M4 Brynglas tunnel to shut eastbound as part of upgrade

The Brynglas tunnels are on one of the busiest stretches of the M4 in south Wales

A stretch of the M4 motorway is closed eastbound at Newport from Saturday evening to Sunday morning as the Brynglas tunnels upgrade continues.

Eastbound traffic between junctions 28 for Tredegar Park and 24 for the Coldra has been diverted via the A48 Southern Distributor Road.

The tunnel, just after junction 26 at Malpas, closed at 19:00 GMT on Saturday and will reopen on Sunday at 10:00.

As part of an upgrade programme, the westbound tunnel is shut week nights.

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This weekend's 15-hour closure is the first of five weekends of Saturday night/Sunday morning shutdowns.

The Welsh Government, which says the Brynglas tunnel refurbishments will finish in spring 2018, said the tunnels were built under old design standards and were no longer compliant.

The Usk River bridge and Malpas junction viaduct, either side of the tunnels, are also undergoing maintenance.

Scheduled Brynglas tunnels Saturday night/Sunday morning closures

Eastbound:

• 19:00 on 4 November - 10:00 5 November

Westbound:

• 19:00 on 11 November - 10:00 12 November

• 19:00 on 18 November - 10:00 19 November

• 19:00 on 25 November - 10:00 26 November

• 19:00 on 2 December - 10:00 3 December