There are “severe” delays on the M4 near Newport after an accident. One lane was closed westbound between junction 26 Malpas and junction 27 High Cross.
Vehicles involved were quickly moved to the paved shoulder, but traffic monitors are reporting major delays in the area. Congestion was back on the Prince of Wales Bridge just after 4.15pm.
There were also delays around Swansea this afternoon following an earlier accident at junction 42 Swansea East with congestion back to junction 43 at Llandarcy.
Roads in Wales are expected to be busy today at the start of the bank holiday weekend and May half term. More than 20 million holiday journeys are expected to be made on bank holidays this year at the end of May, as traffic returns to near pre-pandemic 2019 levels, according to a new study of driver getaway plans by the RAC and INRIX.
Analysis suggests the worst day for travel will be Friday, with more than 4 million journeys planned, as it is not only the start of the long weekend but also the start of half term for many UK schools.
Data from Traffic Wales showed that last year over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, traffic flows increased by approx. 10% over the previous month. The busiest day was Friday, with peak journeys taking around 10 to 20 minutes longer.
Traffic volumes look set to remain consistently high throughout the long weekend, with 3.7 million journeys expected on Saturday 25 May, while 3.4 million journeys are expected on Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday.
Thousands are also set to take over a Welsh farm this weekend as one of Wales’ biggest music events, the In It Together Festival, returns. There is already a heavy traffic warning in place around the Margam junction on the M4 as people get to the site.
The Met Office forecast for Friday is for a mostly dry day. The forecast for Wales says: “Rain will start in places, mainly in the north and west, although it will largely dry out elsewhere during the day. Some brighter spells in the afternoon, especially in the south where it will be warmer. Lighter winds than on Thursday.” Maximum temperature 16 °C.”
17:49Ffion Lewis
Queues on the M4
- Long delays on the M4 Westbound between J40 A4107 Tanygroes Street (Port Talbot / Taibach) and J45 A4067 (Ynysforgan).
- Long delays on the M4 Westbound between J23 M48 and J25A A4042 (Newport / Cwmbran).
17:26Ffion Lewis
After yesterday’s delay, the festival queues grew
In It Together Festival said there are longer queues for today’s festival following the incident on the M4 yesterday.
Posted by:
“Due to yesterday’s unforeseen circumstances, we are experiencing high volumes of traffic at the entry gates and increased queue times. Please be patient with the team – we are working tirelessly to get everyone parked and through the entry gates as quickly as possible.”
4:26 p.mCathy Owen
Long delays on the M4
Delays on the M4 westbound are now back at the Prince of Wales Bridge.
4:08 p.mCathy Owen
Delays on the main Cardiff route
There are reports of traffic on one of the main routes from Cardiff.
Police are at the scene on the A4232 near the Leckwith Interchange.
3:41 p.mCathy Owen
Where will the biggest delays be
Traffic is expected to pick up during the day on Friday, with traffic analytics specialists INRIX advising motorists to delay their departures until 6pm to avoid the worst of the queues as both commuters and drivers share the roads for free time.
Across the UK, the main rush of traffic is expected to be carried by the M25 clockwise between J7 for the M23 and J21 for the M1, with delays of more than an hour and a half for commuters on this section in the late afternoon.
3:12 p.mCathy Owen
Monitors reports of “severe” delays
Vehicles involved in this accident between junction 26 Malpas and junction 27 High Cross. have been moved to the paved shoulder, but traffic monitors are reporting “severe” westbound delays.
Major delays are back at J23A Magor Services. Traffic is also congested on the opposite side due to onlookers.
3:07 p.mCathy Owen
M4 accident near busy Newport junction
There has been a crash on the M4 near Newport this afternoon.
One lane is closed westbound between junction 26 Malpas and junction 27 High Cross.
Access overload.
2:48 p.mCathy Owen
Freeway reopens after crash
All lanes have now reopened after an accident on the M4 near Swansea.
Severe constipation persists.
2:27 p.mCathy Owen
Long delays remain after a crash
There are still long delays and one lane closed after an accident on the M4 eastbound at junction 42 Briton Ferry.
Lane one (of two) remains closed. Just before 1:40 p.m., all traffic was suspended for several minutes. Traffic is also congested on the opposite side due to onlookers.
1:00 p.mCathy Owen
The accident caused delays for Swansea
An accident is causing delays on the M4 in Swansea this afternoon.
One lane is closed eastbound at junction 42 Swansea East. Congestion is back at junction 43 in Llandarcy.
Traffic is also congested on the opposite side due to onlookers.
12:32 p.mCathy Owen
Changing tires causes delays
There are delays on the M4 in Monmouthshire.
A vehicle has a tire change on the eastbound carriageway between junction 23 Magor and the Prince of Wales Bridge.
12:25 p.mCathy Owen
M4 overload warning
Traffic monitors are reporting slow traffic on the M4 eastbound from junction 42 Briton Ferry to junction 40 Port Talbot.
Traffic jams are expected in the area as people start arriving for the In It Together festival at Margam Park.
11:54 a.mCathy Owen
Slow traffic on the M4
Traffic monitors and cameras show heavy westbound traffic at the Brynglas Tunnels on the M4 in Newport.
Driving time in the area is about 10 minutes.
11:19 a.mCathy Owen
Delays in trains
A bank holiday break on the main train route is aborted due to an attempted theft of signaling cables.
National Rail Inquiries said trains must run at reduced speeds between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton until the damaged cables are repaired.
Meanwhile, switch failures prevent trains from stopping at stations between these locations.
The issues affect passengers traveling with Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Railway.
Many train services will also be affected this weekend as Network Rail carry out engineering projects.
10:44 a.mCathy Owen
Today is expected to be the busiest time
Traffic Wales, which monitors major routes across the network, has put together some charts to show when the busiest times are expected.
10:31 amCathy Owen
Queues heading to the festival
Traffic monitoring system Inrix shows that there are already queues for the In It Together festival which starts today.
There are queues on the A48 at Pyle westbound near the Margam Park venue.