Welsh Government give ‘much needed’ A483 new junction and upgrade project green light

The A483 looks set for a new junction after a formal green light selecting several proposals as ‘preferred options’.

Back in August Wrexham.com reported that plans for a new junction on the A483 Wrexham bypass, along with improvements to other junctions on the road, had been unveiled with a total of 56 options initially identified.

Gresford Roundabout will see an additional lane on Chester Road southbound approach and the Blue Bell Lane approach plus “Improve walking and cycling provision”.

The proposed options included:

• Junction 3 (Wrexham Road): Minor changes to the existing junction incorporating active travel improvements
• (Ruthin Road): Major changes to the existing junction, including a new gyratory retaining the existing A525 overbridge, incorporating active travel improvements along the A525 across the A483.
• Junction 5 (Plas Coch Roundabout / Mold Road): Introducing active travel improvements
• Junction 6 (A5156 / Gresford Interchange): Minor changes to the existing junction incorporating active travel improvements

In a letter to Ministers seen by Wrexham.com the First Minister Mark Drakeford said:

Having taken full account of the economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects of the these junction improvements as well as listening carefully to the consultation responses, I am informing you that the options presented at the consultation for Junctions 3 to 6 are being formally selected as the Preferred Options. These options include active travel improvements to Junctions 3, 4 and 6 along with a new junction with active travel improvements immediately south of Junction 4.

Given that Junctions 3 and 4 are within the constituency of my colleague Ken Skates MS, the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, I have approved the decision for the preferred options.

The improvements to Junctions 3 to 6 will be a key enabler to unlock the economic developments in Wrexham and the surrounding area creating new employment opportunities and accessible links to key destinations. The new and upgraded active travel provision will lead to healthier sustainable travel choices and decrease reliance on car use for shorter journeys. Enhancements to traffic flows at each junction will enable improved public transport services and greater journey time reliability, which in turn will help facilitate modal shift.

The next steps will be to develop the preliminary design, which considers the environmental and engineering issues in more detail, taking account of the comments made during consultation. A detailed analysis of alignment of these options will be undertaken at this stage to ensure alignment with the newly published Wales Transport Strategy:Llwybr Newydd. Further public engagement will take place over during the summer/autumn to explain the preferred options as well as the next stages. In the meantime, Welsh Government officials will continue to engage closely with residents and stakeholders.

Wrexham’s Member of the Senedd, Lesley Griffiths said: “We are all aware how important the A483 is to the town, as well as the surrounding areas, and these much-needed upgrades will make a big difference, vastly improving our local road network.”

“It’s clear the Welsh Government is committed to investing in our town, in spite of the uncertain times.  Just last week, £25m was outlined for the Wrexham Gateway project, that looks set to transform the area of the town centred around the Mold Road, Wrexham General Station and the Racecourse Ground.”

“This latest announcement will complement the Gateway Project perfectly.  After a tough year, it is a real boost to see positive action taking place in 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.

Plas Coch / Mold Road junction will see new traffic lights proposed for the Mold Road entry to the junction, plus “active travel improvements for east/west access” and “improved signalisation of the Plas Coch circulatory”.

Today’s announcement fits timescales previously referred to in documents that indicated the design and construct phase was pencilled in for 2022, with a decision on if to develop the junctions taken in “early 2021”.

Junction 3 by Rhostyllen will see an additional “flare lane” on the B5605 approach to the roundabout, plus “active travel improvements for east/west access.”

 
This morning Leader of Wrexham Council Mark Pritchard welcomed the news, “This is fantastic news for Wrexham. I would like to thank the Minister Ken Skates for all his hard work and commitment to this project, along with Welsh Government.”

“I want to thank all the officers at Wrexham council and the civil servants who have worked together to deliver this scheme. Thank you too to all the residents of Wrexham who contributed to the consultation on the scheme.”

Top pic and other images: The first views of plans on what the new junction and other works could look like and the locations of the works from the previous consultation documents.

(Large sums will be spent on Statutory Notices relating to the scheme and related adverts. The scale of such payments was hinted at in a Welsh Parliament Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee report released last year 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.)