My parents went on holiday to North Wales from Good Friday to Tuesday, and my dad was telling me about their inevitably gnarly ride up there from Leicester on the Friday, not helped by having to drop my brother off in Wilmslow on the way.
Firstly a HGV had overturned/shed its load on the Sideway roundabout in Stoke, meaning they couldn't take the A500 through Stoke, instead having to get on the M6 at J15. He was intent on taking the A34, so had to come off at J16 and head back towards Stoke on the A500.
And then after the Wilmslow drop off, they got stuck on the M56 westbound, apparently there had been an accident, and they stationary for half an hour, and crawling for a long period. The A494 didn't improve things, and as is the norm at any kind of busy period, it is always very slow when you join the A55 at J33.
Norfolktolancashire wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2019 20:26
We decided to return home via Llandudno in the evening, the A55 both ways was clear. However on leaving that town around 7.30pm we hit lots of eastbound traffic on the A55 and had to leave the expressway at Rhuallt hill due to an accident closing it further up. Six miles of queues.
A nice detour via single track roads and the A541 did the trick.
My dad mentioned that to me, on the Monday they clocked a sign on the A55 warning them of that closure all the way back at Bangor. It does make you wonder what the HGV's do in that situation, because the alternative routes are pretty non-existent for that kind of traffic. Guessing they just have to join the queue and way for it to be re-opened.
Lewis1997 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2019 23:18
And this wasn’t the end either; the A5 where it merges with A494 between Druid and Corwen was incredible in terms of traffic. Must have been about 2 miles worth of traffic coming up the A494 to the first set of lights and then very slow moving (almost a crawl to the second set). In fact, a cyclist passed us at the first set of lights and we didn’t catch up with this cyclist until after the last roundabout on the A5 after Oswestry leaving the A483 behind. Llangollen was almost a nightmare too! About a mile or so traffic heading England-bound taking about 15-20 mins to get through.
I really enjoy the A5 from Bangor down to Llangollen, it's a great drive when clear and in good weather. But on the flipside, I feel your pain, it can be horrendous when clogged, as there is no escape. Once you're committed, you have to follow it through.
On a side note that probably should be in the fantasy roads forum, I would love to see the A483/A5 fully dualled from Chester to Shrewsbury. On the face of it, it shouldn't be too difficult to achieve, given the A5 doesn't trundle through many, if any, villages in this section.