LONG-awaited improvements to junction 28 of the M4 at Tredegar Park, which were previously expected to get underway early this year, have been pushed back until June, it has been revealed.

But, although the Welsh Government has said it has delayed the work to avoid clashing with the roadworks on Cardiff Road, it will come at the same time as the closure of the Bridge Street bridge, one of the major routes through the city.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The improvement works to junction 28 of the M4, Tredegar Park roundabout, have been moved to June to avoid clashing with ongoing construction works on Newport Council’s highway network associated with rail electrification.”

Once the £10.5 million project is finished the Tredegar Park roundabout will have a more elongated shape, allowing drivers to pass straight through and, it is hoped, cutting rush-hour bottlenecks.

Network Rail engineers have been on site in Cardiff Road since December replacing the Somerton Road bridge in preparation for the electrification of the rail line. But the work has caused delays as a result of the four-lane carriageway – the main route into the city from the west – being reduced to a single lane, one-way road.

The work is expected to be fully complete by the end of May, allowing the junction 28 work to begin the following month.

But this will coincide with a second large-scale Network Rail project currently slated to begin during the summer, which will see Bridge Street closed for six months.

The news comes after managing partner at Newport accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young Paul Byett said problems on the city’s road were costing firms thousands of pounds a week.

Last month the Argus reported Mr Byett called on the Welsh Government to schedule roadworks projects in a way that did not make problems worse.

“Newport can barely manage one infrastructure project that clogs our arteries,” he said. “Please make sure that it does not overlap with any other road projects.

“We have to resolve the issues or we will see a mass exodus of businesses from our great city.”

Although Network Rail has said electrification will cut journey times and be better for the environment, the organisation has come under fire after the predicated costs of the project soared by more than £1 billion. Although the electrification of the Great Western Line was originally projected to cost £1.6 billion, it is now predicted to have increased to £2.8 billion.

The westbound slip road to the M4 bridge over the A48 will also be demolished and the nearby roundabouts at Bassaleg and Pont Ebbw will be improved as part of the work at junction 28.