Welsh Government Transport Minister Edwina Hart has met with Caerphilly County Borough Council and Rhymney AM Huw Lewis over the closure of the A469 between Pontlottyn and New Tredegar.
The road has now been closed for several weeks because of a landslip which caused a burst water main. The road closure has caused significant disruption to residents in the upper Rhymney Valley.
The focus of the meeting between Mrs Hart, Council Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Tom Williams and AM Mr Lewis was to look at possible solutions for the future to improve the roads in the area.
Serious concerns were raised about the resilience to the existing A469 road and the impact this has had communities, as well as the wider Heads of the Valley strategic route and economic area.
Cllr Williams said: “We are grateful that the Minister found time in her busy schedule to discuss this issue. The closure of such a key route has highlighted the urgent need for a review of the highway infrastructure north of New Tredegar.
“It only takes one incident such as this to cause widespread disruption and inconvenience to residents and businesses in the whole Upper Rhymney Valley. We need to have a long term plan in place to ensure the road network is fit for purpose in future years.
“We welcomed the opportunity to raise the issue with the Minister and we will work with her and Welsh Government officers to create options to be considered in the future.”
A council spokesperson said: “Works continue to progress well on the site, with Welsh Water trench reinstatement activity well underway. They have also chlorinated their new water main and will be testing this next week. All being well, Welsh Water’s works will be complete on site by the end of next week.
“Drainage works will also be completed by early next week and the gabion basket construction also being completed by the end of next week. Footway and carriageway repair works can be completed once Welsh Water have left the site, with these works set to take place over next weekend.
“The road is likely to reopen from Monday April 14.
“We appreciate residents’ patience during this time, and will of course continue to provide regular updates on the works taking place on site.”