RCT backs £3.5m extra road repairs, with full council vote still due

Rhondda Cynon Taf’s cabinet has backed an extra £3.5m for roads and footways, including 28 resurfacing schemes and 15 footway repairs. The package still needs approval from full council before the additional investment can proceed.

Where the money would go

Cabinet agreed the allocations on Monday 21 September as part of a wider £12.13m package for council priorities in 2026/27. The roads and transport elements also include £3m for the Llanharan Sustainable Transport Corridor, £3m for the Cynon Gateway Link Road, £250,000 for flood alleviation and £150,000 for unadopted roads.

Development funding, not completed roads

The Llanharan scheme proposes a new 4km corridor with a walking and cycling route alongside it, addressing congestion and traffic on the A473. A planning application was submitted in April. The proposed 1.2km Cynon Gateway road would connect the A4059 Aberdare Bypass with the Heads of the Valleys Road. The council says procurement has begun, with detailed design work planned for 2027. Neither allocation means a road has opened or construction is complete.

Two more privately owned streets

Schemes are to be developed at Farm Road in Aberaman and between Gadlys Street and Glan Road in Gadlys, Aberdare. They form part of the programme to repair poor-condition privately owned roads and take them into council maintenance.

The extra programme would sit alongside the £41.9m highways and transportation programme agreed in March. The council’s announcement says 70 resurfacing schemes have been delivered since April. A full council vote on the wider investment package is still due in September.