The Senedd has voted in favour of a new M4 relief road for south-east Wales, rejecting options to close Junction 27 and limit access at Junctions 25 and 26.
A Labour motion secured 46 votes against 44, a majority of two, after a debate focused on the impact of the proposed junction changes on Newport, Caerleon and Malpas.
Newport East MS Jayne Bryant opposed the closures, arguing that residents of Newport and the surrounding area should not be treated as statistics within a transport policy.
She warned that the changes could cause serious disruption, divert traffic towards housing areas and offer limited relief for congestion on the M4.
The debate also considered concerns raised by residents about longer and more difficult journeys.
One constituent said travelling to Grange University Hospital with their daughter would take longer, while another said the proposals had prompted consideration of relocating their family to England.
Welsh Conservative MS Natasha Asghar, who represents Newport and Islwyn, said a large number of residents had contacted her to express opposition.
She stated that closing the junctions would not remove traffic but would redirect vehicles onto the city’s A roads and residential streets.
Opposition parties used the debate to question Welsh Labour’s decision to cancel the original M4 relief road in 2019.
Reform UK transport spokesperson Jason O’Connell MS said the party had reached its position on a relief road in one minute, compared with the 27 years taken by Labour.
Reform UK also stated that a road without tolls could be provided if the party formed the government.
Former Labour transport minister Ken Skates defended the earlier cancellation, citing the original scheme’s £1.4 billion cost as unaffordable at that time.
He maintained that a replacement route could now be delivered with stronger environmental safeguards.
Deputy transport minister Mark Hooper said the junction measures remained options under investigation rather than decisions taken by the government.
He added that the current 18-month inquiry had achieved more in five months than the previous Labour administration had managed in five years.
Bryant brought the debate to a close by stating that further delay was not an acceptable course of action, while warning that Newport and nearby communities should not bear the consequences.
The vote does not oblige the Welsh Government to drop the junction proposals, and their future remains unresolved as the investigation continues.