Five weeks of road works get underway on the A55 near Llanddulas

Five weeks of work to carry out essential bridge maintenance works on the A55 near Junction 23 at Llanddulas, Conwy.

The westbound carriageway will be closed completely from today as work begins on Kneeshaw Lupton bridge located 500 metres west of Junction 23.

A55 traffic will run in contra-flow on the east bound carriageway whilst the works are carried out.

Officials say the bridge deck waterproofing is leaking and must be replaced “to protect the integrity of the bridge deck slab which supports the carriageway running surface.”

Bridge deck waterproofing needs to be applied in dry conditions so the works need to be completed before the onset of wetter and cooler weather which is more likely to occur later in Autumn.

Contractors will work in shifts on a 24 hours/day and 7 days/week basis to complete the works before the start of the English and Welsh Autumn half term holidays.

The main bridge deck movement joint is damaged beyond repair and must also be replaced.

Live traffic and up to date roadworks info

Diversions & Safety Measures

The west and east bound carriageways are at different levels immediately to the west of the bridge. The cross-over at the west end of the contra flow is located where the carriageways return to the same level which is near to Rainbow bridge. The distance between the two cross-overs is 1.8 km.

Traffic management will commence with lane 2 closures in the early hours of 17^th September. These will remain in place until 19^th September. There will also be over-night closures of the east bound carriageway with traffic being diverted via A547 Abergele Road between Junction 22 and Junction 23 . This is to open the cross-overs and prepare the carriageways and the central reserve for contra-flow.

From the 19^th September traffic will use lane 1 and lane 2 of the east bound carriageway in a bi-directional contra-flow traffic management arrangement between cross-overs located at Rainbow Bridge, Colwyn Bay and near to Junction 23 at Llanddulas. The lane width will be restricted to 3.2m and the speed will be restricted to 40 mph for both east and west bound traffic. The west bound carriageway will enclose the works site and will be fully closed over the length of the contra-flow.

The west bound on-slip at Junction 23 Llanddulas will be closed whilst the contra-flow traffic management arrangement is in place. Traffic which is prevented from joining the A55 heading west bound will be diverted via the A547 Abergele Road and will re-join the A55 at Junction 22 at Old Colwyn.

24 hour vehicle recovery service will be employed throughout the duration of the works.

There is likely to be queueing of traffic on both the east and west bound approaches to the contra-flow during busy periods. All road users should allow for increased journey times whilst the restrictions are in place and are advised to plan their journeys to avoid busy periods if possible.

A 1.5 metre high barrier will be erected along the boundary of the work site to protect A55 users from wind-blown debris or materials arising from within the work site.