The Welsh Government is to conduct a safety review of a road in Wales following a series of incidents in recent months. The government is to conduct a review of a stretch of road on the A40 near Raglan, Monmouthshire, after a number of crashes there this year.
Locals believe the road is dangerous and have made repeated pleas to have the speed limit reduced from 70mph to 50mph. Monmouth MP David Davies has said the right turn crossing on to the A40 exiting Raglan from Monmouth Road is “no longer fit for purpose” and has called on the Welsh Government to act.
There have been a number of serious incidents on the road in the last few months. Over the Jubilee weekend, three people were hospitalised after a collision between two vehicles at the junction between Monmouth Road and Groesenon Road. The road was also the site of a serious one-car crash back in January. On that occasion the road was closed for ten hours for investigative work in the wake of the accident.
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Raglan Community Council recently met with officials from Monmouthshire County Council and Welsh Government to discuss potential solutions, and the Welsh Government has pledged to conduct a safety review of the stretch of road. Officials representing deputy climate change minister Lee Waters at the meeting confirmed this review will take place during the next financial year “at the latest”.
Monmouth MP David Davies, who attended alongside his Senedd colleague Peter Fox MS, said he believed the right turn crossing on to the A40 exiting Raglan from Monmouth Road was “no longer fit for purpose”.
“I commend Raglan Community Council for the suggested solutions it has put forward and as a former professional lorry driver myself, they made a lot of sense," he said. "I particularly think as a starting measure, there should be a temporary no right turn on to the A40.
“All vehicles travelling from Monmouth Road should turn left only and use the existing roundabout if they need to head eastbound, instead of pulling across several lanes of busy and fast traffic. This struck me as a cheap and easy interim measure that could be implemented fairly swiftly. That said, I do accept any changes to a major road network such as the A40 have to be assessed by highway professionals – which is why we need the Welsh Government to conduct a formal safety review as quickly as possible.”
Mr Davies said he was also concerned to hear there was a lag in recording accident statistics which meant the seriousness of the situation on the road might not be fully grasped.
“I was concerned to hear there is a long lag in recording accident statistics and only then if there are serious injuries or a fatality. I was involved in attending an accident on the A40 at Raglan over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend, which required an air ambulance. Yet as of this moment, it is not showing up on the statistics."
Mr Davies' comments echo those of other local representatives and campaigners who called for measures to tackle safety on the road. After the Jubilee weekend incident, community councillor Julian Dyer said the community would renew its calls for a roundabout at the junction after “multiple collisions there”.
Mr Dyer added that some parents in the area were no longer allowing their children to get the school bus because it crosses the junction. “Some people - like my wife - just won’t travel along the road anymore because it’s too dangerous,” he said. “They’d rather take a three to four mile detour through country lanes.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We have plans to carry out a full safety study on this stretch of road when funding becomes available. In the meantime, we continue to work closely with Monmouthshire County Council highways team who are responsible for the local road network and are looking at the option of removing the right turn crossing."
A Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson said: "There have been a number of road traffic incidents at the junction of Monmouth Road with the A40 at Raglan. The A40 is a trunk road, so Welsh Government has been asked by community representatives to review the safety of the A40 and to consider a speed reduction to 50mph along this stretch of the road. Council officers are exploring options such as a potential prohibition of right turning out of Monmouth Road, across the A40."
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