Renewed calls have been made for the M4 relief road to be built after a fire in the Brynglas Tunnels closed the motorway for three hours this morning.
A fault with a vehicle is thought to have started the fire in the motorway tunnel westbound at 11am.
The eastbound tunnel, which was closed for more than an hour, reopened at 1pm but the westbound tunnel remained closed until 2.10pm.
The driver of the vehicle which started the fire, believed to have been a Jaguar, escaped without injury.
The call for an M4 relief road was made by William Graham, Conservative AM for South Wales East.
He said: “I am pleased that no one was injured in this incident, unlike to two occasions during 2007; when the motorway was required to be closed following fatal accidents.
“Again we have a clear demonstration not only of the urgent need for the M4 relief road, but also of the inadequacies of the Southern Distributor Road to manage the additional volume of traffic whenever the M4 is closed.
“It is impossible to imagine the consequences of an accident that structurally damages these tunnels resulting in their closure for more than a day.
“The true economic and social impacts of the closing the M4 are inestimable.
“The M4 is the major transport artery into South Wales; we depend upon an efficient traffic flow to realise the maximum economic development which is necessary to regenerate our communities and industries.”
“We require a coherent strategy to address the daily congestion around the Brynglas Tunnels; however with every incident like today highlights the necessity for the M4 relief road.”
Plans for an M4 relief road around Newport were dropped in 2009 by the Welsh Assembly Government after cost estimates for the project ballooned from £340m to £1b.