Work set to begin on long-awaited active travel bridge

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

The next stage of work on a new river bridge so pedestrians and cyclists can avoid a narrow footpath along a busy main road can begin.

The car free bridge, which will make journeys by foot and bicycle to a town centre, hospital local secondary school, a rail and bus station and a Waitrose supermarket, safer has been in the planning for more than 15 years and was granted planning permission eight years ago.

Work on the first phase of the Llanfoist to Abergavenny active travel bridge has already been completed and Monmouthshire County Council’s Labour/Green Party cabinet has agreed to the schedule of construction costs for the second stage and to exchange contracts with Balfour Beatty.

The decision means work can get underway this month with only a tight window for working in the river Usk, which is designated as a Special Area of Conservation.

The council was awarded £10.4 million construction funding from the Welsh Government’s active travel fund and has agreed a contract price with Balfour Beatty of £8.351m. It also has a further £3.6m this year, from the regional transport fund, to improve links to the new bridge on both sides of the river.

However that work will only be confirmed once it is known if construction of the bridge will run into a third year, in summer 2028, if river working and weather conditions mean the bridge is unable to be completed by September 2027.

Councillor Sara Burch, who represents the Abergavenny Cantref ward and is responsible for the project, said environmental body Natural Resources Wales also had to be satisfied on the construction plans due to impact on the river and Castle Meadows, where the bridge will land on the Abergavenny side, which is a protected site  of special scientific interest and which suffers seasonal flooding.

The Labour councillor said: “It has taken a frustratingly long time but is the construction of a bridge in a triple S I spanning one of Wales’ most turbulent rivers.”

A steel structure, which is assembled off site, will be installed when work in the river is completed.

Labour’s Abergavenny Grofield councillor Laura Wright asked what arrangements would be in place to maintain access to Castle Meadows and Cllr Burch said thee will be a work compound and said the council has also been in contact with local groups and will also display information in the area.

Llanfoist Labour member Cllr Ben Callard said he isn’t a “nervous parent” but said crossing Merthyr Road, using the narrow pavement on only one side of the current listed bridge, while cycling with his eight-year-old, was uncomfortable.

He said: “It was still pretty scary coming across that bridge with the main road. I look forward to seeing it completed.”