Further two years before M4 relief road will be completed

MOTORISTS face another two years’ wait before the new M4 relief road is ready for use, the Welsh Government revealed yesterday.

Instead of a projected completion date of 2021, the work is not now expected to be finished until autumn 2023.

The news came as Transport Secretary Ken Skates announced that an extra £135m would be spent on a revamp of Newport Docks as part of the project.

But in a statement to AMs Mr Skates insisted the Welsh Government still hoped to start work next summer on the £1.1bn new motorway south of Newport.

Mr Skates said that the work to Newport’s port would reshape the docks around the new M4 with a new junction, the construction and refurbishment of quays, rearrangements of tenants and replacement of cranes.

He said the work was aimed at addressing the concerns of the port, which he said supports around 2,500 jobs and contributes £173m per year to the Welsh economy.

Newport’s port owner Associated British Ports (ABP) had objected to the Welsh Government’s preferred route for the new M4 relief road, the so-called Black Route, which would involve building a bridge over the docks.

Mr Skates told AMs: “A resilient port industry plays a vital role in our economy and society, and it is of course right that the potential new interface of road, rail and maritime infrastructure is well planned with a long-term view.

“The enabling works would safeguard employment across the many sectors the port serves including steel, timber, agriculture, renewable energy generation and recycling.

“Welsh Government’s investment would be targeted to achieve 70% construction spend with Welsh SMEs and leave an infrastructure legacy to meet the needs of future generations.

“The enabling works have been assessed by maritime and property advisers and officials to cost an additional £136m.

“The M4 Project Business Case has been reviewed to take these costs into account, as well as removal of the Severn Crossing tolls, and continues to demonstrate that the project represents value for money.”

The Transport Secretary added that 18 months of work to relocate affected businesses would have to be undertaken before the road bridge was built, meaning the new M4 could not open until the autumn of 2023, although some sections could open in 2022.

He said: “This revised programme provides opportunities to carry out environmental mitigation works earlier and to derisk matters such as complex utility diversions and archaeological investigations.

“Despite the associated extension of the public inquiry it is still expected that works could commence as soon as next summer.”

Welsh Conservative Shadow Economy Secretary Russell George said: “Congestion is tightening its grip on Welsh roads, and yet there doesn’t seem to be a single Labour transport project running on time and within budget.

“As a result, Welsh taxpayers face a bill of almost £200m to cover the cost of the delays – money which could have been better spent on other schemes all over the country.

“It’s disastrous news for the Welsh economy, and for motorists in the region who have faced endless delays to this vital upgrade of the M4.”

Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards said the Welsh Government had misled the people of Wales about the costs of the M4 Black Route.

He said: “In 2014 Labour promised that it would cost less than a billion pounds, and that it was a quick solution to the issue of congestion. Three years later, and costs have spiralled, and years of delays have been added.”

He added: “We recognise ABP’s objections to the Black Route as valid in terms of the docks at Newport, a vital and strategic site in the south-east. This is an employer that Plaid Cymru strongly supports. But the best way of meeting those concerns is to drop the Black Route, not to spend hundreds of millions of extra pounds on it.”