Motorists have vented their frustration at road works which are causing “traffic chaos” and increasing daily commutes by several hours.
Long-mooted improvement works on the Pwllypant roundabout, where the A468, A469 and Pontygwindy Road meet, began on Monday, October 9, but commuters are already fed-up after roads approaching the busy Caerphilly roundabout were reduced to one lane.
The £5 million work is expected to last 12 months, after proposals were given the go-ahead by Caerphilly County Borough Council in June following two years of funding setbacks.
However, less than a week after work was started by contractor Walters UK Ltd, social media was awash with photographs of long tailbacks and commuters’ complaints of poor planning.
Writing on Facebook, motorist Gemma Lloyd said: “Why not commence [the work] during the summer holidays when traffic is less to allow the public to get used to the change? Bypass backed up at Ystrad Mynach at 7.10am this morning. Really not acceptable.”
Lewis Uzzell wrote on Twitter: “Move to Caerphilly they said, it’s cheaper and you get way more for your money. Who ever thought doing road works for 52 weeks was a good idea?”
Caerphilly County Borough Council has promised the improvement work will reduce congestion and improve journey times in the long-term. It has also said the order of work has been designed to have the greatest disruption early on so that delays will reduce over time.
However one business owner has claimed the authority dropped the ball when it came to preparing for the work’s commencement.
Dr Sarah Bruton, Managing Director of Captiva Spa, said her business was “collateral damage” in the wider scheme.
The spa is based on Corbetts Lane, just off the Pwllypant roundabout, and has already been forced to cancel appointments after customers and staff alike were caught in the congestion.
Dr Bruton said: “We’ve been involved in the discussions since the plans were first formed, and have highlighted issues with the noise and disruption but can’t get anywhere.
“There’s no legal right to make a claim for compensation for businesses, but we are literally on the front line of works and the noise from the excavation and re-laying works are at odds with the nature of our business.
“I remain convinced that the intrusion and the lack of will to mitigate its effects will destroy everything my team has worked so hard to create over the last nine years.
“No modelling has been conducted for the traffic volume during the work, and the position seems to be to hope that commuters will make alternative arrangements.
“While it’s a difficult roundabout and the improvement works need to happen, it’s chaos. The town has been brought to a standstill and this cannot be sustainable for a year.”
Cllr Colin Mann, who represents the Llanbradach ward and has been vocal on the village’s traffic issues said: “I have huge sympathy with those having to commute to work and children getting to school on time as it is going to cause some serious delays, but what the answer is – short of not doing the work – I just don’t know.
“The only thing to do is to try and avoid it as much as possible, and we’re urging that the work is completed quickly. We’re exploring all avenues to see if anything can be done.”
A consultation is being held with Llanbradach residents on Thursday, October 19 after Cllr Mann, who is also the leader of Plaid Cymru on Caerphilly County Borough Council, questioned why one was not originally scheduled alongside similar events in Caerphilly and Trecenydd earlier this month.
The multimillion pound scheme will see the introduction of full-time traffic lights, pedestrian crossings and additional filter lanes created at the roundabout.
Steffan Lewis, Plaid Cymru’s South Wales East AM, said: “The roadworks on Pwllypant roundabout are causing absolute chaos.
“Traffic tailbacks in every direction are causing major delays. Caerphilly is grinding to a halt.
“Caerphilly Council needed to work with Arriva Trains to see if railway capacity could be increased to meet the greater demand with the roads so clogged up. They also needed to work with schools to put in place a plan to minimise the disruption to busses.
“I’ve heard reports from parents of school busses being delayed by over an hour.
“Why didn’t the council plan ahead to ensure that children can still get to school and commuters can still get to work without spending hours stuck in traffic?
“People in Caerphilly cannot be expected to live with such severe delays for a whole year. Caerphilly Council must rethink and put in place a strategy during the roadworks to keep Caerphilly moving until they are completed.”
Caerphilly AM Hefin David pointed to other incidents which exacerbated the congestion, but admitted a contingency plan was needed.
He said: “Residents have been in touch with me to raise their concerns in very strong terms.
“The work is necessary and will lead to long term improvement but I understand fully the extreme frustration that this work is causing.
“I was caught in the heavy traffic myself and was late for an appointment.
“The problems over the past few days have been made worse by a gas main leak in Maesycwmmer and a number of road accidents on the first day of the works.
“I will be meeting Caerphilly Council to discuss what back up plans are in place.
“In the meantime, I would urge anyone who lives north of the roundabout to use the Nelson access to the A470 if possible rather than approaching Nantgarw and for others to avoid the area if they can.
“However, many people will have no choice but to use the roundabout and I will discuss this with the council when I meet with them this week.”
A spokeswoman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “The Pwllypant roundabout works are a major scheme, which once completed will bring significant improvements to the strategic highway network.
“It is inevitable that with a scheme of this magnitude there will be some disruption, and we’d like to thank residents and other road users for their patience while these important works progress.
“We are in regular contact with the contractor and will continue to monitor the situation, taking steps to minimise congestion for motorists as much as possible.”
• As work progresses, residents can access updates on the scheme at www.caerphilly.gov.uk/pwllypant.
That is what you get for voting these numpties into power in the first place
Well why ?are thay doing it spending 5 million on a new roundabout.?
The only problem was at peak times?.
Now will thay improve all three towards the A470 don’t think so.
Its they not thay
please ed look at your past posts i don’t sit at home like you and its off my phone.
anyway thanks
There were tailbacks this morning. Sunday morning is not peak time.
Typical bad planning by caerphilly council. Our roads are out of date, proof that our roads around caerphilly can not cope with increased traffic.
I had a look at the plans in the library and cannot see how this is going to improve the road system. We are going to have a whole year of disruption for nothing. If anything with all the housebuilding going on all over the basin traffic congestion will likely be worse in future.
I got stuck in a traffic jam yesterday a journey that normally takes me 10 minutes took me nearly half an hour.
You can widen the neck of a 2 litre bottle but it will still only hold 2 litres – the same principle applies here !
Adding extra lanes which then filter into 2 existing lanes will improve nothing !
I like that comparison very well put.
True – it’s the half wits who never use their indicators and drive with no consideration whatsoever for other road users who cause the majority of congestion at Pwllypant roundabout, and this will still be the case when these waste of money road works are finished.
Absolutely paul
Depends on the capacity of the existing lanes.
The wider neck will allow the bottle to fill quicker. If it empties faster than it fills then the wide neck is a wonderful upgrade.
If the capacity of the bottle is the limiting factor then neck size has no bearing and the money is better spent on buying everyone a pint?
Well I think that a year of road works will keep traffic congestion out of Caerphilly by sending it past nelson.
Then most of you negative wingers will see that roads need improvement.
But still think 5 million is a lot for a roundabout.
Forgot most most wingers are Tories… plaid…or even labour possible independent partys.
So that’s every political party then, everyone can’t be wrong can they?
That’s exactly what I was thinking!
What’s a ‘winger’ ?
Three days of traffic chaos and not visible work being done. At 3.30pm yesterday Wednesday there were 5 workmen standing around on the roundabout with no progress being made. Why not work on one section at a time..? Start work after rush hour (9.30) and finish before the schools 3pm..? They’ve done NOTHING all week so that should be something they are used to.
No they would have been working,you just didn’t realise it-
1 would have been a supervisor – watching everyone
1 would have been watching the cones
1 would have been watching the traffic
1 would have been watching the weather
And 1 would have been watching the clock for the time to go home !
I am sure that I read somewhere when the council were on about the roundabout improvements, that the council official said ” the contractors will be mindful and be sure to keep traffic congestion to a minimum”. Yeah right….
Just a quick tip for all those approaching the roundabout from the Brad bypass.
As x2 signs say, ‘USE BOTH LANES WHEN QUEUING’.
You’re causing tailbacks on the duel carriageway upto the previous roundabout and leaving an almost entire lane empty.
Also, don’t get snotty when people use the right hand lane and filter into yours at the end. It’s what your supposed to do, this is difficult enough as it is without adding to the misery.
The sign they should have put up is “Use both lanes and merge in turn.” If they had done this the vast majority of drivers would accept that the traffic in the right lane moves to the exit, then the left and back again to the right. What will cause irritation is someone who has been waiting in the left lane seeing the cars from the right hand lane forcing themselves in front of him or her.
Don’t I know it.
There’s a roadsign in Caerphilly
You’ll have plenty time to see
It seems quite ordinary
But it’s near the Cedar Tree
30 miles an hour it says
I wish I could, I say
But now it’s clear, there is no doubt
It’s 30 minutes to the roundabout !