The £30 million improvement works on the A55 from Llanfairfechan to Bangor that have disrupted journeys on the West and Eastbound carriageways for almost three years are almost complete.
The multimillion pound project started in Spring 2020, to increase the safety of the 2.1 km stretch by creating a new combined access road. The works also saw the removal of direct access from the carriageway and removed eight gaps in the central reservation that allow slow moving vehicles to cross the A55, which posed a risk to all road users.
The original project was due to last two years, finishing in Spring 2022. The Welsh Government revised the project end date to Autumn 2022, and then postponed again for a second time to the current end date of Spring 2023.
On 31 January, Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy wrote to the Minister for Climate Change and asked three fundamental questions:
- When will the works finish?
- Why is there a speed limit reduction of 40 mph when no work is taking place, especially in the evenings?
- If one of the carriageways have to be closed in future, will the traffic be diverted to the other carriageway rather than to the A5 and A470?
The Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS has responded to the letter and said:
- “The westbound speed limit is due to be removed in the next couple of weeks followed by the eastbound speed limit by the middle of March when work is planned to be completed”
- “The 40mph speed restriction along the 2.1km length of the A55 Abergwyngregyn to Tai’r Meibion is for the safety of road users and the workforce while undertaking the improvement work next to two-lanes of traffic”
- “During the scheme development, the Welsh Government announced that the existing carriageway surfacing between Junction 13 and Junction 14 would also be replaced with a low noise surfacing at the request of the residents of Abergwyngregyn. The resurfacing work was due to be completed before the 2022 summer traffic embargo, but a delay to the programme due to Covid-19 required the works to be re-programmed for September, between two planned closures of the A55 tunnel and the ongoing Network Rail works on Britannia Bridge. The resurfacing works were completed and A55 carriageways were reopened for traffic on the 22 September 2022”
- “The majority of construction work undertaken as part of the A55 Abergwyngregyn to Tai’r Meibion improvement scheme between Junction 12 and Junction 13 was carried out while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction with overnight closures to minimise disruption to residents and road users”
Commenting on the Deputy Ministers response, Janet said:
I am pleased that the Westbound carriageway speed limit will be removed in the coming weeks. The Welsh Government has literally slowed down residents and the economy of North West Wales for far too long.
Hopefully the planned works will be completed by mid-March on the Eastbound carriageway, just in time for the Easter holidays a couple of weeks later.
Lessons need to be learnt from this scheme which has hit one pothole after the other. I would like to see the Deputy Minister re-evaluate full overnight closures on future projects by opting for contraflows. Many of my constituents have suffered driving on the 30 mile diversion along the A5 and A470 due to these full overnight lane closures. I find this particularly worrying when fuel prices are still higher than normal, we are in the midst of a climate crisis, and residents on diversion routes are facing HGV’s and ferry traffic from Holyhead at night, such as in Llanrwst, which is not well placed to cope with such vehicles.
Time will tell if the mid-March deadline will be achieved. I for one hope that there will not be another speed bump in finishing the scheme!
ENDS
Document: Response from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change
Photo: Janet Finch-Saunders MS
