The Severn Bridge Tolls will end in 18 months after 52 years. The next anticipated price rise in January will be the last before costs are passed into the general motorway maintenance budget and Welsh Government is expected to have to pick up a proportion of that expenditure in some form. The legislation for the bridges’ construction and operation … [Read more...]
Newslines 21 July
Newport has the highest MoT failure rate in Wales and it’s tenth in the league of losers nationwide. Wipers and washers are the most common cause of MoT failures and can be easily avoided says a spokesman for the AA Garage Guide. Oxford is currently the favoured location for building an electric version of the Mini, two sources familiar with the … [Read more...]
Run for the sun begins this weekend
The end of school term will spark the traditional Great British summer holiday getaway this weekend with 8.7m heading away from Friday through to Sunday. Data from RAC Traffic Watch shows the peak of the weekend’s travel will be on Saturday 22 July with 3.4m heavily laden vehicles making a dash for it. Friday will see 2.5m cars vie for road space with … [Read more...]
Roads’ investment welcomed but still more needed
The Freight Transport Association says the Government’s new transport investment plan is good news for the sector but more investment is needed to upgrade the road network. The policy, announced yesterday, dedicates funds raised from Vehicle Excise Duty to road improvements. The money can be used for major local authority roads as well as the … [Read more...]
Newslines 5 July
Road accidents where people suffered injuries in Wales dropped by 11% last year. There were 4,921 such crashes in 2016 - 622 fewer than 2015, according to the Welsh Government's annual report, but there was just a 1% drop in serious motorcycle accidents. Fuel prices have fallen by 2p a litre for the second month in a row, data from the latest RAC Fuel … [Read more...]
Government urged to honour pledge to remove Severn tolls
The Freight Transport Association wants the Government to guarantee its pre-election promise to remove all charges on the Severn Bridges. The two bridges spanning the Severn estuary on the M4 and M48 motorways in Wales have the highest toll charges on the entire UKroad network. This represents a massive burden on road haulage businesses who have seen … [Read more...]
M4 Tunnels closure
The M4 Newport tunnels will be routinely closed for maintenance over the coming months. To help plan trips look out for diversions as follows: Scheduled weekend closures for the Brynglas Tunnels on the M4: Westbound: 20:00 Saturday 1 July - 06:00 Monday 3 July 20:00 Saturday 15 July - 06:00 Monday 17 July Eastbound: 20:00 Saturday 16 … [Read more...]
Potholes filling more RAC call-out slots
Despite mild and comparatively dry winter conditions the RAC attended 63% more pothole-related breakdowns in the first quarter of 2017 than they did over the same period in in 2016. In total the RAC dealt with more than 6,500 breakdown jobs between January and March 2017 that were likely to be attributable to poor road surfaces – such as broken … [Read more...]
Welsh local roads are in terminal decline
Within the next five years almost one in five local roads in Wales will need to be repaired reports this year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey, published today. The cumulative effect of an ageing network, decades of underfunding, increased traffic and wetter winters has led to around 18 per cent of all Welsh local roads reported as being … [Read more...]
£31.4M boost for Welsh transport schemes
Transport schemes across Wales will share in a £31.4M programme announced today by Economy and Infrastructure Secretary, Ken Skates. Speaking in Newport, he said the money would be given for 109 local authority projects across Wales. The allocation comprises four different funds with the focus on helping deliver a connected, safe and active … [Read more...]


