Wales' 'most dangerous road' was meant to be fixed, now someone else is dead

Wales Online

2 days ago

Wales' 'most dangerous road' was meant to be fixed, now someone else is dead
The most recent crashes have sparked cross-party support for action to be taken to try to prevent continued collisions which locals claim happen almost monthly and in some cases have been very serious
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
People living beside one of Wales' most dangerous roads have again called on the Welsh Government to take action after a motorcyclist was killed there last month. The 27-year-old biker's death on the A40 in Raglan, Monmouthshire, also known as the Raglan bypass, came in the same week of a separate crash on the A40 and sparked cross-party support for action to be taken to try to prevent continued collisions which locals claim happen almost monthly and in some cases have been very serious.
The particularly dangerous stretch is from the A449 to the Raglan roundabout on both sides of the dual carriageway and owes mostly to a series of strange junctions.
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Residents say you only have to stand beside the busy trunk road, which was 70mph and is now - temporarily - down to 50mph, for a matter of minutes to see how perilous it is.
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Cars coming from the A449 are encouraged by road signs to travel across the carriageway and turn right using the central reservation to head towards the villages of Mitchel Troy and Dingestow via Groesenon Road.
Those coming from the direction of Groesenon Road must also turn right across both sides of the A40 to travel towards Raglan and Abergavenny.
Less than 100 yards down the road towards Raglan vehicles also turn right from the Monmouth Road across the A40 to head towards Monmouth.
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This car got into difficulty when attempting to cross the dual carriageway from Monmouth Road across towards Monmouth - which is a legal manoeuvre but which locals say is clearly dangerous and should be stopped by altering the junctions
(Image: WalesOnline/ Rob Browne )
This is the view from the Groesenon Road side of the A40. You can see how to turn right you would be expected to go across, onto the central reservation and then onto the opposite carriageway. The problem is cars are coming from two directions and it can cause accidents
(Image: Jonathon Hill )
The vehicles coming from the A449 and the Monmouth Road could, and locals say should, head down to the roundabout at Raglan and come back up the opposite carriageway instead.
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But they don't blame motorists who end up in difficulty or worse, because they say it cannot be expected that drivers not used to the area should have the foresight to recognise the dangers.
Following meetings with residents it's understood it was proposed that the Welsh Government had planned to trial three 'quick win' measures to try to improve safety.
It's understood the measures included making the road permanently 50mph, banning drivers from turning right onto the A40 from Monmouth Road, and banning drivers from using the central reservation to turn right towards Groesenon Road. But residents say they've heard nothing since and they're growing more frustrated while crashes keep happening.
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Raglan Community Council said residents were 'becoming frustrated that officers and politicians with the authority to make changes and improvements, are not showing any urgency to make the necessary improvements'.
Last month Labour MP Catherine Fookes wrote to transport secretary Ken Skates that the Raglan community is 'all too familiar with frequent road accidents and blue lights'. She added: 'The community would very much like a visit from you so you can see the dangerous junction first hand.'
Residents who drive the route often say you can feel very vulnerable trying to make the right hand turns into the busy trunk road
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
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Julian Dyer, a long-time campaigner for road safety in the area, said one of the main issues is the central reservations in the middle of the A40 are not large enough areas for cars to be queuing in, meaning some vehicles which try to get into them often end up overhanging into the busy carriageway.
He said after the latest incidents: 'There have been a flurry of incidents recently at the junctions and there was one very soon after the very sad recent fatality. One of the incidents involved a police car.
'We had a meeting the other week with transport secretary Ken Skates and a number of MSs. Everyone always says they're full of sympathy for us and yet very little happens.
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'Just over a year ago they had a review and they identified three quick wins as they called them, and they involved a permanent 50mph speed limit on the bypass, scrapping the right hand turn from the top of Monmouth Road, and the other one would be to stop people turning right into that junction off the dual carriageway.
'I do think that would be a very good idea because it would mean for people turning right towards Raglan village from Mitchel Troy and Dingestow wouldn't have to worry about traffic coming at them from both ways basically.
"It would mean motorists who want to turn right from the carriageway would have to go down to the roundabout and come back up, which most of the locals do anyway because we know how unsafe the junction is.'
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Residents say currently there is little to no enforcement of the current temporary 50mph restriction which they say has so far made little difference.
Julian added: 'There is no enforcement of the 50mph route so they go tearing up there at the same sort of speed they used to before, possibly because they know it's temporary and there are no cameras. The temporary speed restriction hasn't made things much safer.'
A view of the junction at Monmouth Road
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
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Some locals say it is one of the most dangerous crossings in the country
(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne )
Sarah Phillips, who lives very close to the junctions, explained: 'The Welsh Government just keep reviewing it. It seems there's not enough fatal accidents for them to consider the junctions a priority and yet everyone here knows it's so dangerous.
'It's the fact people can come off a very fast-moving dual carriageway and then turn off right to go back across the carriageway and then people from the old road crossing at the same point. You've got people entering and exiting the carriageway from either side and it causes mayhem.
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'We live right by the carriageway and we can hear the speed of the traffic and people travel it really fast. To me it's the most dangerous crossing ever. It's not changed. It just needs a big overhaul. It needs a roundabout.'
Karl Jones, who lives in the area and has been involved in a collision at the junctions, said: 'It's just frustrating for me and everyone in the area who uses the road regularly that nothing has been done for years apart from an attempt to put temporary 50mph signs up which are not making much of a difference. That's literally all that has been done. It's not good enough.'
Conservative MS for south east Wales Laura Anne Jones said she is continuing to campaign alongside Raglan Community Council, Tory MS Peter Fox, Ms Fookes, county councillor Penny Jones and neighbouring councillors for safer junctions on the stretch of road, which she has previously described as a 'death trap' because of unsafe junctions. 'We have to act now to ensure the A40 junctions at Raglan are safe for motorists,' she added.
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Transport secretary Ken Skates responded: 'I recently met with local members to discuss the incidents on the A40 at Raglan. I have asked my officials to consider implementing further short-term measures while design takes place on the more medium- and longer-term options.'