Welsh Government consultation on £200m A494/A55 Deeside corridor overhaul begins today

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The Welsh Government consultation on major improvements for the A494/A55 begins today.

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary Ken Skates has invited views on proposed solutions to traffic problems along the Deeside corridor.

Along with the launch of the consultation Mr Skates has also announced that following a review, the traffic signals near Alltami, will be replaced with a new system at the “earliest opportunity.”

“Until then, an interim traffic signals system has been set up which provides an additional green time interval for the A494, and will improve reliability and traffic flow.” A statement says.

The Welsh Government’s 12 week consultation which starts today and will look at two options for the busy A55/A494/A548 corridor.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

 I was clear when I was appointed to this post last year that infrastructure investment across Wales was a big priority and I’m delighted to move forward into this next phase of this important project.

The A55/A494/A548 corridor experiences more traffic than it was designed for, resulting in regular congestion. The corridor is below modern standards with some of the junctions having slip roads that are too short or too close to the road and poor visibility is an ongoing problem.

Both of these proposals represent significant improvements and investment, with costs upwards of £200 million. That is why a comprehensive and all encompassing consultation is so important in order to ensure the best possible solution for the region and its communities.

The ‘Blue’ Option includes widening the A55/A494 route and removal, modification and improvement of junctions while the ‘Red’ Option includes increased capacity on the existing A548 and a new road between the A55 and A548.

These are important local decisions and I would urge all those with an interest to get involved and feed in their views.

Both consultation options contain active travel facilities, consideration of the local landscape, ecological requirements and human environmental factors a statement says.

As part of the consultation exercise public exhibitions will be held at Ewloe Social Club on 21 and 22 March and Coleg Cambria on 23 and 24 March between 10am and 8pm.

Details of the proposals, the public exhibitions and how to have your say will be published here  https://consultations.gov.wales/

Alyn and Deeside AM Carl Sargeant says he is keen for as many residents as possible to have their say on the proposed improvements to the Deeside Corridor and urging constituents to have their say on plans for a £200m overhaul of one of north Wales’ busiest sections of road.

Deeside AM seeks urgent confirmation on A494 consultation dates after Welsh Government letter revealing public events appears online

[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”The Proposals” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:42px|text_align:left|color:%234c4c4c” google_fonts=”font_family:Arimo%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_separator][vc_single_image image=”45816″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d” onclick=”img_link_large”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1484779664764{background-color: #dd0000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Red Route” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” google_fonts=”font_family:Arimo%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1484780642498{padding-right: 5px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;}”]This package contains major highway capacity enhancements including:

• Increased capacity along the existing A548;

• A new road between the A55 and A548;

• Improvements to existing structures where possible;

The package also contains measures to:

• Improve and encourage the use of public transport;

• Encourage car-sharing for journeys;

• Provide additional and better quality footways and cycleways;

• Consider opportunities to encourage the use of rail for freight transport
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1484779846120{background-color: #184df9 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Blue Route” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” google_fonts=”font_family:Arimo%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1484780382075{padding-right: 5px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;}”]This package includes a number of capacity enhancements to the current A55 and A494 including:

• Widening the A55/A494 route and replacement road bridge crossing the River Dee, if current bridge is insufficient;

• Junction improvements including Ewloe Interchange;

The package also contains measures to:

• Improve and encourage the use of public transport;

• Encourage car-sharing for journeys;

• Provide additional and better quality footways and cycleways;

• Consider opportunities to encourage the use of rail for freight transport[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]