Nine weeks of major resurfacing works set for A483 by Wales England border

Major resurfacing works for 9 weeks to replace the road surface that has “reached the end of its serviceable life” from south of J7 Rossett to the Wales/England border will start next month.

Welsh Government say the majority of works will be carried out under contraflow which will allow the A483 to remain open to one lane of traffic in either direction.

There will be full overnight closures at certain times to install and dismantle the traffic management system.

Traffic management will be in both directions on the A483 from just south of junction 7 Rossett Interchange and Belgrave traffic signals up towards the ‘Posthouse’ roundabout.

Welsh Government explain, “The works involve: removing the worn-out surfacing, repairing and/or replacing the underlying concrete slabs, resurfacing with an improved surfacing product. The works are required as the road surface has reached the end of its serviceable life.

“Once repairs are complete, the new surfacing will have none of the existing transverse joints which cause unacceptable amounts of noise when driven over by cars.”

“The work will also significantly reduce any unplanned closures for emergency repairs on this section of the A483.”

“The repair and/or replacement of several concrete slabs, together with the laying of 2 layers of surfacing, will require full closure of each side of the dual carriageway in turn. Therefore, a contraflow arrangement will be set up which will allow the A483 to remain open to one lane of traffic in either direction.

“These measures are necessary to protect both the workforce and the travelling public, and to enable the works to be carried out in as short a time as possible.”

Concerns over noise have also been addressed, “In order to complete these works in such a short period of time, there will be overnight working.

“However, we are working with the contractor to identify the noisiest activities of the works and programme them to be carried out during the day and early evening.

“The majority of the work operations will be no louder than the normal noise associated with traffic using the dual carriageway on a daily basis.”

The current initial plan is detailed below, with a note it is subject to change:

February 5th and 6th

Daytime single lane closures in both directions.
Overnight single lane closure northbound.
Full overnight closure of the southbound carriageway, including Junction 7 southbound slip roads. Local diversion in place.

February 7th onwards

24hr contraflow, i.e. one lane in each direction. Junction 7 northbound on and off slips will be closed during this time.
February 9th and 10th

24h traffic lights on Junction 7 Rossett Interchange roundabout.

February 12th to 18th  

24hr contraflow, i.e. one lane in each direction. Junction 7 northbound on and off slips will be closed during this time.

February 19th to 25th  

24hr contraflow, i.e. one lane in each direction. Junction 7 northbound on and off slips will be closed during this time.

February 23rd and 25th

Traffic lights on Junction 7 Rossett Interchange roundabout during the daytime.

For the full closures the old Wrexham Road will be used from the Gresford Roundabout to Belgrave junction, it appears access over the ‘top’ of the A483 at the Rossett junction will be possible however slips closed.

Last time a nearby section of the A483 road was resurfaced Wrexham’s MP reported issues with the police connected to the roadworks with “congestion preventing them reaching emergency calls”, with the police themselves reporting “…a rise in the number of complaints from residents of surrounding villages, reporting increases in speeding and anti-social driving as motorists try to avoid roadworks along the A483.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Oversight” was blamed for no one knowing about Gresford junction slip roads three week closure – and a signage cock up meant people were lied to being told a road would not let them have access to the A483. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Finally, and most famously, in November 2021 Wrexham.com reported that defects on the road had been identified by the Welsh Government, with “corrective resurfacing” being the only solution. A‌ second attempt at doing the job then took place.​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌

As usual the above is not in any form a paid promotion or expensive statutory notice for these works that will no doubt appear elsewhere. Hilariously we were asked to widely communicate reality after an error in A483 statutory notice, but still appear not the preferred route for such publications, a long standing failure of communication.

Top pic: The cones are coming back!