Consultation on A494/A55 improvements works set for March 2017

The Economy and Infrastructure Secretary will be at Cardiff airport today outlining plans for multi-billion pound Welsh Government infrastructure investment over the next 5 years.

He will announce that the consultation on the £200m A494/A55 ‘Deeside Corridor’ improvement work will take place in March 2017.

Along with the A494 and A55 roads the investment plans include major improvements to the M4 and A40, the delivery of a South Wales Metro, the development of a North Wales Metro, a new rail franchise, a ports development fund, the development of a third Menai crossing, improved, more sustainable bus services and more, will be the largest Wales has seen in a generation.

Major £200m A494/A55 Deeside transport scheme, consultants appointed to consider two preferred options

At a speech to a transport and business audience at Cardiff Airport this morning, the Economy Secretary will make clear the importance of working together to maximise the impact of this historic funding, to ensure maximum benefits for the whole of Wales.

Speaking ahead of the event Ken Skates said:

“Our historic, multi billion pound investment shows how serious this Welsh Government is about delivering a world class transport system in Wales – one that sustainably connects people and communities to jobs and services and drives our economy forward.

“Our network holds the key to delivering a prosperous Wales, to ensuring our general health and well being and building cohesive communities. Our collective challenge must be to use this billion pound investment creatively and collaboratively to sustainably develop a world class transport system that delivers the very best results for Wales.

“I also want to establish a better informed, better designed, long-term, evidenced-based approach to the planning of our transport network and the National Infrastructure Commission, which we are proposing, alongside an updated Welsh Transport Planning and Appraisal Guidance will help ensure this.”

“On congestion solutions for the A494 and A55, the consultation will take place in March 2017. This will look two proposals for the Deeside Corridor project, either of which will require investment upwards of £200m – the largest Welsh Government investment on these roads since they were first built.

On rail and buses the Economy Secretary said he wanted to be smarter about how it funded local bus and train services, with better information for passengers, smarter ticketing and genuinely regional transport planning, and ongoing work towards a metro in North and South Wales.

He also said he would use the new Wales and Borders franchise, from October 2018 as an opportunity to plan for huge projected growth of rail passenger numbers and prepare for the future in a clear and clever way.

The Economy Secretary added

“This whole agenda brings with it undoubted challenges but it also presents fantastic opportunities to for a bigger, better, multimodal and integrated network that meet the needs of people right across Wales.”