Bank Holiday motoring madness and more roadworks to come

Residents and motorists in Newtown can expect the annual spring Bank Holiday madness with a few additional problems this time as the area anticipates holidaymakers to make their way into and through the area this weekend.

Friday afternoon and evening is expected to see heavy traffic along the A483 from Welshpool which is likely to be compounded by the temporary traffic lights on the trunk road near Abermule where a lorry crashed into the canal last January.

Staff from Powys County Council's highways department are expected to control the traffic lights during the peak periods to ensure a steady flow of traffic in both directions, but with the annual Bank Holiday getaway, the road could become gridlocked all the way into Newtown, causing misery for local people and visitors.

Saturday morning normally sees another rush of traffic wit delays expected along the main road and into town from the north.

Meanwhile, anyone heading to Welshpool is warned to expect severe delays.

Roadworks on Church Road (between the old Spar and traffic lights) mean the road is closed, forcing all town centre traffic along the one way system into Brook Street and Salop Road to get out of town.

Traffic from the bypass is being sent up Severn Road which is the main route into the town.

But so far this week there have been severe delays for motorists trying to get into town from the Tesco road direction, causing delays for those coming from the other routes, including Guilsfield and Llanfair Caereinion.

In Newtown from 1 June more traffic problems can be expected with pipework repairs being undertaken along Cambrian Way into Commercial Street.

The work will take 15 weeks with temporary traffic lights used throughout.

However, with the additional hourly train services from Newtown and Caersws along the Cambrian Railway, maybe it's worth letting the train take the strain - if you can get to the station.

Photo: The lorry immersed in the Montgomery Canal which is still impacting on traffic with temporary traffic lights on the A483 near Abermule (© Owain Betts)