ENGINEERS planning to install steel mesh and bolts on the A40 rockfall slope between Monmouth and Ganarew won't be able to meet the summer deadline, it has been revealed, with work possibly pushed back into next year.

Completion of the Leys Bend work to prevent future collapses on the major England-Wales border road has now been rescheduled for winter 2025/26 by National Highways, further frustrating motorists and commuters.

It is already 15 months on from the rockfall, with the northward carriageway closed ever since, and traffic currently operating in single-lane 40mph contraflow on the southbound carriageway, causing rush hour queues onto Dixton roundabout in both directions and beyond the Gibraltar tunnels travelling north.

The scheme was initially planned to be completed by the end of summer, but road bosses say they have now had to put it back to the end of the year, when 'part' of the northbound carriageway will finally be reopened.

“Due to the complex nature of the design and the work involved, we expect to complete construction in winter 2025/2026, rather than summer 2025, with the contraflow remaining in place on the A40 during this time,” said an NH spokesperson.

“We understand that this might be disappointing for local communities, stakeholders and commuters...

“Safety remains our top priority, and this means that we’ll continue to take careful and considered steps as we now progress with the construction of the permanent solution.”

National Highways Route Manager, Joseph Walmsley, told BBC West Midlands it was not an option to simply clear the rocks away without ensuring future safety.

"Careful and considered steps are required so that we can protect people using our roads, not just now but for many years to come," he said.

"To that end, we've carried out extensive surveys to first help us stabilise the area affected by the rockfall and then enable us to design a permanent solution which will prevent further rockfalls here.

"Our experts are now finalising the complex engineering solution that will protect this area."

The Beacon has previously revealed that the site of the rockfall was a known hazard at the time of the road's construction in the early 1960s, when there were at least two landslips before it was finished.

Geological analysis has shown similar events happening there dating back to Roman times and beyond.

Motorists have been frustrated with the delay in fixing the road, which as well as safety issues has been blamed on the presence of protected species like dormice and bats.

The local A40 Safety campaign group chaired by surveying expert Andy Smith said "dormice” had been used "to excuse months of inactivity" on the anniversary of the collapse.

Mr Smith, who revealed that the site was historically prone to landslips and rockfalls immediately after the road closure in February 2024, said National Highways needed to "stop dithering and assess the situation both above and below the carriageways, both thoroughly and quickly".

But last month, Carl Touhig, Monmouthshire County Council’s senior officer for highways, told the council’s public services scrutiny committee that dormice and other ecological concerns had genuinely delayed progress.

“At Leys Bend that work was put on hold because of concerns there may be dormice in the slippage itself and that put at least six months on to the job. It doesn’t take a lot," he said.

“I wouldn’t want to see dormice displaced, but it is a difficult thing for us when badgers, otters, dormice, bats and other species require special measures before we can go in and do work and adds a lot of time to our programmes.”