New A483 Junction 4 “preferred route” published as part of £37.5m bypass upgrade scheme

Welsh Government have published the ‘preferred route’ for the A483 junction improvements.

The Welsh Government say 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.”

Several options have been under consideration including minor changes to Junction 3, the Plas Coch Juntion 5 and Junction 6 at Gresford. It appears with the latest publication and associated title that the bigger Junction 4 improvements project has been selected.

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

In May 2018 Minister Ken Skates MS announced that key congestion points on the bypass would be ‘resolved inside three years’, with funding announced at the same time.

Detail of the Ruthin Road section of the map.

The options assessment noted several changes since the project first emerged in 2017, including the proposed 5,592 square metre expansion of the existing Moneypenny office complex which is likely to create an additional 700 jobs as well as new access arrangements

Previously published detail in support of the major works around Junction 4 noted the rationale behind its selection as:

• Keeping the existing A525 open to all vehicles provides capacity relief at Junctions 3 and 5 (plus Berse Road)
• The offline proposals will provide better junction capacity future proofing in 2037
• The offline proposals will cause the least impact on the mainline during construction
• There are no environmental show-stoppers
• Road safety benefits will be realised with the offline proposals
• Non-Motorised Users will be better served with A525 remaining open to local traffic (personal security)
• Public Transport options are able to be delivered with the A525 remaining open to local traffic

In previously published pricing, based off 2020 information, the project could 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”.

(Large sums will be spent on Statutory Notices relating to the scheme and associated adverts – but not on this article, or previous ones. The scale of such payments was hinted at in a Welsh Parliament Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee report released in 2020 that quotes “… for Newsquest in April, 25 per cent of their income came from statutory notices”. “Leader” publishers Newsquest Media Group Ltd is a subsidiary of billion dollar USA megacorp Gannett Co. Inc.)