Newbridge: “details of the permanent repair is now almost finalised”

There will be ‘increased activity on site from now onwards’ to a road which has been closed for more than three years.

The B5605 in Newbridge, in Wrexham county borough, was closed in January 2021 after a large part of the road collapsed down an embankment during Storm Christoph.

There have since been lengthy delays to repair work, causing frustration for local drivers who use the busy route, which also acts as a diversion from the A483 bypass.

The Welsh Government awarded £2.8m in funding to Wrexham Council to cover the cost of the repairs in May 2022.

Clwyd South MS Ken Skates has published a response he has had from Wrexham Council, that gives an update on Newbridge fix progress.

Mr Skates quotes the council as saying, “Wrexham County Borough Council have been fortunate to have been awarded grant funding by the Welsh Government for the numerous tasks required towards implementation of a scheme of repair within the particularly challenging environment that it is in and around the landslip area.

“In collaboration with Atkins Consulting Engineers who have been appointed to support Wrexham Council Borough Council, and our Design and Build Contractors, Jones Bros Ltd, ground investigation work has been completed and the resulting detailed report on the findings has enabled design options to be developed for a scheme of permanent repair to the embankment and road.

“Whilst we are conscious that the relative lack of visibility on site may be perceived as lack of progress being made overall, we are pleased to confirm that significant progress has been made and the details of the permanent repair is now almost finalised.

“As planning progresses towards the main repair works, on Monday 19th February the road closure order for the affected section of road was extended to also apply to pedestrians and cyclists. From this week onwards, Jones Bros will be commencing their advanced works. This will include diverting existing services, and forming the temporary access road that is required to enable the permanent repair to the landslip itself.

“As a result there will be increased activity on site from now onwards, and as the repair scheme progresses further stages will follow towards a full re-opening of the B5605 when any closures will finally be removed.

“The detailed programme of works is progressing well, but is yet to be completely finalised”

Ken Skates was also told there would be a dedicated update page online for updates, however Wrexham.com (and others) could not locate it yet.