A LONG-AWAITED new £500,000 junction has been officially opened to the public in Dinas Powys.

The junction works, at Cross Common Road, were officially completed and unveiled on Tuesday.

Cross Common Road had previously been linked with Cardiff Road - the main route linking Penarth and Barry - by a bridge link, which had been supported by a timber frame since 2005.

This had slowly started deteriorating though, and contributing to flooding concerns.

To alleviate this, and improve overall safety, the decision was taken to dismantle the bridge and create a new junction 50 metres downstream.

Works began at the end of October last year.

Now the new junction is completed, the bridge will be closed, with work to remove it all together set to begin.

Councillor Peter King, the Vale cabinet member for building services, highways and transportation said: "Before work began we were under no illusions about what an important issue this was for local residents. 

"The question of how best to solve what was a complex problem had been the topic of lengthy discussion and hung over the community for some time. 

"This is why when the opportunity arose we jumped at the chance to provide a long term solution and a genuine improvement for pedestrians and motorists in Dinas Powys. 

"The new junction will be safer for motorists and pedestrians than the previous narrow crossing and will eliminate any possible risk of flooding caused by supports for the old bridge. 

"I’m delighted to be able to open it to the public.

"I’m also pleased that the scheme was completed without the need for any road closures, meaning any disruption to local residents and commuters was kept to an absolute minimum."