Is it finally time to head to the valleys?

There’s a collective audible sigh of relief across South Wales as the news travels that there’s finally an end in sight for the roadworks on the A465 Heads of the Valleys road.

Incredibly, this upgrade project has now been ongoing for 23 years. The extent of the works may only be approximately 28 miles, but the impact of these roadworks has been significant for local communities, businesses and the wider economy. 

The scheme stretches from Abergavenny and Hirwaun, connecting the existing A465 dual carriageway link from Swansea to the A40, which is an important part of the route to the M50. Converting the route to having two lanes in each direction sounds relatively simple, but the reality has been anything but.

With its roots in Thatcher’s Conservative government, the upgrade was first mooted in 1990; work began following Welsh devolution nine years later.  The projects has had its fair share of challenges, including engineering issues resulting in colossal overspend and delays to the programme, the pandemic, plus political upheaval in the form of devolution and then Brexit.

Meanwhile, this key route, a lifeline for the economy and future growth of Wales quickly became a bone of contention and a local discussion topic. Road users have lived with diversions, closures and delays to travel times for so long, I suspect many cannot remember even what it was like before work began. 

Over the past few years, when working on our projects located in the valleys, it has become habitual to add an extra hour to my travel time planning, just to be on the safe side.

Meanwhile in the political sphere, this road upgrade was one of the few infrastructure projects to survive the sweeping cuts to road schemes announced by the Welsh Government in 2021. This controversial decision to freeze new road developments was part of a broader push to prioritise environmental sustainability and curb carbon emissions, but it faced a significant public backlash. 

In 2023, the Welsh Government conducted a comprehensive review of the freeze, which many hoped would lead to a reversal of the decision. However, the review not only reaffirmed the original stance but also expanded the justification for it, citing the urgent need to redirect funds towards public transport improvements and active travel initiatives.

The state of public transport in Wales is a topic for another article in its own right. But it’s often forgotten that new roads can also be used by public transport, so there is potential for improvements that can easily be made towards increased non-car use. There have also been significant improvements to cycling and walking routes, twinned with new and or improved connections between local communities.  

So once all the traffic cones and temporary signage has been removed, and the final sections fully open, one question remains: What next for road schemes in Wales?