Madam,

Machynlleth’s county councillor is absolutely correct to highlight the ridiculously excessive time it’s taking for a final decision to be announced on the new crossing over the River Dyfi. It has been dragging on for far too long and is well overdue for resolution.

We in the Dyfi Valley have past experience of being reneged upon by those in authority and it is essential that pressure is maintained on the Welsh Government to honour its promises.

However, I think the efforts of our town council would be far better focused in demanding better traffic-calming measures on Newtown Road which is already a consistently busy route, being the gateway to Machynlleth from the Midlands and beyond.

Once work does eventually start on a new bridge, it is inevitable that a huge amount of extra traffic and freight is going to avoid those roadworks by diverting to that route instead.

That area is the most densely-populated area of Machynlleth, with junctions to three large housing estates.

Furthermore it is the location of our primary school, hospital and fire and ambulance stations, all of which need regular access onto that trunk road.

It is essential that measures are considered urgently to ensure the safety of everybody who uses that road and those who live or work in that part of town.

This was raised years ago by the then town councillors with the Welsh Government, but it too seems to have been brushed under the carpet. The town council should press for these measures before it is too late.

Yours etc,

Gareth Jones, Trem yr Allt, Machynlleth.

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