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Drivers from the Rhondda Fach who were disrupted by the road closure near Barry Sidings today, were treated to a mini adventure, after discovering the A4119 and the Talbot Green shopping area for the first time.

The A4119, and the many delights along its length, are well known to people from the Rhondda Fawr, who regularly use the road as a route to the M4, Talbot Green or the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, but most people from the Rhondda Fach didn’t even know the road existed until forced to use it to get to Pontypridd today, due to the road closure.

The planned closure was necessary to remove and replace a bridge in Hopkinstown which leads to Barry Sidings Country Park.

In a tale akin to Christopher Columbus thinking he had found the East Indies when he crossed the Atlantic to try and prove the world was round, but instead discovered the West Indies and America, today some Rhondda Fach drivers arrived at Talbot Green Retail Park, and thought they had arrived at Pontypridd and thought the town had been given a bit of a face lift.

Stephen Venga from Wattstown told My Rhondda News, “I thought, bugger me, Ponty looks different, but it wasn’t Ponty it was Talbot Green, they had a Matalan and everything, but no pound shop, but you can’t have everything can you?”

Although some people weren’t as happy with the road closure, “I’m never going to Ponty again,” said Mary Fringe from Blaenllechau, “Ponty can kiss my arse after the chaos I was involved in today.” Ms Fringe had not known about the closed road, and had to turn back at Trehafod and then got lost on the A4119 and ended up just going home.

But the majority of Rhondda Fach drivers enjoyed their day trip along the A4119 with some taking a picnic and stopping on the Coed-Ely roundabout, some went on to Ponty taking in the new sights along the way, while others stopped at Talbot Green vowing never to go to Ponty again after discovering Matalan.

Were you affected by the road closure today? My Rhondda News would love to hear you story, please leave your comments below.

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