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Continued improvements to the A55 are ‘vital to the economy of North Wales’, Economy Secretary Ken Skates has stressed today.

First published:
22 August 2017
Last updated:

This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government

With the Welsh  Government’s A55  resilience study well underway, Mr Skates re-iterated his commitment to look afresh at all potential options to improve journey times, reliability and resilience on the A55 and A494.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

“The A55/ A494 corridor which was built decades ago was never designed to cope with over 70,000 vehicles. In its current state, is far from the ideal modern gateway to supporting the people and economy of North Wales.

“Recent years and months have seen the Welsh Government investing millions of pounds in bringing various aspects of the road up to modern standards. From improvement work to tunnels and road surfacing, to flood alleviation projects and maintenance, I’ve made ensuring the A55 performs to the best of its ability an absolute priority. 

“New sections of road to compliment the existing network will of course form part of future improvements, and we hope to see the planned £200m Deeside Corridor, for example, play a significant role in  an improved infrastructure. Alongside this I have been clear that further improvements can and should be made wherever possible so we can maximise the performance of this vital road.

“It’s for this reason that I commissioned a comprehensive resilience study in April to explore what more could be done to improve journey times, reliability and resilience. That study is now reaching completion and is on schedule to be finalised in the Autumn.

“Following my receipt of the study, I will act quickly to put in place a comprehensive programme of work to further help deliver a road that better serves the thousands of road users that travel on it daily, whilst seeking to keep disruption to a minimum.

“An improved A55 is absolutely vital to the wider economy of North Wales and is something we must continue to work to deliver as quickly as we can.”