Long-awaited link road plans set to go on display
RESIDENTS will be able to get more information about a major transport project in Mountain Ash set to be completed in 2019 – which would see a new road created to connect communities on opposite sides of the river.
Details about the longawaited Cross Valley Link project – which will see the new bridge stretch from the Cwm Cynon Industrial Estate over the Afon Cynon river and the train line between Mountain Ash and Penrhiwceiber – were released by the council in April.
It will link traffic on the main arterial road through the Cynon Valley, the A4059, and the B4257 at Miskin Road, near the Baileys Arms pub.
The project is due for completion in December 2019, and promises to ease traffic problems in and around Mountain Ash town centre.
And, as progress is being made behind the scenes, members of the public are being invited to view the plans in more detail during two exhibitions in November.
They will take place at Penrhiwceiber Institute on Wednesday, November 16, and at Mountain Ash Day Centre on Friday, November 18.
Both events will run from midday until 7pm.
Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council and cabinet member with responsibility for highways, said: “These public exhibitions are an opportunity for residents to come along and see the plans for a project that has been an aspiration in the Cynon Valley for many years and is now, finally, a reality.
“As a result of the ini- tial £1.95m funding put forward by the council and the £300,000 Welsh Government funding, we are now developing this scheme in detail to take the project forward and we have already seen significant activity taking place on site over the summer months.
“Following the comprehensive traffic surveys and analysis that have taken place over the last year, we have been able to evidence that this proposal has the potential to reduce congestion on the key junctions in the area and reduce journey times on the A4059.
“The analysis that has been undertaken has considered current and future traffic scenarios to simulate traffic levels.
“It anticipates that the bridge will carry over 1,700 vehicles in each of the morning and afternoon peak hours in 2030.
“I would encourage residents to come along and take a look at the plans that will improve journey times and reduce congestion in the area.”
Subject to planning permission and the compulsory purchase of thirdparty land, construction work is set to start in the 2017-18 financial year.
A planning application for the project will be submitted in December.