YESTERDAY morning's traffic chaos in Newport will have been hugely inconvenient for thousands of people.

The M4 was closed westbound around the city for a number of hours after an accident in the Brynglas tunnels.

Thankfully, no-one was injured in the accident between a lorry and a tanker but the knock-on effect for schools, businesses and motorists was substantial.

As usual, an incident on the motorway at rush-hour led to all major routes through the city becoming gridlocked - particularly the Southern Distributor Road.

We need a solution to the M4's problems sooner rather than later.

A lengthy consultation process identified what was formerly known as the M4 relief road as the preferred option. That option is now the subject of a further consultation.

But, as we reported last week, upgrading the SDR is now mystifyingly back on the table.

Whatever happens needs to happen quickly.

A solution to the problem of the M4 around Newport - and particularly the stretch before and after the Brynglas tunnels - has been sought for more than two decades.

The UK Government has given the Welsh Government the financial powers it needs to get on with the project.

Someone now needs to cut through the mind-numbing bureaucracy that seems to bedevil everything that comes out of the Senedd and just get something done.