A new milestone has been reached on the Heads of the Valleys project, with the opening of a new bridge.

The A465 Section 2 project between Gilwern and Brynmawr saw the opening of a new overbridge linking Station Road with Gilwern village, last week.

The feat was celebrated by local residents who were the first to drive over the bridge when it was formally opened at 14.30hrs on Thursday, January 26.

Adrian Edwards, a resident of Old Trap Road and Clerk to the Llanelly community council, was accompanied by his neighbours Mr Les and Mrs Olive Thomas, who have lived on Old Trap Road for nearly 50 years. ??The couple were the first to experience the short drive over the unique concrete arch.

Adrian Edwards said, “Both as a local resident and a clerk to the community council it is good to see progress being made after a long wait during the construction process. It is also interesting to learn that Gilwern has a unique and possibly internationally acclaimed structure. But the most important part of this, residents from the Station Road of the A465 will be able to cross the road without facing the dangers of the old junction.”

Bruce Richards, Project Director for Costain said, “Notwithstanding the poor weather conditions over the past four weeks, the construction programme continues to make progress and it is really good to report the near completion of significant sections of work.

“It is also important to stress that milestone events like the opening of the arch bridge are good for the road users, local residents and our workforce, providing a level of reassurance that the project is making good progress and being delivered to a high standard of safety and quality”

The bridge structure is believed to be the widest spanning pre-cast concrete BEBO arch bridge in the world.  It has 70 pre-cast units each weighing 28 tonnes, a total length of 52.84 metres, a height of 6.27 metres and a span of 29.2 metres.?