A470 Powys road closure sends drivers on two-hour detour

A five-mile road closure on a major road in mid Wales has forced motorists to take a two-hour detour.

Part of the A470 was shut after a wall separating the road fell into a river.

The road has been closed immediately north-west of Talerddig, between Carno and Dolfach in Powys and will remain shut until further notice.

Traffic Wales said: "We appreciate that the diversion is lengthy but the route needs to be of the same class of road that's closed."

The journey from Carno to Dolfach should only take eight minutes by car, but is likely to take at least two hours following the diversions suggested by Traffic Wales.

Six pupils at Ysgol Bro Hyddgen, in Machynlleth, were unable to attend school on Friday following the closure, according to the school.

Angharad Jones, from Talerddig said school buses to Ysgol Bro Hyddgen were unable to transport children from Carno and Talerddig on Friday morning, and parents had to take them to meet the bus in Llanbrynmair.

"A lot of parents work, lucky that we work from home, and were able to take them," she said.

"There were no buses able to transport children to Newtown College either."

She added that a narrow back road was now being used, but is unsuitable for the amount of traffic.

"People have heard through Facebook about the back way to avoid this, and it's just been terribly busy, and creating a lot of trouble," she added.

"It's a one lane road, and although there are quite a few passing places, it's not suitable when there are three cars trying to pass three cars.

"If an accident or something happens, this road could also be closed, it's very bad."

The announcement sparked an angry reaction from motorists online who said the wall has needed repair work for years and complained the diversion was too long.

Terry Holloway posted that there were "much shorter routes" than the diversions put in place.

Traffic Wales added: "We want everyone to reach their destination safely. We will provide more updates in due course."

Max Gethin said on Facebook that the road had "been like it for two years" and claimed authorities had been "messing about with 20mph signs and wasting money instead of sorting dangerous roads out".

Pennant Jones, who farms in Ystrad Fawr, said the repair work is taking too long.

"Too much time passes between the time they find a fault and the time they fix it, because they take so long, the problem gets worse," he said.

"I know that money is scarce, but we can't not have a road link from north to south, it's not an option to save money, the road is necessary ."