The centre of Bridgwater was a notorious bottleneck on the "holiday route" as traffic from both the A38 and the A39 had to negotiate through the town centre in order to cross the River Parrett. The construction of a new reinforced concrete road bridge, the Blake Bridge, which opened in March 1958 as part of a southern bypass took much of the traffic away from the centre of Bridgwater. The opening of the M5 in 1974 further reduced the traffic pressure. This is complemented by a link road (Western Way) linking the A38 and the A39 north and west of the town respectively.