Works aimed at re-opening the Menai Suspension Bridge have begun and are scheduled to be complete within four weeks, ‘subject to adverse weather conditions’.
The Welsh Government and UK Highways A55 Ltd, alongside engineering firms Spencer Group and COWI, worked together to develop the emergency programme.
The works required a bespoke design and procurement strategy, which was developed following the closure of the bridge on in October due to a structural issue that is said to have posed a risk to public safety.
The programme will begin with the installation of the emergency works to the west side of the bridge before completing the works on the eastern side.
While the emergency programme was being developed, additional maintenance works, including the resurfacing of the road, were brought forward.
The Welsh Government’s deputy minister for climate change with responsibility for transport, Lee Waters said: ‘I am pleased that together with our partners, we have been able to press ahead at pace with this extremely important and complex piece of work on the Menai Suspension Bridge.
‘In the meantime, the package of support to ease the transport pressures on people travelling to and from Ynys Mon [Anglesey] remains in place and I am grateful to residents in the area for their patience as work on the Menai Suspension bridge continues.’
A spokesperson from UK Highways A55 Ltd said: ‘Finding a solution to this very unique problem posed a number of complex engineering challenges.
‘We worked extremely closely with UK Highways, the Welsh Government, and the wider project team of engineers to fully understand the issues and constraints, to allow us to develop a solution that is safe and robust for bridge users, and the structure itself, in the fastest possible timescale.’
