A494 / A55 Deeside corridor upgrade – red route looks set to get formal backing from council

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Flintshire County Council looks set to throw its weight behind the red route option of the A494/A55 improvement proposals.

The Welsh Government undertook a wide-ranging consultation into proposed improvements to the A494/A55 gateway into Wales offering up two options.

The so-called blue route which would see a widening of the existing A55/A494 route with three lanes running in each direction, the proposed red route includes a new road linking the A55 and A548.

The council asked for the consultation closing date to be extended due to recent local elections, County Hall was unable to give its formal response to the Welsh Government within the timeframe.

Flintshire County Council’s Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee will now discuss the council’s proposed response to the consultation at their meeting on Friday, 16 June.

If approved it will go to a Cabinet meeting the following week for formal approval and forwarded to the Welsh Government.

Deeside A494/A55/A548 Corridor – Red option
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A report by Steve Jones, Flintshire County Council Chief Officer Streetscene and Transportation, which will be discussed on Friday by the Scrutiny Committee looks to have backed the red route option it says:

‘Flintshire County Council considers that on balance, the most beneficial route to the Council and North Wales would be the Red Route Option’

The report goes on to list why the council is backing the red route and suggests part of the blue route plans should also be incorporated into final plans.

It says;

‘The red route offers both strategic long-term network improvements and opportunities for modal inter-connectivity, as well as providing for improved economic and social connectivity and benefits locally.

The route would provide improved network resilience and transport security by the provision of a second gateway into Wales. It would also reduce the impact on the local highway network during periods of disruption on the trunk road network.

There would be a significantly reduced impact on both the local and Trunk Road network during the construction period.

The Blue Route option will involve traffic interruption and diversions over the full period of the construction work, rather than the significantly shorter period of disruption required whilst the two tie in sections are completed for the Red Route option.

The Red Route option will remove the significant long term maintenance risks associated with Flintshire County Councils continued ownership of Flintshire Bridge.'[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1497349432210{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #7098bf !important;}”]The route provides an improved ‘’Gateway to Wales’’ experience for visitors the report says, it doesn’t elaborate on how but, the red route proposals would see the bulk of north Wales ‘through traffic’ taken along the A548 to new link road, the views post-Industrial Estate would be far more scenic perhaps than the current slow crawl past the former RAF base at Sealand, Asda and neighbouring housing estate.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The report also points out improved access to the A548 and opens opportunities for regeneration in the areas both north and south of the estuary and provides improved links to Mostyn Docks.

‘The red route will offer a complete circulatory ‘outer ring road’ of the B5129 Deeside Corridor and will have positive impact on traffic levels and subsequent congestion levels along this key corridor.’

The route also provides the opportunity for a new Truck Stop on existing public land within Deeside Industrail Park.

‘This will reduce the level of Anti-Social Behaviour associated with truck parking along the existing A55 corridor’ the report says.

Elements of the blue route should also be included within the final proposals the reports says, they include;

• Measuring and mitigating the environmental impacts by use of defra’s Biodiversity Offsetting Metric to deliver biodiversity benefits in a measurable way.
• The provision of the proposed noise barriers along Aston Hill – this will provide some noise protection for residents from the existing route traffic, particularly during periods of disruption on the main route over Flintshire Bridge.
• Remodelling of Ewloe Interchange to provide priority to traffic from the A55 (from the Chester direction). This will remove the regular west bound peak delays at this interchange and improve the safety of the existing Ewloe interchange.
• The existing A494 route should continue to be designated as a Trunk Road in order to provide resilience to the national road network into Wales.
• Hard shoulders should be provided along as much of the proposed route as possible in order to provide refuge for vehicles in the event of emergency, without creating delays for other road users.
• The existing 50mph on Aston Hill should remain in force to encourage through traffic to utilise the new route.
• Aston Hill. A crawler lane is therefore required for the West Bound traffic along the length of the hill.
• Options to improve the wind impact on the current Flintshire Bridge, through the installation of wind deflecting parapets. This will reduce the number of occasions the bridge would need to close during periods of high winds.
• Improved Tourism signage (Brown signs) should be provided for all attractions in the east of Wales e.g. Talacre, Hollywell etc.

The Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting will be held at County Hall in Mold Friday, 16th June, 2017 10.00 am – the public can attend.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][pdf-embedder url=”https://www.deeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Appendix-2-Flintshire-County-Councils-response-to-the-Welsh-Government-A55A494A548-Deeside-Corr.pdf” title=”Appendix 2 – Flintshire County Councils response to the Welsh Government A55A494A548 Deeside Corr”][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]