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Wales Online
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Wales Online
Plea for 'hard shoulders' along large parts of A55 sparks call for 'proper makeover'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A plea for "hard shoulders" along significant portions of the A55 has been issued in an attempt to reduce traffic congestion. The dual carriageway was constructed in various sections over several decades by different UK governments, with the final part on Anglesey completed in 2001. North Wales Live readers feel that hard shoulders will not solve the issue and say there needs to be more investment. Critics have labelled the road as "not fit for purpose". Calls have been made for a range of investments - from a third Menai crossing to the removal of the roundabouts at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan. There have also been suggestions for other modifications along the route - from altering "dangerous" junctions to enhancing resilience. Darren Millar, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and Clwyd West MS, this week urged the Welsh Government to invest in the A55 trunk road. He informed Transport Secretary Ken Skates that creating hard shoulders along large parts of its length and planning for contraflows would ease congestion. In response, the Cabinet Secretary stated: "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." Mr Millar added: "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." Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, shared with 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." Commenter Banne says: 'Good grief - what is this obsession with 'active travel' by walking/cycling! We need a better A55 which is the artery of North Wales, not more cycle paths alongside it!' Dye replies: 'Unfortunately the Welsh assembly was too busy spending tax payers money on their 20 mph project, instead of prioritising our most dangerous roads. Every week there is a collision on the A55, sometimes 2 or 3.' Geedeebee adds: 'They need to lengthen the entry slip roads, the ones at Jnt 25 Bodelwyddan are both short and have a 90 degree turn on entry.' Pcmon thinks: 'Far too much money wasted on unused cycle paths to nowhere, 20mph speed reductions, with no evidence of any major benefits. These people making decisions are supposed to be educated people. Why is it that they do not care about the main supply route to the North of Wales? If this route is forced to shut for any major time, or even for a contraflow system, the knock on effect for businesses and tourism will be massive. We are not all able to ride bikes and walk in these places. Even the cyclists don't use the cycle paths.' Northwalessaint points out: 'There's nothing wrong with the road, the problem is poor driving, with too many impatient, inconsiderate drivers. There are plenty of more important things to spend scarce resources on rather than roads.' Angleseygirl complains: 'We will never get anything to improve the A55 as it's only the south that gets money spent on their roads. There are now numerous weekly accidents on it which isn't surprising given the amount of traffic on it. I honestly don't know why they built it as a dual carriageway, it's the main route into North Wales!' Weneedpie writes: 'I would remind people that the A55 is a Euro route paid mostly from monies from the EU. Doubt now we have had Brexit it would have been built. There is no need for hard shoulders on the A55; it would be wasted money. There are plenty of other more pressing spending priorities transport wise, the electrification of the Holyhead to Chester line, the congestion around the gateway to England and a new motorway to relieve the congestion and the A483, A5 route to the South which is in need of bigger roundabouts and dual carriageways.' Spikeloe adds: 'The A55 is a designated Euro Route and any changes have to comply with the road building manual for Euro Routes. Putting lay-bys here and there is a dangerous idea, as traffic leaving the laybys from a standing start into 70mph traffic is a recipe for disaster. The Welsh Government has dallied about improving the border counties gateway into North Wales for years, with the result that queues are tolerated as a daily occurrence.' Borntobemild thinks: 'Mr Millar's suggestions seem to be aimed more at minimising disruption after a collision has taken place, rather than preventing the collisions. The A55 needs a proper makeover, like the Heads of The Valleys road. But that cost £2bn, and took 23 years to complete 28 miles.' Does the A55 need improvement? Do you think hard shoulders are the answer? Have your say in our comments section.
Wales Online
28-06-2025
- Automotive
- Wales Online
'Create hard shoulders along large parts of A55 to relieve congestion'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info 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.' Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
