M32 motorway along the viaduct, while surveying work was carried out in 2016 during the Metrobus junction refurbishments. The M32 has been criticised for severing longstanding links in Bristol. Older residents have claimed that formerly close-knit communities such as Easton have been shut off by the imposing concrete barriers next to the motorway. It has been criticised for running alongside the grounds of Stoke Park, spoiling the local atmosphere and requiring part of the estate including the Duchess Pond to be demolished. In 2008, Jeremy Isaacs claimed the motorway was a reason that Bristol did not win the European Capital of Culture
M32 motorway national builders' strike. During construction, the Local Government Act 1972 was passed, and responsibility passed to the newly created Avon County Council in April 1974. This section, and hence the full extent of the motorway, was opened to traffic in May 1975. The cost was reported to be £10.4 million (now £ million). A bus lane, constructed in 2008 on the southbound carriageway of the A4032, Newfoundland Way, links the end of the M32 at junction 3 with Cabot Circus. It starts just south of junction 3 and runs for , adjacent to the central reservation, and becomes a general