Drainage improvements to be delivered on the A4059 near Newtown
The Council will deliver drainage improvements at the A4059 near Newtown, Mountain Ash, to reduce flood risk in heavy rainfall – and the work from June 20 will take place while maintaining two-way traffic flow.
The improvements will take place within the 40mph section of A4059 New Road, just south of Newtown. Advanced clearance work in readiness was completed over a weekend during early April 2022. Peter Simmons Contractors are appointed by the Council to carry out the main works, starting from Monday, June 20.
Work will include installing additional super gullies, which will be connected to a swale structure that transports rainwater to an existing watercourse. This will reduce the flood risk on this section of the A4059 in poor weather conditions
The contractor has advised that two-way traffic will be maintained for the vast majority of the works, which will last around five weeks. Stop/Go boards may be occasionally required to facilitate plant movements and deliveries. The footway adjacent to the road will be diverted via an existing footpath.
£7.5m of funding was delivered by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council for targeted highways improvements and drainage schemes in 2020/21 and 2021/22. A further £400,000 is secured for 2022/23 to progress 10 schemes, with an additional £44,000 invested by the Council
Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Investment, said: “Work will take place over the next five weeks to deliver an important upgrade to the drainage system off the A4059 near Newtown. The work includes installing additional gullies that will divert rainwater away from the road, to reduce the risk of surface water flooding experienced at this location in the past.
“The Council has delivered multi-million pound works across a number of Resilient Roads schemes over the past two years – and is continuing this targeted work into 2022/23 with an additional £400,000 secured. Drainage upgrades over the past two years have been delivered at the Porth Relief Road in Ynyshir, at A4061 Rhigos Road, at Hermon Street and High Street in Treorchy, and at several locations on the A4059 – north of Asda Roundabout, from Penywaun to Treorchy, and between Mountain Ash and Abercynon.
“Residents and commuters will soon notice the work activity begin adjacent to the A4059 on the stretch of road just south of Newtown – from Monday, June 20. It will be carried out while maintaining traffic flow in both directions, so there is unlikely to be significant disruption to road users. The Council will work closely with its contractor to make progress as quickly and efficiently as possible. Thanks to the community for your cooperation in advance.”
The Council has also secured separate Welsh Government funding earmarked for flood alleviation during 2022/23. This includes £2.939m from the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management programme, and £939,250 from the Small Scale Works Grant programmes.
