MAJOR roadworks aimed at improving Junction 28 of the M4 at Tredegar Park have been put back by another month.

The £10.5 million project, which will include work on the roundabouts at Pont Ebbw and Bassaleg and aims to relieve bottlenecks at rush hour, has been delayed until February 2017.

The project had been originally delayed until January 2017 because of the ongoing roadworks on the Newport City Council network.

Rogerstone Cllr Chris Evans said: “This is great news, I’ve been lobbying for this since being elected. Let’s hope they don’t put it back again, we need to get this started.

“At the moment, the congestion is awful.

“Between 8am and 9.15am, in Rogerstone, you can’t move, the traffic is so bad.

“If I leave at 8am, I’m lucky if I get to work by 9am – and it’s in Maesglas.”

Jayne Bryant AM said that she’ll be meeting the Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates regarding the road network in and around Newport in the next couple of weeks.

She said: “I will certainly press the case for a speedy start to the Junction 28 works. I understand from the Welsh Government that this has been delayed because of construction works associated with the rail electrification.”

In a statement to the Welsh Assembly three years ago, former transport minister Edwina Hart said improvements at the junction - along with a link road scheme in Cardiff Bay - were vital to improving transport links in South Wales.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to improving traffic flows, congestion and safety around Newport which is why we have adjusted our programme for improvement works to Junction 28 of the M4 at Tredegar Park roundabout to avoid clashing with ongoing construction works on Newport Council’s highway network associated with rail electrification.

“The works are programmed to start in February 2017, subject to agreement from the Southern Distributor Road Concessionaire, Morgan Vinci Limited.

“Once complete the improvements should help to increase the amount of traffic that can travel through J28, Bassaleg and Pont Ebbw roundabouts and reduce delays on the M4, A48, A467 and the Southern Distributor Road.”