14 hours ago
'Create hard shoulders along large parts of A55 to relieve congestion'
A call for a 'hard shoulders' along large parts of the A55 has been made in a bid to cut congestion. The dual carriageway was developed in different sections over a number of decades by various UK governments, with the last part finally completed on Anglesey in 2001.
While it transformed travel across the region, the road has been declared "not fit for purpose" by critics.
Demands have been made for various investments - from a third Menai crossing to the removal of the roundabouts at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan.
There have also been calls for other changes along the route - from changing "dangerous" junctions to increasing resilience.
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar this week called on the Welsh Government to invest in the A55 trunk road.
He told Transport Secretary Ken Skates that creating hard shoulders along large parts of its length and planning for contraflows to be enabled would alleviate congestion.
He said: 'It's been raised by other colleagues in terms of the resilience of the A55 trunk road, and it is something that I have raised many times in the past too.
'You say that you can't plan for all eventualities, but what you can do is improve the road to the extent that there are hard shoulders available.
'You can also plan for contraflows to be enabled, to save diversions through some of our town centres and villages, which then become choked up with traffic.
"What people want to see is investment in the A55 trunk road. It is the key artery for our economy, for people getting to and from the locations that they need to get to for work, for education, for hospitals, et cetera.
'Why can't you do a focused piece of work on resilience just on this one particular road, taking into account the need for contraflows, making sure that we've got a phased approach to improvements in terms of the delivery of hard shoulders, so that we can make sure that the A55 is fit for purpose and that it isn't frequently beset with regular traffic jams, which give a negative impression of Wales?"
Responding, the Cabinet Secretary said: 'There are resilience issues that affect many of our trunk roads. We will be carrying out specific work in regard to the A55, but I believe that there is a broader piece of work required to look at all of our major routes.'
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Millar said: "The A55 is the lifeblood of the North Wales economy, but sadly it has the unpopular accolade of being one of the worst congested roads in the UK. It is therefore vital that the Welsh Government make improving this trunk road a priority.'
He told North Wales Live what the Tories would do if they came into power in Wales.
He said: "We would get those roundabouts removed, extend the availability of hard shoulders, and ensure that central reservation changes are made to deliver the opportunity for contraflows to prevent unnecessarily choking up the road network in local towns and villages.
"This could easily be part of a programme of rolling investment in the trunk road network that can be financed via investment models which offer value for money for the taxpayer."
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates told North Wales Live: "We're continuing to progress improvements to the A55 including consideration of how connections to and from Ynys Môn can be made more resilient.
"This includes improvements to the A55 junctions and carriageway alignments, introduction of wind deflectors to Britannia Bridge and improvements for walking cycling. This study is now nearing completion and we'll be making announcements on the preferred options and next stages shortly."
He added: 'We are also working on transport improvements on the A483 in Wrexham to support economic growth and development including the Western Gateway. A public consultation was held during February and March and this will help inform a decision on preferred options during the summer.'
