Ongoing improvements to the A55 are ‘absolutely vital to the economy of North Wales’ says Ken Skates

Economy Secretary Ken Skates AM has today re-iterated his commitment to look at all potential options to improve travel along the A494 and A55

Mr Skates says that further improvements should be made wherever possible to help “maximise the performance” of the road – adding that it “was never designed to cope with over 70,000 vehicles”.

A study commissioned by Mr Skates back in April has set out what more could be done to improve journey times, reliability and resilience, it is due to be finalised in the Autumn.

• Improvements in the way incidents on the corridor are managed
• More efficient and effective use of the existing highway infrastructure
• Different approaches to maintenance
• How increasing network demand and capacity can be accommodated
• Use of diversion routes – balancing the needs of the travelling public and local communities
• Innovation and the use of new technologies
• Potential upgrades to the standard of the corridor

Speaking today, Ken Skates AM said: “I’ve made ensuring the A55 performs to the best of its ability an absolute priority.

“The A55/ A494 corridor which was built decades ago was never designed to cope with over 70,000 vehicles. In its current state, is far from the ideal modern gateway to supporting the people and economy of North Wales.

“Recent years and months have seen the Welsh Government investing millions of pounds in bringing various aspects of the road up to modern standards.

“From improvement work to tunnels and road surfacing, to flood alleviation projects and maintenance, I’ve made ensuring the A55 performs to the best of its ability an absolute priority.

“New sections of road to complement the existing network will, of course, form part of future improvements, and we hope to see the planned £200m Deeside Corridor, for example, play a significant role in an improved infrastructure.

Alongside this I have been clear that further improvements can and should be made wherever possible so we can maximise the performance of this vital road.”

“It’s for this reason that I commissioned a comprehensive resilience study in April to explore what more could be done to improve journey times, reliability and resilience.”

The Economy Secretary said once the resilience study is completed he will act quickly to put in place a comprehensive programme of work to help deliver a road that better serves the thousands of daily users.

“An improved A55 is absolutely vital to the wider economy of North Wales and is something we must continue to work to deliver as quickly as we can,” said Mr Skates