Welsh Government say incorrect signs to ‘deter’ A483 traffic through Gresford will be replaced

Welsh Government are going to correct signage related to the A483 roadworks, after telling drivers they could not access the dual carriageway via a diversion route, when they could.

On Monday Anthony Evans tagged Wrexham.com and Traffic Wales into a tweet with one of the several signs, some static and some digital, that state “No Access To A483” at the Gresford Roundabout as well as the Rossett junction roundabout on to Wrexham Road.

He said, “I understand the work needs to be done but this sign heading towards Gresford is a clear LIE ! You can get on A483 ! I followed diversion for no reason #noneedtolie”

Traffic Wales replied a day later, “Thank you for your patience. These signs were erected at J6 to try and deter motorists from using the B5445 through Gresford as a rat run to try and avoid the A483 due to safety concerns raised by local residents.”

“We’ve spoken to the project team & they will be modifying this signage to make this clearer to motorists. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The diversion route published for the works has Wrexham Road as the suggested, and signposted, route.

We asked Welsh Government why the published diversion route needed a ‘deterrent’, and why no alternative diversion was published if there was such a significant issue.

We asked if it was common that such signage was used to deliberately mislead motorists, and if so who is responsible for making such decisions.

Following on from the recently reported farce where “oversight” was blamed for no one knowing about Gresford junction slip roads three week closure, we enquired why the communication been so poor on this project, and who is ultimately responsible for signing off on the project plan?

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “This diversion route has been in place throughout planned overnight closures for this project.

“To address concerns from residents, signs were installed advising there was ‘no access to the A483. To avoid confusion, these will now read ‘no A483 traffic’.

“North Wales Police Roads Policing and GoSafe are aware of safety concerns and have already visited the site and will continue to do so where possible until the works are complete.”

On communications Welsh Government noted that since September, more than 6,500 letters have been delivered locally to inform the community of the works and “key stakeholders” also had notifications along with press releases to “local newspaper outlets”, and info signs were in place a month before the works.

Welsh Government say they have seen an 80% increase in website traffic for these resurfacing works in comparison to the crossover improvements undertaken in June.

Top picture: A sign saying there is no access to the A483, however if you drive southbound on that road to the next junction, you can join the A483 southbound. There are similar, larger, signs at the Gresford roundabout end that are similarly untrue in the northbound direction.