Stretch of road should have been left alone

THE benefits of road improvements are hard to quantify and always controversial.

Moreover, notably in respect of the alternative route for the M4 through Newport, the key argument (which is not to be addressed by the public inquiry) is whether the money might be better spent elsewhere in Wales. We shall never know.

However, in respect of widening the A465 through Clydach Gorge, we may use a simpler criterion – payback time.

It is claimed that, when completed, average journey times over this short stretch will be reduced by (maybe) two minutes. In reality, during the period of construction (which was supposed to last no more than three years), journey times have increased by more than 10 minutes.

Assuming that journey times are a reasonable measure of community costs, this implies that the investment was meant to pay back after 10/2 x 3 = 15 years.

With the revised schedule due to two years of construction delays (as predicted during the public inquiry), the payback time will be delayed for an extra 10 years. I doubt whether anyone would argue that 25 years is an acceptable payback period.

Although the primary argument for leaving the Clydach Gorge untouched was (during the public inquiry) to preserve its unique beauty, anyone with an appreciation of cost/benefit analysis would have seen that this stretch of road should have been left alone.

Dr John Cox Pontypool