M4 lane closure chaos for motorists
THOUSANDS of commuters faced travel chaos after late-running road- works led to an M4 lane closure — and some serious tail- backs.
Yesterday's bottleneck on the eastbound carriageway of the motorway between junctions 46 and junction 47 meant delays of an hour or more for many motorists.
The culprit was overnight resurfacing work which over-ran, forcing a lane to remain closed into mid-morning — and it resulted in queues from Cadle to Pontarddulais.
The South Wales Trunk Road Agency — the body responsible for maintaining Welsh motorways and major A roads — has thanked people for their patience during Friday's delays.
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One driver caught-up in the chaos was Alan Davies, who was trying to get from Hendy to Neath during the traffic chaos — but didn't make it.
He said: "The traffic was horrendous, cars were backing-up everywhere and people were getting very frustrated.
"I was getting nowhere fast, so in the end I just gave up, turned the car around and went home — but I wonder how many people were late for work or for appointments?
"It is not really on — we can't afford to have these kinds of problems."
The lane closure was finally lifted around 10.30am.
A Welsh Government spokesman said the problem was caused by "unforeseen difficulties" encountered while workmen were resurfacing a stretch of the motorway — when the work took longer than expected, lane one had to remain shut until the job was finished.
He said: " Overnight safety works on the eastbound carriageway of the M4 between junction 47 and junction 46 over-ran due to unforeseen difficulties encountered during the course of the works.
"An 800 metre section of lane one had to be closed in order to enable workers to safely complete the works throughout the morning peak that resulted in congestion past J48.
"The closure was lifted at approximately 10.30am."
He added: "The South Wales Trunk Road Agent would like to thank commuters for their patience during these delays."
jason.evans@swwmedia.co.uk
01792 514605
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