in 1992. Completion was in 1996. Sub-assemblies for the bridge were constructed onshore and then shifted by a large tracked vehicle (similar to that used to move

11187-436: The river bed since 1886. Much of the estuary is mudflats at low tide, but at high tide these can be covered by as much as 14 metres (46 ft) of water. This presented the engineers with a constraint: packets of work were scheduled at low tide, and needed to be completed within the short windows allowed by the tides. The concession given to the consortium which financed, built and operate the bridge required them to take over

11300-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in

11413-512: The then Chancellor of the Exchequer , announced in March 2015 that the tolls would be reduced to £5.40 in 2018, due to VAT being removed when the bridge comes into public ownership. In the 2016 United Kingdom budget , Osborne announced that toll charges on the Severn crossings would be halved in 2018. The toll was due to be cut to £5.40 in 2017 but was increased. It was reported in 2012 that

11526-512: The traffic; this has reduced the number of times that speed restrictions have been needed. The overall design of the new crossing makes it more resistant to high winds than the old Severn Bridge. A small diesel-powered monorail , the Rapid Access Train , runs underneath the full length of the crossing at a top speed of 1.5 metres per second (3.4 mph; 5.4 km/h), and is used for safe access to ten stations, such as lifts inside

11639-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from

11752-933: The world. The Big Ten Academic Alliance , formerly known as the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, includes the members of the Big Ten athletic conference. The participants in Five Colleges, Inc. are: Amherst College , Hampshire College , Mount Holyoke College , Smith College , and the University of Massachusetts Amherst . Another example of a successful consortium is the Five Colleges of Ohio of Ohio: Oberlin College , Ohio Wesleyan University , Kenyon College , College of Wooster and Denison University . The aforementioned Claremont Consortium (known as

11865-471: Was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the only export operator of the Tornado in addition to the three original partner nations. Including all variants, 992 aircraft were built. Coopetition , deriving from a portmanteau of cooperation and competition, is the word used when companies otherwise competitors collaborate in

11978-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to

12091-489: Was designated a Ramsar site . In 1988, the Severn Estuary was designated a Special Protection Area . The same year an area of 99 km (38 sq mi) was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and designated as such the following year; in 1995, this was extended to cover the whole of the Ramsar site. Prior to the bridge's construction, environmentalists raised numerous concerns and criticisms, chiefly about

12204-503: Was no prior press release or other official communication from either the UK or Welsh Governments. The total cost for renaming the bridge, including the installation of two above road signs (and associated staffing costs to close the carriageways with and traffic diverted via the M48) along with the ceremony was £216,513.39. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )

12317-541: Was owned by the company Severn River Crossing Plc. As of November 2010, Severn River Crossing Plc was owned The company's 2011 annual report showed the same companies still owned, through subsidiary companies, all the issued ordinary share capital of the Plc. In 2012, changes were made to the agreement to reflect the effect of changes in VAT and Corporation Tax and the costs of installing credit card handling systems. The net effect

12430-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through

12543-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern

12656-427: Was reduced from 17.5% to 15%, but the bridge toll remained unchanged. For convenience the tolls were kept at round multiples of 10p (the bridge toll was largely paid in cash as card payments were not accepted until mid-2012), but the 13p VAT reduction was not passed on immediately. In 2009, the planned toll for cars would have been £5.50, as the announcements listed, but the actual toll charged was £5.40. George Osborne ,

12769-525: Was to increase the required revenue from £995.83 million to £1,028.91 million in 1989 prices. Ownership of the crossing and the original Severn Bridge returned to the UK government on 8 January 2018, when the project's required revenue, as defined in the Concession Agreement with the Secretary of State for Transport , had been collected. At that point, responsibility for operating the bridge passed to National Highways . On 6 February 2009,

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