The Welsh government is investing £15.5m in the 2km-long St Athan Northern Access Road (NAR), which will tie into the existing Eglwys Brewis road and the B4265. It has been developed to take traffic away from St Athan and the Eglwys Brewis road.
In addition to providing the necessary access to the Aerospace Business Park, the design has incorporated environmental defence works to help protect the villages of Llanmaes and Boverton from flooding.
Alun Griffiths (Contractors) was awarded a £9.8m contract for the main works by the Vale of Glamorgan Council in December 2017.
Advance works started in January with top soil strip, along with the installation of site fencing and archaeological investigation works. Some minor historic finds were discovered as part of the investigation, but nothing so significant that would cause delay to the start of planned construction, the Welsh government said, with completion predicted in autumn 2019.
Cutting the turf to mark the official start of the work, transport secretary Ken Skates said: “Unconstrained vehicular access to the Aerospace Business Park is essential to allow it to compete on an international stage and maximise the economic benefits that come with such increased exposure.
“The Northern Access Road provides the business park with a fit for purpose access to major highway routes for vehicles of all sizes, including logistic. The new road will be able to accommodate successful future growth and the route is sympathetic to needs identified in the area’s local development plan. This one project fulfils three equally important roles, and I am pleased Welsh government has been able to invest in it.”
Alun Griffiths (Contractors) director Alun Smith said: “We are delighted to have been successful in our bid to assist Welsh government in providing the improvements in infrastructure around the St Athan area, which will allow the Aerospace Business Park to be developed to its full potential. The project team are fully committed to completing the scheme within time and budget, despite having to resolve some challenging circumstances along the way. Our primary concern as always is to complete the project safely and with as little disruption to the local residents and travelling public as possible.”
Since January 2018, Alun Griffiths (Contractors) has been owned by Tarmac parent company CRH. [See our previous report here.]
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