Residents living near the Brynglas Tunnels are being made aware a section of the M4 is scheduled to close for routine maintenance on 26 June.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
While closed the Emergency Services are taking the opportunity to carry out an exercise developed to challenge responders, giving them real-time experience in tunnel rescues.
To carry out the maintenance, the M4 will have to be closed to traffic in both directions from 8pm until 6am the following morning.
Working with the Trunk Road Agent responsible for the tunnels, the emergency services exercise will start as soon as possible following the closure of the M4 and will take place inside the tunnels.
To minimise any disturbances caused by the exercise, responding Emergency Service vehicles will meet at Malpas Fire Station. They will travel to the tunnels without sounding their sirens or using the blue lights.
The exercise may generate some noise within the Tunnels when using systems to test the Emergency Services taking part.
By trialling a multi-agency response it gives police, traffic management teams, ambulance and fire services the opportunity to test and perfect the coordination of their emergency response.
Once the exercise has been completed, the planned maintenance will begin and the M4 will open again as soon as both the exercise and the necessary maintenance are complete.
Further Information will be available closer to the time and can be found on the Traffic Wales website.
Transport Minister Ken Skates said:
“It’s important all residents in the area are informed about not only the routine maintenance which will close the road, but the possible disturbances the vital emergency exercise might cause.
“This is a prime opportunity to test the new safety equipment that has been installed in the tunnels at a time which should inconvenience motorists the least.
“Practical training sessions for our emergency services are crucial to ensure they are well-equipped to respond to a wide range of emergencies.
“We don’t want anyone to be alarmed, and would like to thank residents for their patience while this is being carried out.”
Clare Langshaw, Resiliance Manager for the Welsh Ambulance Service said:
“The Welsh Ambulance Service would like to reassure residents that the vehicles involved are non-operational and the crews are all off duty therefore this exercise will have no impact on our response times to patients in the local area.