ASSEMBLY Member for Monmouth Nick Ramsay has called on the Welsh Government to develop far better cross border co-operation between Welsh and English Highways Authorities, after delays of more than two hours in Chepstow yesterday morning.

Work began on Monday to remove the toll booths, as Highways England warned of six weeks of delays at junction two of the eastbound carriageway of the M48.Traffic management is in place until 15th April to allow the toll plaza on the England side of the bridge to be removed.The bridge was fully closed eastbound last night, with an overnight closure on the westbound carriageway of the Prince of Wales Bridge from 8pm on 13th February to 6am on Thursday.Mr Ramsay has made his call after commuters were caught up in traffic chaos around the town for over two hours on Tuesday morning, the result of what he described as poorly planned roadworks on the Severn Bridge and M48.Speaking yesterday Nick Ramsay said: "Whilst today’s problems have perhaps been exceptional, congestion in Chepstow has been getting worse and worse for a variety of reasons for several years. "Tuesday morning’s problems seem to have been exacerbated by poorly-managed roadworks on the Severn Bridge and M48 with traffic being diverted away from the motorway at the Newhouse Roundabout.Continued on Page 2"There doesn’t seem to have been any effective communication between the Welsh and England Highways Authorities in advance of these works to try and mitigate the predictable consequences."Congestion and air pollution are bad enough in Chepstow at the best of times but the current situation has made matters worse."I am calling on the Welsh Government to urgently develop better cross-border co-operation with Highways England to avoid these problems developing again in the future."