PART of a bridge has collapsed near Caerwent, and engineers say the road crossing it could be closed for seven days. The bridge, crossing the Nedern Brook is on the road linking Caerwent to Caldicot.

County council engineers were informed of the situation on Wednesday (14th May) afternoon and following an immediate inspection a decision was made on safety grounds to close the bridge to traffic.

Highways engineers inspected the site with contractors on yesterday and estimated the road could be closed for up to an additional seven days once repair works start on Monday, May 19th. Following completion of the repair works a single lane will be opened under traffic lights until a permanent solution is reached to replace the bridge.

Closure signs are in place and traffic will be diverted from Caerwent along the A48 to the Parkwall roundabout and the B4245 to Caldicot.