£5m Boost for Roads, Flood Alleviation, and Structures in Rhondda Cynon Taf

Works on roads, flood alleviation and structures such as bridges in Rhondda Cynon Taf will benefit from nearly £5m extra during the rest of this financial year.
The council’s cabinet has signed off investment worth £4.75m as part of its supplementary programme of highways, structures and flood alleviation schemes at a meeting on Monday, November 20.
The council said this is on top of its ongoing highways and transportation capital programme for 2023-24.
It will see £1.5m go towards highways,  £200,000 towards flood alleviation £2.5m towards structures and £550,000 towards the Making Better Use Programme.
The £1.5m allocated to highways will be used on 23 road resurfacing schemes (£1.146m) and 16 footway improvement schemes (£304,000), as well as minor patching works where needed (£50,000).
The £200,000 set aside for flood alleviation will help continue to fund ongoing work that has improved the surface water sewer network in many locations, the council said.
Typical work includes CCTV surveys and cleaning of the network, identifying and carrying out repairs, and improving access arrangements to culverts.
The £2.5m for structures will progress five repair or refurbishment schemes  which are the A4059 Afon Cynon Bridge in Cwmbach, Rheola Bridge in Porth, Glan Road Bridge in Aberdare, Llanwonno Road Railway Bridge in Stanleytown and Glan y Llyn Bridge in Glantaff. Funding is also allocated for preparatory work to various other structures, and retaining wall refurbishments at many locations.
The £550,000 earmarked for the Making Better Use Programme will go towards taking forward preliminary design and project development for A4059 corridor enhancements – to further improve traffic flow on the road through the Cynon Valley.
Council leader Councillor Andrew Morgan said it’s in line with manifesto commitments and the corporate plan and that residents have told the council its priorities.
In September, cabinet agreed a wider, one-off £7.73m investment for council priority areas which included parks and green spaces, town centres, leisure centres and accommodation for older people. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​