A £60m upgrade to a key road for tourism and freight in south-west Wales brings “light at the end of the tunnel” after years of congestion, but more projects are needed in Wales, a haulier has said.
The improvements to the four-mile stretch of the A40 near Narberth, Pembrokeshire, are designed to help traffic. Construction on the road began four years ago, before the Welsh government’s decision in 2023 to cancel all future road building projects.
Haulage company director Scott Davies welcomed the new stretch of road, but said work was needed elsewhere, such as a relief road around Newport, which the Welsh government previously said had “come and gone”.
Transport Secretary Ken Skates has said some schemes could be considered if they “reflected the reality of the climate emergency”, while a further £25m has been announced to renew Wales’ major roads and prevent around 30,000 road defects.
The upgraded carriageway is not dualled but does include more places to overtake safely. There have been improvements to roundabouts, while new junctions have been built at Llanddewi Velfrey and Redstone Cross.
Summer traffic in the area can increase by 30%, with the holiday congestion becoming a key factor in planning to upgrade the route.
The Welsh government said the work would reduce journey times to ports such as Milford Haven, Wales’ busiest for freight which handles about 40 million tonnes per year, as well as Fishguard and Pembroke Dock.
“The improvement was definitely needed,” said Mr Davies, a director of MDS Distribution. “Hopefully we’ll see the benefits of the new roads, with the two lanes in some areas for overtaking.”
A Welsh Government statement said: “We identified in the A40 West of St Clears study that there was a need for this scheme. We revisited and updated the study in 2015 to confirm that we should go ahead with this project. We want to deliver a project that is sustainable and take steps to reduce or offset waste and carbon. “
(Pic: Traffic Wales)
