Maerdy Mountain Road now re-open
Maerdy Mountain Road has re-opened following major landslip remediation works and wider improvements to the vital Cynon-Rhondda gateway.
The road re-opened on Wednesday evening – the earliest opportunity following the completion of highway works and final safety checks earlier in the day. The Council’s contractors will continue with peripheral works off the highway, and temporary traffic management will be in place to allow safe completion of these works over the next week.
Stagecoach will operate its 172 Aberdare-Porthcawl service using Maerdy Mountain Road from 05.35am on Thursday, September 28.
School services will use Maerdy Mountain Road from Thursday, September 28, with the exception of those to St. John Baptist Church in Wales High School, Aberdare, which will continue to operate via Rhigos Mountain Road.
The vital project was undertaken following a landslip caused by prolonged rainfall in December 2015, affecting a 150-metre stretch at Aberdare’s end of the road. Taking advantage of a necessary full road closure, wider improvements to future-proof the route were undertaken thanks to significant Council investment through #RCTinvest. The overall scheme included:
- The installation of 140m of reinforced concrete beam to strengthen the area which the landslip occurred.
- Piling works over 140m, to stabilise the mountainside.
- New drainage works installed on the mountainside and in the highway.
- New RAMWALLs fitted to hold back the hillside.
- New crash barriers installed on both sides of the mountain.
- 6km of road re-surfacing from Maerdy to Aberdare.
The scheme also included a range of improvements to the safety of the route following a successful bid for Welsh Government Road Safety Funding Grant – such as hazard markings, road re-marking, new reflective roadstuds and measures to reduce the potential for standing water.
Councillor Andrew Morgan, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highways, said: “Throughout this hugely challenging scheme, which had six large areas of work, the Council worked closely with its contractors to ensure the road re-opened during September – which was the target set at the start of the project. This is a positive achievement given the complexity of the work required and the periods of bad weather which we have experienced.
“With the main highways works now complete, I am sure users of the Maerdy Mountain Road will appreciate that we have taken the opportunity to re-open it at the earliest opportunity.
“Road users will still see contractors completing peripheral works off the highway which will require temporary traffic lights to be in place for the next week. Temporary traffic lights will be required over the next week or so to ensure this work is completed safely.
“The landslip remediation works were essential, and the majority of work took place in the school summer holiday to minimise disruption. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank road users and residents for their cooperation throughout.
“The closure also enabled the Council to complete wider road improvements, like those carried out on Rhigos Mountain Road, which has seen the 6km route re-surfaced and various safety enhancements implemented in order to future-proof the road.”
