Wales bends under weight
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• Predictions of wholesale bridge closures in West Wales following the introduction of the 40 and 41-tonne weight limits are beginning to come true.
Drivers are already hitting problems in the West Glamorgan industrial town of Pontardulais, which houses a British Steel works as well as other heavy industry.
Swansea City Council has imposed a 17-tonne limit on the Pontlliw Bridge on the A48 trunk road, while the eastern approaches off the M4 at Hendy are being restricted by a one-way system on the Gwili Bridge on the A4138. That bridge will also face a 17-tonne limit if it continues to deteriorate.
Many other bridges in West Wales face closure. One, regularly used by 1-10 Vs on the Swansea-Lampeter road, was found to have a safe carrying capacity of only eight tonnes. But Welsh Secretary Alun Michael has rejected pleas for extra Government funds to upgrade the Welsh road network.
'We are in a far worse position than England, where the funds have been made available for upgrading over a number of years,' says Carmarthenshire Highways Committee Chairman Robert Sully. "This is a situation that could cause a serious problem to the Welsh economy"