Sunday, May 31, 2026
Is another road the answer?
They say that the Plaid Cymru leader has classed the Brynglas Tunnels in Newport as an "economic problem for Wales", which is most probably true, but so is the M4 around Port Talbot, but as most of the journalists live in the south east of Wales, it doesn't get the same attention.
Of course, ap Iorwerth did not commit to a specific scheme to address the traffic black spot, which is not surprising as the cost of the black route across the Gwent Levels is astronomical.
Of course, Welsh Labour have accused the First Minister of making an "unfunded transport promise", while Reform UK and the Welsh Conservatives are calling for the relief road to be built:
Plaid had been opposed to a proposed M4 relief road, a controversial project to build a new motorway across the Gwent levels south of Newport, when the former Labour government last ditched the scheme.
The road, also known as the black route, would have bypassed the Brynglas Tunnels, which struggle to cope with the volume of traffic the M4 attracts at peak times.
Old proposals for a relief road included colour-coded black, blue, red and purple routes, with the yellow line marking the railway
Speaking at the Urdd Eisteddfod on Anglesey on Wednesday, ap Iorwerth said it had been Plaid policy for "many, many years" 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 proposed between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel.
Ap Iorwerth said options could include the so-called blue route, which would involve 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.
The question of course is whether the blue route is even viable. I had a briefing on this option when I was an Assembly Member and discovered that after spending a lot of money, it would actually make little difference to the congestion, offering some relief for a short time before filling up with traffic.
The fact is that whatever road the Welsh Government builds will be inundated with traffic very quickly, as happens with every similar project, not to mention the environmental damage.
Plaid need to stick to their original idea of putting in place alternative public transport arrangements to try and get vehicles off the road.
