The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) () or the Cardiff Link Road (), is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road in 1978 and the latest section was phase 1 of the Eastern Bay Link Road, known as Ewart Parkinson Road in 2017. When fully completed, the road will form part of the Cardiff ring road system. The PDR runs west, south and east of Cardiff, with the M4 between junction 30 and junction 33 completing the northern section. The PDR is dual carriageway for its entire length except for Rover Way and the East Moors Viaduct, which is a single carriageway. The entire length of the road has clearway restrictions on it.
The PDR has been constructed in separate link roads of between and around Cardiff and to date including spurs have been opened to traffic, with plans for a further . It has 5 large viaducts (Ely Viaduct, Grangetown Viaduct, Taff Viaduct, Eastern Bay Link Viaduct and the East Moors Viaduct), 1 tunnel (Queen's Gate Tunnel) and 2 spur roads (Cogan Spur and Central Link Road). The road has many grade separated interchanges.
The section of the road between Junction 33 of the M4 and A48 at Culverhouse Cross is designated a trunk road in Wales and it's managed and maintained by the South Wales Trunk Road Agent. The remainder of the road is the responsibility of Cardiff Council.
The road was conceived in the early 1970s, and planning by South Glamorgan County Council began in the late 1970s. At that stage the road was planned to be completed by 1995 and would relieve Ely, Grangetown, Butetown and East Moors of through traffic and provide a fast link to the national motorway network via the M4 and A48(M). The first section of the PDR to be completed was the Southern Way Link Road between Newport Road (A4161 road) and the Eastern Avenue (A48 road) in 1978 and the last section of the PDR, the first phase of the Eastern Bay Link Road, which was opened to the public in June 2017.
The former chairman of the South Glamorgan County Council environment committee, Councillor Paddy Kitson, called the road a "necklace of opportunity" due to its shape and also the opportunities for regeneration. By 1 April 1996 the responsibility for the road was transferred from South Glamorgan County Council to the unitary authority of Cardiff Council. Much of the funding for the road had been grant aided from the European Community and the UK Government on the basis that it would improve the economic viability of the area and bring in new jobs and industry. However, since the completion of the Butetown Link Road, funding for further developments have been at a standstill, and to date including spurs are open to traffic with plans for a further . The "missing link", the second and final phase of the Eastern Bay Link Road, is still to be built.
The PDR has 3 separate sections: the Capel Llanilltern Interchange (M4 J33) to the Ocean Way roundabout, the Lamby Way roundabout to the Llanedeyrn Interchange (A48) and the Pontprennau Interchange (A48) to the Pentwyn Interchange (M4 J30).
The section from the Capel Llanilltern Interchange on the M4 (junction 33) to the Ocean Way roundabout is sometimes referred to as the Western Link Road (), is in length and includes the Capel Llanilltern â Culverhouse Cross Link Road, Ely Link Road, Grangetown Link Road and Butetown Link Road. For the majority of this section it is the boundary between the City of Cardiff to the east and the Vale of Glamorgan to the west.