00:00It's taken four years to build and has caused plenty of disruption, but the new road between
00:05Llandewi, Felfry and Redstone Cross is finally complete, much to the relief of local firms
00:12like this bus company that use the road every day.
00:15There's been disruption. Some days we'd be disrupted a long time, perhaps 20 minutes,
00:22but then the next week we'd be flying through. When we were doing the public service from
00:27Haverford West to Cymarthen, that was more of an issue than doing the schools. It's done,
00:33thank goodness it's finished, and let's see how it goes.
00:36For years, there was pressure to build a dual carriageway all the way from Sinclair's to
00:40Haverford West, but that was judged to be too costly. This is a major route for freight
00:46traveling to and from Ireland and for tourists. The £60 million improvement between Llandewi,
00:53Felfry and Redstone Cross has been funded by European and Welsh Government money and was
00:58open to traffic for the first time by the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport.
01:04This has been a huge construction project over the last four years. Six kilometers of new carriageway,
01:11two new bridges, two new junctions and two new roundabouts. There's also provision for pedestrians,
01:17cyclists and horse riders. The small village of Llandewi, Felfry has finally got its bypass
01:23after decades of campaigning and is no longer on the main A40 route.
01:28It's very needed, dangerous walking through the village and things, so it's going to transform
01:33the village in many ways. It's going to be very different. I think we've probably become more of
01:37a community now. We won't have a road dividing us, so it's exciting times moving forward.
01:41The building work began before the Welsh Government decided in 2023 to cancel future road projects
01:48and concentrate on public transport. One local haulage firm has welcomed the investment,
01:53but says more improvements are needed across South Wales.
01:56The improvement was definitely needed. Summer holidays and school holidays, Easter holidays,
02:01was terrible. So it was needed. However, it is needed elsewhere also. It's needed up the M4 corridor
02:08on the Brynglas tunnels. Hopefully now, I know there's been mention of it being put back once again,
02:16but hopefully there will be some light at the end of the tunnel here also to get the bypass done around
02:21the Brynglas tunnels. You made a decision as a government in 2023 to pause
02:25large road projects. Was that a mistake, do you think? Well, this shows the value of road projects,
02:31and we are reviewing the tests which we applied to new road schemes to make sure that they are fit
02:37for purpose, because we will go on building roads. We will go on improving connectivity. We will go on
02:44driving prosperity and investing in infrastructure, investing in skills. They're the two main means of
02:49driving prosperity. So was it wrong to pause projects in 2023, do you think? I don't think I'd describe it
02:54as wrong. I think we just need to make sure that it's working and that it's fit for purpose,
02:58and that's why it's important to review things. The Welsh Government says it's spent £1bn on road
03:04repairs since 2021. But some are calling on the Government to rethink and commit to building
03:10new road projects once again, and not just fixing the ones we have already.
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