Misery for motorists as bank holiday getaway sees huge tailbacks on M4

Parts of the M4 remain busy

The roads have cleared up, however there are still long delays on parts of the M4.

• There are delays on the M4 in Swansea, Westbound from J44 to J45 in patches.
• Traffic remains slow on the M4 in Newport, Westbound

Heavy traffic in Swansea

There is heavy traffic in Swansea on the A4067 Mumbles Road in both directions at B4436 Mayals Road. The traffic could be heavier with traffic heading towards The Mumbles and the Gower.

This is the state of the M4

• There is queuing traffic along the M4 in Neath Port Talbot Westbound from J38 A48 to J46.
• Traffic on the M4 in Newport remains slow following an earlier crash between J29 A48 (M) and J28 A48 (Tredegar Park).
• Traffic on the M4 in Monmouth remains slow following an earlier breakdown at J25A

All lanes re-opened on M4 in Newport

All lanes have been re-opened on the M4 in Newport following an earlier crash. The accident happened between J29 A48 (M) to J28 A48. Residual delays are expected to remain.

Heavy traffic in Newport

Google Traffic Maps show heavy traffic on the M4 in Newport. Traffic monitor Inrix says one lane is blocked on the M4 Eastbound from J29 A48 (M) to J28 A48 (Tredegar Park). A van is believed to have been involved in the crash.

Accident on the M4 in Newport

There has been an accident on the M4 in Newport. One lane is closed Eastbound from J29 A48(M) to J28 A48 (Tredegar Park). Lane three (of three) is blocked.

All traffic is currently being held.

Standstill traffic on the A465

Traffic is queuing on the A465 Heads Of The Valleys Road due to a police incident.

There is queuing traffic from Old Trap Road (Maesygwartha) to A4047 King Street (Brynmawr roundabout).

There is congestion to Govilon roundabout Westbound and back beyond Rassau turn off eastbound.

Traffic is particularly bad through Gilwern, according to traffic sensors.

Public transport in the area has also been affected.

Gwent Police has been contacted for details but none are yet available.

Total of 24 miles of queuing or standstill traffic in four sections of the M4

There are long queues in several places on the M4.

Currently, traffic maps are showing the following delays:

• The longest is on the M4 westbound between Junction 23 and Junction 26 - a distance of nine miles.
• There’s another long queue, leaving Cardiff on the A48 towards Newport - there is five miles of heavy traffic.
• There are queues for around six miles between Port Talbot and North Cornelly.
• Between Baglan and Skewen, Swansea, there’s another five miles of traffic.

Broken down car causing delays on the M4

There is also queuing traffic on the M4 in Bridgend, Westbound due to an earlier broken down car. Delays have been reported from Porthcawl (which is Junction 37) to Margam (Junction 38). The lane which was closed has reopened.

Major road in Dolgarrog closed

A major road has been closed following a crash.

Motorists are being urged to avoid the A470 near Dolgarrog in Conwy following a collision.

Long delays are expected in the area.

Delays on the M4 in Newport

There are delays on the M4 in Newport. The traffic is from an earlier broken down vehicle on the M4 Eastbound, from J27 B4591 to J26 A4051. Lane one (of three) was briefly closed heading towards the Brynglas Tunnel. All lanes have been re-opened, though there are delays to Cardiff Gate.

Queuing traffic in Gilwern

There is queuing traffic in Gilwern, Monmouthshire due to a police incident. There is traffic from the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road at A4077 Main Road (Gilwern junction). The entry slip road was closed but has since re-opened. The road is closed due to a police incident which is thought to be off the road, but police may need to close the road completely at some point this afternoon.

The full picture along the M4 at the moment

While the westbound side remains congested around Newport thanks to that earlier broken down lorry on the slip road at junction 25A - it’s now been cleared but congestion is still back as far as Magor - there are plenty of other stretches of the M4 which are moving slowly due to holiday traffic. Our monitors are currently showing delays at:

• Neath Port Talbot in both directions, with queues between junctions 43 for Llandarcy and 38 for Margam.
• Carmarthenshire on the westbound side between junction 48, for Hendy/Llanelli, and the Pont Abraham roundabout.
• Junction 30 eastbound for Cardiff Gate stretching back to junction 26.

Traffic being held on the M4

The broken down lorry on the M4 westbound remains on the exit slip road - meaning there are still traffic problems.

Traffic is now being temporarily held westbound at Junction 25A.

Congestion is up to Junction 23A (Magor)

Queuing traffic in Carmarthenshire

There is queuing traffic on the M4 in Carmarthenshire.

The worst of the problems are between J48 (Hendy/Llanelli) and the A48 Pont Abraham.

A4232 Cardiff is very busy

Holiday traffic is being blamed for queues on the A4232 southbound. That’s the road between Cardiff West services to the A48 Cowbridge Road.

Good news! Some traffic is easing

In a few of the hotspots, traffic is now easing. They are:

• The M4 between J26 (Malpas Road) to J27 (Highcross)
• M4 eastbound between J45 and J43.
• The A40 eastbound on the A4242
• And at Lovesgrove in Ceredigion where traffic had been building due to a music festival

A470 closed in both directions

There’s been an incident which has led to the A470 being closed in both directions.

We’re told it’s closed between the Erw Glas campsite and Llanrwst.

A car has collided with a building, according to North Wales Police.

M4 lane reopens

All lanes have now reopened after an earlier incident on the M4 westbound.

A vehicle had broken down between Junction 26 and Junction 27.

The lane has now reopened but there is still slow traffic.

Why the roads are so busy?

Drivers are planning to make an estimated 16.5m trips between Friday and the bank holiday Monday.

According to the RAC, Friday and Saturday are expected to be the busiest days, with a combined 9.4m trips.

On Monday itself there are to be around 3.7m separate leisure journeys.

RAC patrol of the year Ben Aldous said:

For many people, this coming weekend is the last chance to enjoy a long weekend this side of Christmas – and with the weather improving that’s likely to mean a lot of cars on the road heading to popular tourist destinations.

A lot of the breakdowns we expect to see this weekend are preventable, so it’s vital drivers check over their car before setting out. Tyres with plenty of tread and properly inflated are far less likely to cause drivers problems, and it’s crucial that oil and coolant are at the right levels too. All are quick, easy things to check and can save drivers the hassle of a breakdown at the roadside.

'Long delays' on A465

Queues were already reported but they are getting longer...There are now what are described as “long delays” on the A465 between Brynmawr and Gilwern.

More bad news from the M4

There’s now another incident on the M4 westbound.

A lane has been closed because of a broken down vehicle. It’s broken down between Junction 26 (Malpas) to Junction 28 (Tredegar Park).

Delays growing in earlier incident

Earlier, delays were reported westbound at Margam, those delays have now got even longer.

They were originally reported as being from Junction 38 to 41, but are now extended to Junction 44 - which is at Lon Las.

Further delays reported from across Wales

There are a number of further incidents being reported from across Wales:

• There is queuing traffic at the A48 at Pensarn roundabout in Carmarthenshire
• At the A483 in Welshpool, queues are forming
• In north Wales, at Shotwick there is traffic between the A494 southbound to A550 Gladstone Way
• Traffic is heavier than normal for those heading onto Anglesey on the A55 Britannia Bridge
• Queues are also reported in Cardiff because of road closures due to Pride Cymru on City Hall lawns

Crash outside holiday park in north Wales

A man had to be cut free from a car following a crash on the A493 in Tywyn.

North Wales Police said the incident happened at around 10.15am on the A493 outside the Pall Mall Holiday Park and involved a black Seat and a black Saab.

A spokesman for North Wales Fire and Rescue said crews cut one man free from a car by removing the roof.

A spokeswoman for Welsh Ambulance Service added:

We were called on Friday, August 23, at approximately 10.16am to reports of a road traffic accident involving two vehicles near Tywyn. We responded with two emergency ambulances and our crew received the support of the Welsh Air Ambulance as well as the Police and Fire & Rescue Services.

The road was closed from 10.30am until 1pm.

There are still queues on the M5

This is the latest picture of the traffic on the M5.

Whether you’re heading north or south, it looks like the roads will be heavy going.

'Plan ahead'

Traffic cameras are showing that there is also congestion on the A494 at Drome Corner in Flintshire.

The advice is to plan ahead and leave plenty of time for your journey.

Air Ambulance at Gwynedd crash

Our colleagues at North Wales Live have reported the Air Ambulance has been called to a crash near a lake.

Emergency services are currently at Tal-y-Llyn in Gwynedd following a one-vehicle crash.

Police and fire crews are also at the scene.

There are also delays if you're heading west

Delays are reported on the M4 westbound between Junction 38 (Margam) and Junction 41 (Pentyla/Baglan).

There is still heavy traffic on the M4

The worst of the traffic on the M4 now appears to be around Newport.

There had been queues around Cardiff at Junction 29 - where the motorway meets the A48(M) into Cardiff - but that has now cleared.