Long-suffering residents forced to endure a near-deafening rumble along the A40 have finally received some welcome news. ??An announcement from Welsh Government this week said the National Assembly’s Petitions Committee ‘agreed’ with campaigners that the road must be resurfaced ‘as soon as possible’ and end the 10-year dispute.

Campaigners have fought for the government to upgrade the noisy concrete road between Abergavenny and Raglan by resurfacing the stretch with quieter ‘whisper’ tarmac.

Llanover County Councillor Sara Jones, and Monmouth Assembly Member Nick Ramsay, presented the Senedd with their petition back in July.

Receiving 164 signatures, the petition followed a long-standing campaign by local residents who have repeatedly called on the Welsh Government to take action, as the community has been ‘plagued’ by excessive road noise since the concrete A40 bypass was constructed in the early 1980s.??A number of people living near the road submitted evidence to the Committee describing the impact of traffic noise, outlining sleep problems, increased stress levels, and being woken by heavy-goods vehicles at 4am.

Campaigners have previously told this newspaper that the noise pollution coming from the A40 had significantly damaged their quality of life.

Letters from successive Welsh Government ministers in 2013 and 2014 were presented to the Committee suggesting that plans were in place for the road to be resurfaced when budgets allowed.

A more recent submission by the current Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Ken Skates AM, said there were no plans to resurface the road, but instead identified one section around Raglan that would benefit from noise-reducing barriers rather than resurfacing.

Further questioning by the Committee uncovered a survey commissioned by the South Wales Trunk Road Agency, the government arm responsible for maintaining the trunk road network in south Wales.

The survey stated that noise barriers would be a ‘simpler and less disruptive solution in the shorter term,’ whilst admitting that ‘the existing condition of the concrete carriageways is questionable and that a full reconstruction would be the only satisfactory long-term solution.’

“The Committee heard compelling evidence from the petitioners and local residents about the misery they are suffering as a result of road noise from the concrete A40,” said David Rowlands AM, Chair of the Petitions Committee.

“We accept that maintenance works can only take place when budgets allow, but ten years is a long time to wait and, with a prediction that traffic levels on that stretch of road will only increase, the situation is not set to improve.

“This cannot go on and we implore the Welsh Government to look at this as a matter of urgency,” he added.

The Committee recommended that, “Welsh Government should implement measures to reduce the impact of noise on local communities as a priority. Given there will soon be a need to carry out a full resurfacing programme on this road, we believe that serious consideration should be given to scheduling the replacement of the existing concrete surface at the earliest opportunity.”