WORK on tackling traffic problems at a notorious bottleneck in Chepstow will get under way at the end of the month.

Plans for white line marking on the Highbeech Roundabout on the A48 and the A466 in the town will begin on Monday, March 23 - and should be completed by Monday, March 30.

The Welsh Government has said the work is being done to improve road safety and address congestion in Chepstow, and at a meeting in January the government and the council agreed short term solutions were needed.

But some residents and councillors have said this is not enough.

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The proposed changes to the road markings at the roundabout will take place between 8pm and 6am for the seven days.

The Welsh Government has confirmed the plans represent short-term improvements, and longer-term schemes have not been ruled out.

A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “The work is being done to improve road safety and address congestion in Chepstow.

“We’re working with partners including Monmouthshire County Council and Transition Chepstow to ensure it’s easier to travel.”

Tim Melville, who is the chairman of Transition Chepstow – a group working to rid the town of its traffic issue – said: “We are definitely hopeful that things are looking up in Chepstow and that these short-term methods can mean change in the long term.

“I am already seeing genuine change at local level, with the Dell School leading the way in recent days with their fantastic walking bus campaign. I know other schools are planning on following suit.

“White lining and the redevelopment of the roundabout, as well as cleaning up our country lanes near the A48 can be short term priorities that I know the authorities are working to achieve.

“In the longer term, I am excited about plans for a South Wales Metro to run trains for four times an hour from Gloucestershire to Chepstow and the Severn Tunnel Junction from 2025.

“I think if we can continue to push the authorities to work with us, we could be embarking on a genuine transport renaissance for the town.”

But local councillor Armand Watts said more needs to be done.

“At the end of the day Chepstow was not built for big cars and the amount of cars that come through here every day,” he said. “Whatever we talk about and however long we tinker around the subject, we keep coming back to the fact that major infrastructural changes need to happen.”

  • The alternative route for traffic going westbound will be via Bulwark Road, Thornwell Road, and northbound via the A466 Wye Valley Link Road.
  • The alternative route for all traffic wishing to exit the roundabout southbound will be eastbound on the A48 Newport Road.