New road scheme set to improve journey times and connectivity in south west Wales
A new road scheme in Pembrokeshire has been opened thanks to a £60 million joint investment by Welsh Government and the EU.
The A40 Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross rod scheme, which was officially opened on Friday 2 May by the First Minister, Eluned Morgan, aims to improve connectivity, reduce journey times, provide extra resilience and reliability, and enhance road safety.
It delivers a new 6km upgrade to the old road, a new carriageway, new roundabouts, 2 new bridges, 22 culverts, a new active travel route and environmental landscaping with over 450,000 plants and trees.
As well as providing improved accessibility along the east-west transport corridor in south Wales to key employment, community and tourism destinations, the scheme has also created significant opportunities for the national and local economy, including employing 97% of workers from across Wales, working with more than 100 Welsh businesses as part of the supply chain alongside employing more than 50 unemployed people and 16 apprentices from the area.
Benefits
A series of environmental benefits have also been delivered by the scheme such as the safeguarding of protected species including badgers, bats, and dormice via mammal fencing, underpasses, and habitat connectivity and the planting of 150,000 new trees and 300,000 new plants.
The First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan said: “Fixing our roads is a key priority for us. We’ve spent £1bn fixing and improving our roads since 2021, including more than £250m in the past year.
“The completion of the A40 Llanddewi Velfrey to Redstone Cross Improvement scheme is excellent news for Southwest Wales, providing a more resilient accessible transport link for tourism and key strategic ports in Pembrokeshire.
“The scheme also helps connect local communities to key transport hubs, as well as promoting healthy lifestyles with the introduction of a new route for people wishing to cycle, walk or ride horses.”
Complex project
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates shared: “This project is an impressive piece of engineering and a great example of how targeted investment in road infrastructure can deliver on many levels, providing jobs for the local community, improving accessibility, supporting education and skills, alongside delivering environmental benefits.”
He added: “It’s been a complex project involving a number of key partners and I would like to thank everyone who has played their part in helping us to deliver this.”
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More roads down South, sweet fa for the rest of Cymru
Well done you. 😡
Apart from the £139m Caernarfon bypass.
Aren’t we lucky, it has made a heck of a difference for thousands of drivers and locals, Llanbedr however is still a bottleneck…
Will be cheaper to demolish Llanbedr !
Once upon a time the output from Cooke’s Explosives for a day could have given ‘Blaster Bates’ enough dynamite to do both jobs…
.. without even moving the stuff from the factory !
Might have been cheaper to demolish Caernarfon !
Yep makes a very big difference that, use it all the time. Its knocks 10mins off journey time at least.
Not anywhere near enough though, try driving down from North to anywhere in the South.
South East Wales in particular get everything. Mid and North &West need more.
The A470 should be dualled, not as a single project but by each council incrementally doing their own section over 20 years.
Any sign of Reform councillors popping up with their own ribbon for a photo op?