Monmouth MP David Davies has visited the village of Grosmont to find out more about the impact of the closure of the B4347 following a series of landslips.
Mr Davies met with local residents and community councillor Andrew Farr to discuss the inconvenience – and frustration – that the road closure is causing.
At present, residents needing to travel to Monmouth have to make long detours. One local couple, Mr and Mrs Jellard, are cut off from their horses which are in a field just one mile away. To get to them, a two mile journey has become a 26 mile journey round the Graig mountain twice each day.
Walking the road, Mr Davies said: “At first glance it doesn’t look too bad but closer up you can see that part of the carriageway has disappeared down a bank and further cracks are appearing along the stretch.
“While I was there with residents, I was pleased to see surveyors were on site working to assess the level of movement. However, this does suggest that a full repair job is still some time away.
"In Grosmont, the village pub and Post Office have suffered a fall in trade and are desperate for the road to be reopened before the weather gets better, as this is when they would normally see a rise in business from walkers and day trippers.”
Mr Davies has received a full report from Monmouthshire County Council on the damage caused to county highways by the extreme winter weather and excess rainfall and has posted a copy on his website for anyone who is affected.
“The council is concerned that the mountain is still moving but will not be able to undertake full repairs on the B4347 until it stabilises,” he said.
“If this is going to take long, then I would like to see some sort of temporary solution so at least local people can get to and from Monmouth.”