RESIDENTS in Chepstow have criticised what one labelled the "dreadful mismanagement" of road and gas works which has caused daily traffic snarl-ups in the area in recent days.

Works being carried out on gas mains at the A466 Wye Valley Link Road at Larkfield (High Beech) Roundabout mean temporary traffic lights have been put in place, causing delays on all five approaches.

This work has coincided with other traffic-calming work being done at nearby Mathern Road, Bulwark Road, Thornwell Road and elsewhere, where speed bumps are in the process of being installed.

A Monmouthshire council spokeswoman confirmed that the works at the roundabout will continue for another week at least, with a targeted finish time of June 12.

“Temporary traffic lights remain in place at Larkfield Roundabout in Chepstow as part of the Wales & West Utilities gas mains renewal for Chepstow,” she said.

“The works are expected to be completed by June 12. We appreciate measures such as temporary traffic lights can cause disruption to residents and motorists, and we apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

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“These measures are important to ensure people working at the site are kept safe and we thank everyone for their patience while the work is completed.”

Resident Alyson Clemow said: “There is even a queue when I leave the house at 6.10am to travel to Cardiff for work.

"I have to pick up my son from a school hub in Chepstow and the traffic lights add another 30-40 minutes to my journey, purely because of the volume of traffic that piles up.

“The lights are so slow so I end up going to Mathern just to pick him up from Bulwark. It’s ridiculous, it is dreadfully mismanaged.”

It seems many residents have had the same idea, heading through Mathern via Mathern Road. Pictures taken last week by resident Sarah Merrett showed the impact of the works combined with those at Mathern Road and Bulwark Road.

Councillor for Larkfield Paul Pavia said: “Ideally this would have been done earlier in May when restrictions on both sides of the border were at their peak.

"We’ve seen South Wales Trunk Road Agent (responsible for managing motorways and trunk roads in South Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government), utilise that lockdown time well to resurface the westbound side of the M48 from Chepstow.

“There have been some eyebrows raised about why the five-way traffic light management system has been adopted. However, I think the majority of residents and commuters people just want to see the work concluded now as quickly as possible.”

Thornwell ward's Cllr Armand Watts said: "As usual it's all very last minute and people are not consulted properly about these works.

"There are so many things going on in the town with very little overall strategy, and this is what it causes.

"I'm worried about the future if this kind of thing continues to happen. It's been coming for some time."