All roads might lead to Rome, but they certainly won't lead from Gloucestershire to Wales this summer.

Anyone wanting to travel between the county and South Wales over the summer faces a double whammy of the closure of both the M48 Severn Bridge and the railway between Newport and Gloucester.

Inspection works on the M48 Severn Bridge are expected to start this month and last for around eight months. During this time, drivers will face disruption due to lane closures.

The bridge will be completely closed for three weekends, with the first closure taking place on the weekend of June 25.

On its website, National Highways reports that the inspection works are to ensure the bridge remains safe for the future

National Highways said: "The M48 is one of the UK's only parallel strand bridges, and there are very small spaces between the 5mm wires that form the bridge cable that allowed moisture to enter and cause corrosion. The corrosion was found in 2006 and measures have been undertaken to minimise any further corrosion and monitor the cables.

"As part of this, the 511mm diameter main cable cables are opened up and inspected every five years to ensure the levels of corrosion have not increased."

Meanwhile, Network Rail is carrying out essential works to the railway line running between Newport and Gloucester.

Due to its location on the Severn Estuary, the line is often exposed to rain, wind and sea. There have been five major landslips in the area over the past two years.

The £25m project will include removal of approximately 30,000 tonnes of material from the cliff face along a three-mile stretch of railway near Lydney. A mesh and bolt system will be installed to protect the railway from falling debris in the future.

The line will be closed between Lydney and Gloucester from July 18 until September 3. The closure will extend to Severn Tunnel Junction from July 18 to July 30, as work is carried out to renew the track over the Chepstow Viaduct.

During the closure, replacement buses will run between Newport and Gloucester every hour, stopping at all stations.