ONE thousand letters have been sent to residents explaining of the construction work that will take place to dual the Heads of the Valleys road.

Costain Limited – the contractor chosen to dual the second section of the A465 Heads of the Valleys scheme between Gilwern and Brynmawr – moved onto the site in December. Work to dual the 8.1km section is expected to take nearly three-and-a-half years to complete.

In the letter, Costain’s project director, Bruce Richards, said: “You will see more of our workforce in the area over the next few weeks as we start to undertake site clearance, erection of fences and setting up site offices.”

The firm will have offices at Brynmawr in the Foundation School, the Village Hall at Clydach South and in the fields east of New Pentwyn Farm at Glanbaiden.

Mr Richards added: “Initially you will see early traffic management consisting of coned areas, the centre lane providing a safe working zone and the flexibility to provide working areas on either side of the carriageway; this will extend to the main construction areas where you will see major earthworks and structures activities.”

He referred to occasional work carried out at weekends and during the night but said that it will work with the relevant authorities and consult the community.

The firm acknowledges that there could be disruption and that it will work to minimise the impact.

The design includes a 50mph speed limit, improved junctions, extra laybys and a split-level carriageway.

A 40mph speed limit is already in place along the stretch of road, with a lane closure for site access.

Monmouthshire County Councillor Simon Howarth, who represents Llanelly Hill, has criticised the management of traffic flow and is looking to set up a traffic management liaison group.

Cllr Howarth said there are bottlenecks at Gilwern and Brynmawr which are causing problems and he urged motorists to allow more time for journeys at peak times.

A Welsh Government spokesman previously said every effort will be made to minimise the disruption to traffic particularly during peak movements at each end of the day and asks the travelling public to be patient and to conform to the new reduced speed limit.