Welsh county council in talks about solutions for ‘unbearable’ traffic congestion on A48

Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter

Solutions for the “unbearable” traffic congestion on the A48 will be considered by a working group set up by the local county council.

The plans to work together to solve the increasing problem have come after renewed calls for a Forest Gateway bypass.

Gloucestershire County Council chiefs say a working group is being set up with Monmouthshire County Council.

And this will look at a range of options to ease traffic congestion including a bypass at Sedbury and public transport improvements.

Civic chiefs say a lot of the traffic is from people commuting from the Forest of Dean to Bristol.

There have been calls over the years for a new bridge over the Severn to link the A48 with the A38 near Berkeley. However, this idea is seen as a “non-runner” due to costs.

Councillor pleased

Councillor Nick Evans (C, Tidenham), who has long advocated for a bypass at Chepstow, is pleased the issue is being raised.

But he says there is a need for a bypass now and fears setting up a working group may be “kicking the issue into the long grass”.

“These discussions have already been had,” he said. “Gloucestershire 2050 looked at the Lydney bridge.

“A detailed plan has already been developed by Arup looking at the problems around Chepstow.

“It looked at a large bypass, a smaller bypass, e-bikes, cargo bikes and all these other things to potentially solve these problems.

“This work has already been done. Look at that first and try and take those recommendations forward rather than just defer it for another decision, another three years down the line.

“The traffic has gotten worse and the congestion is even more unbearable.

“Notwithstanding these views however, I am happy and keen to work with and be part of this working group to make progress as soon as possible and have already written to the leader of the Forest of Dean District Council to offer any and all assistance I can provide.”

Prospect of a bypass

Roger Whyborn (LD, Benhall and Up Hatherley), the County Council’s sustainable transport and strategic highways, said it was early days but confirmed the group would look at the prospect of a bypass for Chepstow.

“The heart of the issue is there is this one road, the A48, which goes over the River Wye and it is hugely up to capacity and more,” he said.

“There is a problem of people trying to travel between the two areas but a lot of those people are also commuting to Bristol from the Forest.

“It’s very early days to say what the working group will come up with but one of the prospects is a bypass around Sedbury and Chepstow that goes over the Wye.”

Rail service

He said the council is also looking at what could be done to improve the rail service at Lydney.

“The transport connections between the Forest and Bristol by train are very poor at the moment,” he said.

“There’s only one train an hour that stops at Lydney and Severn Tunnel Junction where you have to change.

“But there are two trains an hour that go through the Severn Tunnel. If we could get more trains between Gloucester and Newport stopping at Lydney and  the Severn Tunnel Junction we could start to make some serious inroads into a public transport solution.”

Cllr Whyborn also said a Lydney bridge is a non-starter.

He said there is a lot of public interest in that option but all preliminary studies suggest it is not financially viable

“It’s a nice romantic idea because there was once a railway bridge over the Severn,” he said.

“But in my personal opinion it is not a runner, unfortunately.”