Renewed calls for M4 relief road as FM pledges ‘roads based’ solution
Emily Price
Renewed calls have been made for an M4 relief road after Wales’ new First Minister pledged to pursue a “roads-based” solution to congestion.
Rhun ap Iorwerth told BBC Walescast on Thursday (May 28) that the Brynglas Tunnels in Newport are an “economic problem for Wales”.
However, the new Plaid FM did not commit to a specific scheme to relieve traffic on the M4 Corridor around Newport, also known as the “black route”.
Speaking at the Urdd Eisteddfod on Anglesey, ap Iorwerth said that something needed to be done to “unclog that Brynglas bottleneck”.
“We remain against that black route as it was called, which was unnecessary,” he said, adding that a “road-based solution” was still needed alongside new railway stations between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel.
The First Minister said options could include upgrading an existing dual carriageway through the south of Newport.
“What we need to do is do the work, and we will, to find the solutions,” he said.
Welsh Labour accused ap Iorwerth of making an “unfunded transport promise”.
The 14-mile stretch of road proposed by the previous Labour government was designed to bypass traffic congestion on Wales’ busiest road south of Newport by building a new motorway on the Gwent Levels.
But the six-lane scheme was axed in June 2019 by then-First Minister Mark Drakeford – a highly controversial decision given over £100m had been spent on the project already.
The cost of the project had ballooned to over £1.6 billion and Drakeford ruled the road would cause irreversible damage to the protected wildlife and habitats of the Gwent Levels nature reserve.
It followed a public inquiry overseen by former planning inspector Bill Wadrup, who concluded that a scheme from Junction 23 to Junction 29 was in the public interest and that environmental objections were overstated.
In June 2025, the Welsh Conservatives tabled a motion that the party hoped with revive the project.
However, Plaid Cymru and Welsh Labour teamed up to vote the motion down.
The Tories in the Senedd say that “after decades of promises to tackle congestion on the M4” motorists and businesses are still waiting “to see meaningful action and results”.
Shadow Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, Janet Finch-Saunders said: “The Brynglas Tunnels are among the most congested stretches of road anywhere in the United Kingdom.
“The previous Labour Government, backed by Plaid Cymru at the time, scrapped the M4 relief road after spending £157 million of taxpayers’ money on planning its delivery.
“Vague words about finding a ‘roads-based solution’ are not enough. We now need a clear commitment from the First Minister to deliver an M4 Relief Road and other vital infrastructure needed to grow the Welsh economy and ease pressure on motorists.”
Local Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd for Newport and Islwyn, Natasha Asghar said: “For decades, we have seen broken promise after broken promise when it comes to congestion on the M4.
“The First Minister must now deliver for the people of Newport and Islwyn, warm words alone are not enough.
“If Plaid Cymru is serious about tackling traffic problems in South East Wales, it must commit to delivering an M4 relief road to ease pressure on drivers, attract investment and boost the economy.”
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Really hope they don’t end up spending billions on any version of the M4 relief road, there are far better and cheaper ways to keep traffic moving, such as: 1) Consider widening the M4 just between Junctions 28 and 29 so that there is a totally dedicated lane between the A48M and the Tredegar roundabout in each direction. This should help keep that part of the M4 free flowing by reducing conflicts at the current junction which is one the pinch points. They are only about 0.6 miles apart so relatively cheap compared to a new M4 relief road. 2)… Read more »
They widened the M5 a few times, didn’t improve matters. Now a smart Mway in places which is lethal. They have re jigged (re built) the junctions around Newport to try to easy traffic, didn’t work. But shutting junctions is something I wonder if it has been looked at. Access road around Newport is fine from Magor until you get to Newport and then its stop start to Tredegar. That flow is awful because of many junctions and for some reason the ppoelpl that live there w=use their cars… Rail links. Now there is something that needs to be improved… Read more »
Public transport has to be maximised first but this route serves the whole of south Wales and links Ireland to England so there’s no chance of getting all that onto public and active travel.
Don’t think it’s a question of getting all traffic off the road – more about reducing traffic flow to prevent congestion.
There’s two perspectives to consider. There’s now, and there’s the future. Right now if a third of M4 drivers would willingly use public transport if it was good enough the focus should be on providing world class public transport options so they can do exactly that. That then frees up the roads to flow better for the residual traffic that most accept can’t use public transport for whatever reason. But we need to plan for a future where south Wales is a European economic powerhouse. That growth will grow demand for public transport which can easily respond with longer trains… Read more »
This BBC article cites DfT figures on use of that part of the M4. Looks like traffic figures are still less than pre-Covid and 2024 use is slightly down on 2023.
So I’m not sure that traffic will continue to increase. Of course, if a new road is built, it’s likely that traffic will increase.
Build more roads, get more traffic.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czd2eye3mgdo
The number of people moving about is linked to the size of the economy. If you want the economy to double the number of people moving around will double. This point is entirely separate to their mode of travel.
It’s removing the local flow. Heads of the Valley is a good route to bypass if coming from the midlands. They re engineered the junctions at the tunnels to try to change the flow and that didn’t work. Same happens on the elevated section at Port Talbot.
Though the Irish wagons are less now the land bridge is bypassed a lot more since Brexit.
Sensible stuff. Could be massive for commuters and the economy.
I agree. Not just sensible but serious; we havent had serious government in Wales for a long time.
Turning South Wales into a giant car park.
Talk of transport improvements on the M4 must have been a hard sell on Ynys Mon, Rhun…!
It really is about time that politicians and planners stopped looking at ways to accommodate ever increasing volumes of road traffic and instead look seriously of ways to reduce it. Over the last 60 years, countless billions have been spent on road infrastructure and it’s never enough, it’s a bottomless pit. Because of induced demand, build a bypass or a motorway and within a few years it’s just as bad as before. The M4 was built to bypass Newport and Cardiff, now people want a bypass to bypass the bypass!
Exactly. Well said.
The M4 at Newport has never been the proper motorway it was supposed to be.
What was it supposed to have been then?
It was originally designed to take the A48 out of Newport city centre.
Keep in mind that not everyone in Newport wants yet another M4 in their back garden, or through their coast/countryside, just to benefit some opportunist in Cardiff or visiting Tory-Reform activists/members. Work with what you have, re-think/improve what you have already. No more over-running infrastructure lining the pockets of lazy construction fat cats (probably Tory Reform extractionists here and abroad)!
If Plaid gives in to the less intelligent of society and destroys our fragile natural eco system they will be deader than labour.
You’ll notice that the ones screaming are rarely from the area.
There’s now a perfectly usable, affordable and reliable transport system available in the region, Plaid should concentrate on gently encouraging people not to be so precious about their cars.
They’ve previously supported the brownfield blue route over the expensive greenfield black route.
Can’t say I have a particularly strong opinion because it doesn’t affect my day to day commute, but I’m inclined towards the Blue Route. Cheaper, uses existing infrastructure, improves local road resilience, and minimises impact on rural land.
Unfortunately, even this approach isn’t without its drawbacks. It would do little to relieve congestion on the M4 itself, and likely still leave bottlenecks at key junctions and tunnels.
Then there’s the issue of traffic being pushed into urban Newport through the SDR/A48, which would cause more tailbacks in heavily residential areas.
Back to the drawing board I guess.