14th December 2006 - WINTER ROAD RENEWAL GETS UNDERWAY ON A40

A programme of winter road renewal is now well underway on the A40 and A487 in the picturesque port and coastal town of Fishguard, South Wales.

Tarmac is carrying out road resurfacing and footway repair and maintenance work along these two busy routes, which lead to Cardigan in the North and Haverfordwest in the South, as part of the South Wales Trunk Road Agency's Framework Agreement, on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The contract is valued at around £700,000 and will be completed by March 2007.

In addition to repairing and replacing paving stones and kerb stones along the footways, the contract team will plane the existing road surfaces to a depth of 240 mm before laying a Tarmac Masterflex surface course and a binder course. The programme of works has been scheduled to minimise disruption for local road users and pedestrians in the run up to the festive season.

Mr Richard Jones, Manager, South Wales Trunk Road Agency, said:

"These well-used trunk roads lie in the heart of Fishguard's retail centre, within one of the town's main regeneration zones. With many exciting developments underway in the area, we need to make sure that our transport infrastructure is strong enough to cater for the increased numbers of business people and shoppers visiting the town."

Ian Bayliss, Tarmac's contracts manager, said:

"As both routes are single lane, we have to close the roads temporarily in order to complete the works and this has been staggered to minimise disruption in the run up to the Christmas shopping period. We are also carrying out paving repairs to bus bays in the square, which can only take place on Sundays.

"By planning a series of four separate road closures, we can ensure that the main shopping area of the town centre is easy to access at all times."