Traffic management at the Pwllypant roundabout roadworks is to change in a bid to beat congestion, Caerphilly County Borough Council has announced.
Last month the council temporarily reopened two lanes around the roundabout and its key approaches after business owners expressed their anger over lengthy delays caused by the 12-month £5 million scheme.
However, the intention was to revert back to single lane arrangements from January 8, 2018, for the duration of the scheme – which ends in October next year.
The roundabout will now only go down to a single lane for an eight to ten week period before going back up to two lanes for the remainder of the works.
Council leader Dave Poole said: “We have been listening to the concerns of local businesses and the feedback from the wider community about the impact of these essential works.
“Therefore we are working with Welsh Government to agree a package of joint funding which will allow us to change the schedule of works for the remainder of the contract period.”
He added: “This will be a significant change to the original plans and shows that we are responding to the concerns of the community. We fully appreciate that there is likely to be disruption and inconvenience during the eight to ten weeks of single lane traffic, but this would very much be the case of us putting up with short-term pain for long term positive gain.”
The council said it was likely that the overall contract be extended as a result of these changes and further information will be made available over the coming weeks.
Welcoming the news, Caerphilly AM Hefin David said “Both Wayne David MP and I made it clear to Caerphilly Council that constituents were severely disrupted from the start of the programme until the change to two lanes of traffic on November 30.
“The reversion to one lane of traffic for only eight to ten weeks will significantly reduce the amount of disruption for these necessary works. I very much welcome the fact that Caerphilly Council have sought to change the programme after listening to the concerns of local people.”