CONCERNS have again been raised about congestion around Junction 28, in Newport – currently ongoing major improvement works.

The works – which cover Bassaleg roundabout, Tredegar Park roundabout, and Pont Ebbw roundabout - started in March and are expected to take up to 16 months to complete.

The Argus ran a story last week about congestion in the area and, since, we have been contacted by more drivers, who expressed their frustration at the situation.

Costain, the company behind the works, have said they are monitoring the situation and that there has been a “considerable” improvement over the past few days.

Paul Gregory, chairman of Graig community council, said that, on Tuesday, traffic at the Bassaleg roundabout was backed up all the way to the Rhiwderin Inn, in Caerphilly Road.

He said: “It was taking people about an hour to get through - it has been a nightmare. We have had a lot of residents complaining to us.”

Mr Gregory said he believes the situation was “chaos” because the lanes and traffic lights at Bassaleg roundabout were being adjusted.

“Residents do not know the new layout yet, so they were being extra cautious, leading to the build-up,” he said. “Bassaleg is a really busy area and any disruption will create chaos.”

Mr Gregory said a lot of residents have contacted Costain and that they are in discussions with them.

Mervyn Clarke, from Chepstow Road, said he often picks up his wife from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and joins Pont Ebbw roundabout in the ONS junction.

He said people from the Duffryn junction are going on the third lane towards the mini-roundabout to avoid traffic, creating a backlog of traffic in the mini-roundabout.

“It is unfair - we queued up for more than 45 minutes the other day,” he said. “Before the roadworks, it used to take us 10 minutes tops. Now, it is crazy.”

The 40-year-old said his wife sometimes finishes early at around 3.30pm – when the situation is just as bad with parents picking up their children.

“It is really frustrating, you just want to get home,” he added.

A spokesman for Costain said there has been a “considerable” improvement over the past few days.

He said: “We continue to monitor the impact of our work. We are confident the new traffic signals at Bassaleg roundabout are working at optimum effectiveness with the timings validated this week.

“Optimum benefit from the M4 J28 improvement works will not be fully realised until Tredegar Park and Pont Ebbw roundabouts are complete.”