A Monmouth man is part of the A40 Safety Group that has been given access to all past records on the A40 carriageway.

One the first anniversary of the landslip, Andy Smith told the Beacon that from the time of construction in 1960s, it was known that the area was prone to large landslips and that the “carriageways were built over the unstable rubble of past slips.

“Parts of the road fell away several times during construction and the Chapel Farm buildings near the riverbank were badly damaged and so demolished. Attempts were made to stabilise the area between the carriageways and the river Wye and these included installing extensive drainage works under the road.

“There was nothing that could be done to stabilise the thousands of tons of steeply inclined rock above the carriageways so it was decided to constantly monitor those areas thought to be at most risk of slipping. This was complicated by the fact that the land beside the road was in private ownership, forested and used by deer, ramblers and even off-road motorcycles. Several different movement monitoring methods were used over the decades but all monitoring was stopped in 2018.”

Locals reported during the construction of the A40 in the 1960s that the workers on the construction of the roads found their machines “sliding all over the place” and they warned then that there would always be a problem at the site.

The Safety Group found that it was not only the waterlogged area above the carriageways that caused concern. The records for the original drainage works under the carriageways had been lost and those culverts and drains that could be found were dry. A landslip on the riverbank walk in 2021 had occurred almost directly below the 2024 rockfall onto the road. This appeared to provide evidence that the instability of the hillside extended beneath the carriageways as rainwater found its uncontrolled way to the river.

National Highways hired the company Morgan Sindall to conduct a survey of the area above the road and then make recommendations about how best to go forward. The area between the river and the road was not to be surveyed and there are no current plans to reinstate or replace the drainage that previous monitoring contractors had considered essential.

After the February 2024 rockfall, both carriageways heading into England were closed and there was traffic chaos until one lane was reopened. An initial survey was conducted for National Highways and the presence of dormice and bats noted.

“The dormice were then used to excuse many months of inactivity. More than eight months after the rockfall, a contraflow on the carriageway heading into Wales was finally opened, so allowing the higher carriageway to be closed,” he added

Today, more than a year after the initial rockfall, Morgan Sindall staff have spent several weeks carefully removing all undergrowth from the hillside immediately above and beside the rockfall. The area they have cleared extends ten metres from the road and is around 60 metres long.

“It is time to ask National Highways to stop dithering and assess the situation both above and below the carriageways both thoroughly and quickly.

“If the road can be safely opened, please do it. If not, please start work on a realistic alternative route,” he said.