A55

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Glenn A
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Re: A55

Post by Glenn A »

I'd love to drive on the A55 as all those tunnels would be like driving through the Alps, and now it's completely D2, it won't be a chore like when my parents went to Anglesey in the eighties. I'm surprised, though, it was never a candidate to become a motorway( A55M) as it is such an important road.
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Re: A55

Post by Moyceyy »

Glenn A wrote:I'd love to drive on the A55 as all those tunnels would be like driving through the Alps, and now it's completely D2, it won't be a chore like when my parents went to Anglesey in the eighties. I'm surprised, though, it was never a candidate to become a motorway( A55M) as it is such an important road.
Its actually one of the few A roads that actually needs to be a Motorway. Many routes could benefit from continuous hard shoulders, but the A55 is in dire need of them.

It's pretty obvious the Government has realised they messed up in that regard.
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Makeshiftleftback
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Re: A55

Post by Makeshiftleftback »

Moyceyy wrote:
Glenn A wrote:I'd love to drive on the A55 as all those tunnels would be like driving through the Alps, and now it's completely D2, it won't be a chore like when my parents went to Anglesey in the eighties. I'm surprised, though, it was never a candidate to become a motorway( A55M) as it is such an important road.
Its actually one of the few A roads that actually needs to be a Motorway. Many routes could benefit from continuous hard shoulders, but the A55 is in dire need of them.

It's pretty obvious the Government has realised they messed up in that regard.

Getting stuck in that chaos following the road being closed in both directions at Llanfairfechan today was an utter chore.

The A55 is unfortunate in the sense that not only does it need some upgrading in general, but it also suffers from the lack of an alternative route between Penmaenmawr and Abergwyngregyn, there really is no other road in the area an the geography would make building one incredibly difficult (not that I think geography should be a suitable excuse to any potential roadbuilding project mind.)
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Osthagen
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Re: A55

Post by Osthagen »

Glenn A wrote:I'm surprised, though, it was never a candidate to become a motorway( A55M) as it is such an important road.
I'm quoting from months ago, but surely a fully-upgraded A55 would be an extension of the M56 (assuming the adjoining bit of A494 is upgraded too, much of which is near-motorway standard now anyway).
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Bryn666
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Re: A55

Post by Bryn666 »

I rather think the A55 is an induced demand sort of road - because ALL roads into N Wales used to be pants once the A55 was done it sucked traffic from all over meaning it is now overwhelmed.

I have been stuck in several jams on the A55 recently, it is going to be hugely expensive to fix I think.
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Re: A55

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The problem with blue lines by the A55, is the stretch from Conwy to Bangor. It is the bit that needs most work, but it currently needs to remain all purpose as there is no real alternative.
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Johnathan404
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Re: A55

Post by Johnathan404 »

I wonder whether the state of the M6 has any impact on the A55?

I'm not a fan of the A5 but will take it over Walsall to Lymm any day.
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Re: A55

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Going south we stop at Lymm, out comes the smart phone and checks the traffic. 9/10 along to Chester and down the A470
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Robert Kilcoyne
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Re: A55

Post by Robert Kilcoyne »

Johnathan404 wrote:I wonder whether the state of the M6 has any impact on the A55?

I'm not a fan of the A5 but will take it over Walsall to Lymm any day.
I travelled through the roadworks in Cheshire in the last week and I would certainly not be using the M6 between Junctions 16 and 20 in future until the works are complete. I would guess that once drivers see how bad traffic flows can be north of Junction 16, they will either leave the M6 there and use the A500 and A51 to get to Chester and the A55 or indeed use the M54 and A5 if the eventual destination is somewhere south of the A55 (e.g. large parts of the Snowdonia National Park, Wrexham).
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Berk
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Re: A55

Post by Berk »

exiled wrote:The problem with blue lines by the A55, is the stretch from Conwy to Bangor. It is the bit that needs most work, but it currently needs to remain all purpose as there is no real alternative.
That normally means that it's better to build an alternative route, and once complete, renumber that as A55. Which would also allow flows to be segregated.
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Re: A55

Post by exiled »

Berk wrote:
exiled wrote:The problem with blue lines by the A55, is the stretch from Conwy to Bangor. It is the bit that needs most work, but it currently needs to remain all purpose as there is no real alternative.
That normally means that it's better to build an alternative route, and once complete, renumber that as A55. Which would also allow flows to be segregated.
And that is the problem with the A55 and the Bangor/Conwy stretch There is no room to build an all purpose road, especially around Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr, without the entire Welsh Government budget being spent on it.
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Stevie D
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Re: A55

Post by Stevie D »

McNessA720 wrote:I'm quoting from months ago, but surely a fully-upgraded A55 would be an extension of the M56 (assuming the adjoining bit of A494 is upgraded too, much of which is near-motorway standard now anyway).
That assumes that the A55 will be fully upgraded. Very little of the current road would be suitable for reclassifying as motorway, even if it was widened to include hard shoulders – essentially the road would need to be ripped up and rebuilt, in some cases as a triple-carriageway (ie, including a local access road). There are too many junctions, and too many sub-standard junctions. Where the road goes through urban areas, there is often insufficient space to provide motorway-standard roads and accesses without widescale demolition.

There is plenty of scope to upgrade parts of the A55 without bringing it anywhere near motorway-standard.
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Re: A55

Post by Makeshiftleftback »

Bryn666 wrote:I rather think the A55 is an induced demand sort of road - because ALL roads into N Wales used to be pants once the A55 was done it sucked traffic from all over meaning it is now overwhelmed.
This is pretty much the root of the twofold problem with the A55. First is that, in some sections it's the only actual through road if you need to get anywhere (Penmaenmawr-Abergwyngregyn) which means a lot of local traffic clogging up the road, and the other issue is because almost every other road heading Eastbound is pants, it sucks traffic from all over North Wales.

The lack of space to upgrade the A55 between Abergwyngregyn-Penmaenmawr means upgrading options are somewhat limited. Others have already said the obvious solution for the first problem is the need for an alternative route (decent standard S2 would be enough) between Abergwyngregyn-Penmaenmawr to relieve some of the traffic load. The geography of the area is a challenge, and clearly make it a very expensive fix, but I don't see another solution - it's going to need an alternative route eventually, whether in 10 years or in 30.
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Re: A55

Post by Makeshiftleftback »

Road was closed westbound at Llanfairfechan again today, second time this week, traffic queueing all the way to Penmaenmawr all because of one broken down vehicle.
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Re: A55

Post by wrinkly »

Aber to Tai'r Meibion was one of the first stretches of A55 to be dualled, back in the late 1960s, by buiding a new westbound carriageway, and is now sub-standard with regard to property accesses etc:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.22770 ... a=!3m1!1e3

A long-standing proposal to do something about it was shelved some years ago because of the recession but now seems to be reappearing:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2857335

No line order is required but the draft side roads order is here:

http://gov.wales/legislation/subordinat ... o/?lang=en

Interesting to see that the Welsh for A55(T) is A55(C).
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wrinkly
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Re: A55

Post by wrinkly »

The scheme in the post above has been approved.

https://gov.wales/newsroom/transport/20 ... t/?lang=en
A55 improvement scheme gets green light

Important improvements to the A55 between Abergwyngregyn interchange and Tai’r Meibion farm will go ahead after being given the green light by Economy and Transport Secretary Ken Skates.

Wednesday 11 July 2018

The £25 million scheme between Junctions 12 and 13 will improve safety on this section of the route as well as reduce the risk of flooding.

Work includes upgrading the 2.2km stretch to present day standards, providing safer accesses onto the A55, an improved drainage system to ensure future resilience to flooding, new footways to improve pedestrian access to the local bus service and new wildlife pipes installed under the A55.

Active travel is an integral part of the scheme and a new walking and cycling route will be constructed parallel with the eastbound carriageway.

Resurfacing of the route with low noise surfacing will be extended past Abergwyngregyn helping to reduce road noise in this area.

The scheme is backed by £14.9m from the European Regional Development Fund.

Ken Skates said:

“The Abergwyngregyn – Tai’r Meibion scheme is yet another demonstration of the Welsh Government taking action to improve transport infrastructure in North Wales. We are investing heavily throughout the region and this project shows our commitment to improving and strengthening the A55.

“The scheme will be vital in ensuring a safer route for local and through traffic, reducing flood risk, building better pedestrian and cycling connections with communities and enhancing biodiversity.

“The next stage is to appoint a contractor with works planned to begin towards the end of this year. This construction phase will also result in local employment and workforce training opportunities providing a real boost to the area’s economy.

“Today’s announcement follows the go-ahead I gave recently for the Caernarfon and Bontnewydd bypass and I am certain both schemes will deliver for businesses and communities in North West Wales whilst improving safety for road users and ensuring we have a modern transport network.”

Enabling work is due to begin in the Autumn including site clearance and widening an existing road, all of which will be done off the A55. Construction works on the A55 is programmed to begin in Spring 2019 for a period of 18 months. All four lanes on the A55 will be kept running under a speed restriction between 6am to 7pm in order to minimise any disruption.
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danfw194
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Re: A55

Post by danfw194 »

That's good news, this section is well overdue an upgrade. Hopefully there will be some more positive news when the consultation ends for the removal of the two roundabouts.
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Re: A55

Post by Bryn666 »

The difference between that bit of the A55 and the surrounding dual is extreme. It hasn't even got hard strips.

It's a relic but it needs to go.
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Glenn A
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Re: A55

Post by Glenn A »

The problem with much sixties dualling, which while welcome at the time, was sometimes a new carriageway was plonked down next to the old one, which retained things like bus stops, farm entrances and houses, and became hazardous as time went on. It is something that needs to be looked at on roads like the A55, A1 and A66 west of Penrith, and replaced.
Robert Kilcoyne
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Re: A55

Post by Robert Kilcoyne »

Glenn A wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 15:52 The problem with much sixties dualling, which while welcome at the time, was sometimes a new carriageway was plonked down next to the old one, which retained things like bus stops, farm entrances and houses, and became hazardous as time went on. It is something that needs to be looked at on roads like the A55, A1 and A66 west of Penrith, and replaced.
The D2 of sorts at Bassenthwaite on the A66, with its sharp bends on the westbound carriageway, springs to mind.

The old A74 between the M6 and Draffan was also notorious for its bus stops, farm accesses and at grade right turns.

Returning to the A55, there is also an elderly section of D2 east of St. Asaph whose age is really shown up by the sweeping D2 and climbing lane up Rhuallt Hill less than two miles to the east.
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