All ideas for resolving the A55 Britannia Bridge bottleneck will be considered, a Welsh Government minister has pledged.
Contingency transport plans are being drawn up for the area following the closure of Menai Suspension Bridge, probably until early next year.
Initial proposals include park-and-ride facilities and concessions for cyclists and emergency vehicles. Extra “stacking” sites for vehicles may be created on either side of the Menai Strait.
Ideas put forward by politicians and the public will also be examined, said Lee Waters, deputy minister for climate change. These include a three-lane peak-flow system, minibuses for hospital staff and the reopening of the Britannia Bridge’s lower deck for use as a cycle lane.
Speaking in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr Waters said rail use to and from Anglesey will also be considered following the loss of the Menai Bridge link.
Menai Bridge Closure
Welsh Government made the decision to close the Menai Bridge to all traffic with immediate effect on Friday 21 October.
Mr Walters said: “The decision was made on safety grounds after clear advice from structural engineers and conversations with the police.
“The Menai Bridge is managed by a private company, UK Highways A55 Ltd, as part of a PFI Design-Build-Finance-Operate contract for the A55 on Ynys Mon and the Menai loop.
“As part of their maintenance responsibility UK Highways have been carrying out inspections on the bridge. They do this to an industry standard at 2 year and 6-year intervals.
“The General Inspection every two years are visual inspections where all parts of the structure are examined, typically using binoculars or aerial drone surveys.
“The Principal Inspection every six years involves close examination of all inspectable parts of the bridge within touching distance. The in-depth survey includes visual inspections as well as specialist techniques such as hammer tap surveys of concrete, or corrosion measurement.
“As part of the last Principal inspection in 2019 a concern about the resilience of hangers which support the suspension bridge were identified and a weight restriction was imposed on the bridge while further studies were carried out. “The latest inspection was reported to the Welsh Government last Wednesday and it unexpectedly highlighted an immediate concern around the brittle failure mechanism of the hangers.
“As is standard practice, officials reviewed and challenged the findings, however, based on very clear advice from structural engineers it was considered there was no other option but to close the bridge while further checks on the analysis is undertaken by an independent consultant.
“This is not a decision that was taken lightly. I fully appreciate the implications that this will have for local people especially without any advance warnings. However, the safety of our network and the travelling public is paramount and the decision has been based upon the safety recommendations from the structural engineers.
“The findings that led to the recommendation to close the bridge are currently being reviewed. The initial review will take up to two weeks. Officials along with stakeholders are assessing all available options to reopen the bridge as soon as possible.
“Temporary hanger strengthening works may need to be installed to ensure the safety and integrity of the Menai Bridge. This programme could take between 14-16 weeks, with the bridge reopening to vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in early 2023.
“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience this is causing. Clearly the Menai Bridge is a vital link for the people of north Wales and beyond and I’d like to thank local people for their patience and understanding whilst this urgent work takes place.
“I also want to reassure them that Welsh Government is working with UK Highways and all stakeholders, including emergency services, to ensure this can be done as quickly and safely as possible.”
Contingency Plans
All vehicular traffic is now being diverted to the Britannia Bridge. Welsh Government officials are urgently working on further contingency plans in the area and will continue to monitor the congestion issues to inform future changes.
They are also developing further strategies to increase resilience on the Britannia Bridge to mitigate the risk of both bridges being closed in exceptional circumstances.
Mr Walters added: “I can confirm that following discussions with UK Highways and their structural experts, it has been agreed that the footway across the bridge can be re-opened for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists. Pedestrians must remain on the footways and numbers will be limited with monitoring taking place.
“Officials are working with UK Highways to help limit the impact on emergency services and allow their vehicles, which weigh less than 7.5 tonnes, across the Menai Bridge if the A55 Britannia Bridge is closed. This will be subject to the emergency services meeting certain criteria and the traffic management, put in place by UK Highways, is safe to allow this to happen.
“The effects of the closure are in their infancy. Officials are already considering the impacts and will continue to monitor the road network to see what can be done to ease congestion.
“I will be providing further updates as things progress. I would also encourage local people to visit the Welsh Government and Traffic Wales websites and social media channels to keep up to date with the latest information.
“Once again, I am extremely grateful to everyone this will affect. We will do everything within our power to reopen the bridge as soon as it safe to do so.”
In reply to the statement, Siân Gwenllian Member of the Senedd for Arfon, said: “It’s a very busy area, including businesses and shops, playing fields, a business park, a hotel, schools and hundreds of homes, and also Ysbyty Gwynedd.
“We had queues of nearly three hours just to leave the car park at the hospital, even before the cars joined the queues to cross the Britannia bridge. Hospital staff who live only a few miles away on Anglesey face a two-hour journey in each direction every day. So, what consideration are you giving to the specific situation that Ysbyty Gwynedd faces, in terms of the staff, the ambulance service, those who attend the clinics, and the patients and their families?
“I agree that the Menai bridge had to be closed for safety reasons, despite the havoc that that has caused. I can see that. And anybody sensible would be able to see that. The safety problems came to the attention of officials last Wednesday—that’s what you said in your statement. I would suspect that, by now, enough time has passed in order to at least agree an alternative traffic plan, a temporary plan, for the area. When can we see the alternative traffic plan in terms of traffic flow, and, more importantly, when are we going to see that being implemented in the area?
“Evidently, the situation as it is at present, with people taking two hours to reach Ysbyty Gwynedd from Anglesey, is not sustainable, so we have to bring forward another plan in order to improve traffic flow in the area, and I want to know when that will happen. We want to see practical solutions for the benefit of local people while the bridge is being secured, and many constituents are bringing ideas forward that sound very sensible to me—practical ideas about how to improve traffic flow in the area. Are you willing to listen to some of those ideas?
“We’ve shared a few this afternoon. Rhun ap Iorwerth and Carolyn Thomas have talked about the idea of creating three lanes on the Britannia bridge temporarily, with two open for traffic to the mainland in the morning, and two lanes open in the other direction in the evening. That sounds very sensible. If that isn’t possible, can we have an explanation as to why, because many people are asking why we can’t do that kind of thing?
“I would like to have some assurance from you that you’re willing to listen to such ideas. There are other ideas that are being postulated as well, in terms of doing things differently around some of the roundabouts in the area in order to improve the traffic flow temporarily. So, I hope that you are willing to listen to those ideas and appreciate the fact that we are trying to obtain solutions that will help people to reach the places they’re trying to get to more quickly than they’re able to at present.”
