Road closures planned due to South Wales Metro electrification

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A number of roads and footways will close across Cardiff as part of South Wales Metro plans to electrify railway lines.

Transport for Wales (TfW) said the Highfield Road and Heath Halt overbridges will close on Saturday, February 1, and Sunday, February 2, as it conducts testing of electric overhead power lines.

Closures

The Highfield Road bridge will be closed for vehicles and pedestrians, but Heath Halt bridge will be closed to just vehicles

Diversions will be in place from 8am to 8pm on February 1, and from 9am to 8pm on February 2.

TfW states in a notice on the Highfield Road bridge closure that it will run a shuttle bus between the bus stops on Allensbank Road and Lake Road West. The service will run from 8am to 8pm on both days.

A diversion will direct cars over the railway via Wedal Road, to the south of Highfield Road.

Several footbridges and level crossings will also be closed during this period.

Pentrebach Road in Rhiwbina and Station Road in Llanishen will be affected by works.

The TfW notice states there will be “traffic management” in place from 8am to 8pm on February 1, and from 9am to 8pm on February 2, which will allow single-lane traffic only along the bridges on these roads.

A number of footbridges and level crossings will also need to close that weekend.

Including Whitchurch Level crossing (leading from Pen-Y-Dre to Caedelyn Park), Ty Glas level crossing, Rhiwbina station footbridge and Lisvane and Thornhill station footbridge.

Testing

The testing work being carried out by TfW is part of its plans to electrify the Coryton line and the Rhymney line, which goes from Caerphilly to Cardiff Queen Street.

South Wales Metro is TfW’s project to develop an integrated public transport service involving buses, trams and trains.

The upgrading of lines which are part of what’s known as the Core Valleys Lines forms an integral part of the Metro project.

As part of this work, 170km of track is being electrified, including lines to Aberdare, Coryton, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Treherbert.

Work also involves upgrading stations and developing new ones.

As part of its notice on the coming electrification works, TfW has warned members of the public again about the dangers of overhead power lines.

The notice reads: “The overhead power lines that carry 25,000 volts will be ‘live’, making it extremely dangerous for any persons to come close to the overhead wires or any associated part of the structures. This includes the supporting masts, switch feeds and cables.

“The overhead power lines are always on, and you don’t need to touch them to be harmed or killed as the electricity can jump over 2.75m.

“It is also extremely dangerous to trespass on the railway, as over the coming months we will be testing our new electric trains across the network, and these train movements do not always appear on our information boards or online journey planners.

“Due to this, it’s important to pay attention when using level crossings, making sure to stop, look and listen before crossing.”