Well it is nearly 10 years since my last posting. The road opened and is well used but opinion is still divided about the benefits it has made to our community as a whole.

Here are a few items from local newspapers at the time

The first phase of a £30M regeneration scheme in south Wales has been completed.

A 3km relief road – Angel Way – will enable traffic to bypass Bargoed town centre and provide access to a new retail development, part of a major regeneration package for the former coal mining community.

The Greater Bargoed Community Regeneration Scheme also comprises the Rhymney river bridge and the Bargoed Newydd viaduct, which traverses the valley connecting the new road with the retail plateau and provides access to the southern end of the town.

The regeneration in Bargoed, will take up to 10 years to complete and include the new Angel Way by-pass, bus station and retail park. The road improvements along the A469, aimed at easing congestion, are expected to be finished by early 2012. The Developments include: ·        A Rhymney river bridge - 130m (426ft) long, and 24m (78ft) above the valley floor. ·        Bargoed Newydd viaduct - 200m (656ft) long crossing the valley from Angel Way to new retail park and linking the communities of Gilfach, Bargoed and Aberbargoed. ·        New 2.2km (1.3 mile) relief road, a new bus station and cycle track routes to form an integrated transport hub around the existing railway station, with a new 90-space park-and-ride. ·        New railway tunnel The transport developments are part of the first phase of a 10-year regeneration scheme for the Bargoed area. The retail area has been built from material excavated from the tip of the former Bargoed Colliery, which closed more than 30 years ago. Over the years my husband Hugh has taken hundreds if not thousands of photographs of the project and it has taken years for us to put them together. I never know which way to put items in so bear with me if they seem all over the place