Rocketing costs threaten A40 dualling

Spiraling cost estimates could bury plans to convert the A40 between St Clears and Haverfordwest into a dual carriageway.

Figures recently obtained by Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth show that the cost estimates for the proposed dualling have more than doubled from £70 million to £155 million. The revised costs were presented to a meeting of the Welsh Assembly's Economic Development and Transport Committee on April 1 st .

It is believed that plans to dual the existing road have had to be scrapped because of safety and alignment problems. As a result, a new and much more costly dual carriageway would have to be built alongside the existing A40.

Ellie Clegg, coordinator of Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth, said:

"We have always argued that the dualling of this section of the A40 could not be justified financially. These new cost estimates should be the final nail in the coffin of a plan that would harm both the environment and the economy of Pembrokeshire.

"A superhighway through the county would increase pollution while making it easier to travel to Ireland and by-pass local communities, tourist attractions and businesses. It would also make it easier for local people to drive out of the county to shop in larger towns like Carmarthen, Swansea and Cardiff."

Government experts, the Standing Committee on Trunk Road Assessment, have warned that building fast roads into peripheral areas could cause more economic harm than good as they could lead to economic leakage from weaker to stronger economic areas.

Friends of the Earth believes that the Welsh Assembly is now likely to concentrate its limited resources on building a new M4 motorway to the south of Newport in Gwent to alleviate the congestion problems in that area. It is argued that this would also improve traffic flows between England and west Wales.

Gordon James, Assembly Campaigner with Friends of the Earth Cymru, said:

"It is estimated that dualling the A40 would only reduce travel times between St Clears and Haverfordwest by about six to seven minutes. This small gain in time cannot be justified at such a huge financial cost. The money would be far better spent on minor upgrading measures on the existing A40 and improving public transport and facilities for cycling and walking.

"The proposed changes to train services west of Carmarthen , for instance, would be another blow to public transport in west Wales . Priority should be given to ensuring that these services are improved rather than downgraded."

An alternative proposal of local road upgrading's, such as a single lane by-pass for Robeston Wathen, crawler lanes for slow moving traffic and special measures for farm vehicles, has been recommended by Friends of the Earth. The latest cost estimates from the Welsh Assembly state that a package of measures such as these would be far cheaper at just £35 million.

Friends of the Earth Cymru is also challenging the argument that a dual carriageway would result in improvements on road safety. Official figures obtained by them show that, between 1991 and 2001, both the number of road accident levels and of fatalities per mile were higher on the dual carriageway between St Clears and Carmarthen than between St Clears and Haverfordwest. The greater speed of traffic on the dualled section was thought to be an important factor in this.

Gordon James continued:

"We shall be lobbying the local Assembly Member, Christine Gwyther, and local MP, Nick Ainger, to try to persuade them to support the more cost-effective proposal of minor upgrades. We believe that this would be the better environmental and economic option for Pembrokeshire."

Note

Papers from the April 1 st meeting of the Welsh Assembly's Economic Development and Transport Committee can be found on the Welsh Assembly web site.