Completion of A483 ‘Pinchpoint’ Roadworks Delayed Until May

Work on the A483/A55 pinchpoint is likely to take at least a month longer than planned – with the roadworks now expected to be complete by May.

The news of the delay was revealed in a series of questions between Wrexham MP Ian Lucas and Transport Minister John Hayes, who put the setback down to ‘adverse weather, and problems encountered with drainage and bridge strengthening works’.

The roadworks, which are part of a £5.3million pinchpoint scheme began in October – were initially expected to be complete at the end of the month. However it is unlikely that the work will now be completed before May 10th.

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas tabled a series of Parliamentary written questions about the work, which has led to long delays for motorists using the crucial cross-border junction between the A483 and A55.

In two questions posed and detailed via theyworkforyou.com Mr Lucas asked Transport Minister John Hayes:

– What the (a) original and (b) revised timetable is for works carried out at the junction of the A483 and A55 roads in West Cheshire.

– To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will carry out an urgent assessment of the quality of the work carried out at the junction of the A483 and A55 supervised by the Highways Agency.

In response to the first question Minister Hayes said: “The Highways Agency holds regular review meetings and challenges all aspects of project delivery of the scheme at the junction of the A483 and A55 including such aspects as programme and quality.

“The scheme is supervised on the ground by the Agency’s maintenance contractor who ensures quality standards are achieved and supervisors check and challenge all aspects of the works to ensure that workmanship, materials and methods of construction meet the required Agency standards.

“The Agency requires its contractors to operate under a quality management system that complies with ISO9001 and any defects or failures in quality will be addressed under this process.”

In relation to carrying out an ‘urgent assessment’ Minister Hayes replied: “The original timetable for the works had a programmed completion date of 31 March 2015. In the current timetable this date has been revised to 10 May 2015. This slippage is due to adverse weather, and problems encountered with drainage and bridge strengthening works. The Agency has been assessing with its contractors how the remaining work can be completed to the original programme and will make every effort to complete the works as soon as possible.”

The ongoing roadworks have resulted a series of severe delays for motorists, with issues in reopening the roads and problems with traffic lights causing significant tailbacks on the bypass.

Speaking about the response Mr Lucas said: “I have been pushing Ministers to take charge of this situation for weeks – it is clear there are big problems with these works. It was only last week that motorists faced delays because of faulty traffic lights – with the engineer who was supposed to fix the lights caught up in the traffic himself.

“While it was inevitable that some delays will occur when a large project like this is carried out, I do think that there have been real problems with the way these works have been managed.

“Those problems have caused major disruption for businesses and members of the public, and Ministers now say the work will continue for a further month at least. They should look at this project, work out what has gone wrong – and apologise.”