THE HEADS of the Valleys Road between Gilwern and Brynmawr will close to motorists for a weekend.

A full road closure of the stretch of the A465 is needed to allow for the diversion of a major gas main and other early construction related activities that require the full length of the road to manage the work effectively and safely.

The closure will come into force at 8pm on June 5 and remain in place until 6am on June 8.

Mark Young, construction manager for Costain, said: “We are very conscious the closure will create some disruption to the local communities and we very much regret any inconvenience it may cause.”

“We are planning to do as much work as possible during the weekend closure and to take advantage of the road space so that full closures on this very busy section of road become the exception.”

“We are working closely with the local authorities and emergency services to facilitate diversions and emergency access through the closure for emergency vehicles and some localised movements across the closure at the Saleyard and Gilwern junctions.”

The suggested diversion follows the A476 from Brynmawr towards Crumlin and onto the A4042 at Pontypool towards Abergavenny and vice versa for those travelling from Gilwern and Brynmawr.

Work to dual the 8.1kilometre section began in December and is expected to be finished in 2018.