Future of proposed A483 junction improvement plan could be known ‘by end of month’

Wrexham should know in the next seven days if we will likely have large scale upgrades to some or part of the A483 junctions around the city.

The works have been on the cards for several years, delayed by the pandemic, with Ken Skates MS announcing back in 2018 funding for congestion improvements.

The goal of the overall project is stated as  “…to maintain the operational capacity and robustness of the A483 and its junctions at Wrexham, while maximising the economic development potential of Wrexham.”

More recently this year a long option assessment saw ‘preferred routes’ published after consultations took place – with Welsh Government saying that the plans for the bypass “would improve access into Wrexham, improve journey times and provide new active travel links for local residents. The proposals being presented can be constructed and delivered with minimal impact on existing traffic.”

In previously published pricing, based off 2020 information, the project looks likely to cost in the region of £37.5 million with £185,000 of land costs.

It is hoped improvements to Junction 4 could support three employment sites within a 2 km distance of the A483, with “….the potential to create 1,454 net jobs and approximately £64.4 million of GVA per annum”.

Welsh Government are now conducting a roads review, with the A483 junction work on the lists, “to reduce Wales’s carbon footprint to protect people and wildlife from the climate emergency” with a roads review panel convened to assess the lists to decide which projects will be taken forward or effectively scrapped.

In September the panel said their review had been completed with a ‘comprehensive and detailed piece of work’ submitted back to Welsh Government – and it appears the final verdict is days away.

The issue was raised yesterday in the Senedd by Clwyd South MS Ken Skates asked Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters MS, “Will the Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government’s review of junction improvements on the A483?”

Lee Waters MS replied, “The roads review panel has submitted its final report to the Welsh Government about its findings for each of the road schemes that it has reviewed, and this includes the A483 junctions 3-6 improvements. I will be making a further announcement on the next steps of the roads review by the end of the month.”

Ken Skates replied, “Thank you for your statement, Minister. Of course, Junction 1 at Ruabon was not included in the roads review, and therefore work on improving that junction has not been paused, and it’s for good reason. That particular junction is utterly lethal and has created a congestion canyon right up the A483, with resulting carbon emissions increases. And, of course, it’s also sending motorists onto local roads, again, putting lives at risk, particularly schoolchildren, and deteriorating the air quality in and around Ruabon. Minister, would you agree to visit the A483 and to meet with community leaders, and can you outline what progress has been made in the past year on work to improve Junction 1 on the A483?”

Lee Waters replied, “Thank you. As Ken Skates rightly says, Junction 1 was not included as part of the roads review schemes that it has looked at, but the other junctions were. The proposals that have been put forward by the local council for Junction 1 would involve a large remodelling of the junction, which would be carbon intensive and would increase road capacity. So, this is relevant to the recommendations we’re anticipating from the roads review about future road schemes. What we don’t want to do, by treating schemes in isolation—there’s always a case for individual schemes—is for the cumulative impact of that to add to traffic volumes.

“So, we do need to think very carefully. That said, where there are traffic problems, there need to be solutions, and one of the themes in the roads review is how future roads can be made compliant with existing policies on climate change, transport and planning. So, when we produce the results, in the areas where we accept the recommendations of the review not to go ahead with a road, we will want to work with the local authority and other partners to see what else can be done in that case.

“As I say, I’m not able to preannounce what’s decided—largely because we haven’t yet decided—but we’ll be updating Members in the coming weeks on the next steps.”

More from earlier this month: Council Leader hopes Welsh Government won’t “renege on the promise” of A483 junction upgrades