Following the emergency closure of the A55 Conwy tunnel on 20 October, the Welsh Government has been challenged over what strategy is in place to reduce the risk of serious disruption on the A55 when such incidents occur.
Traffic was queuing back to Penmaenmawr in eastbound lanes of the A55. In westbound lanes, traffic went back to Colwyn Bay, and Llandudno Junction, Conwy town, Glan Conwy, Llanrwst, Betws-y-Coed, and Bethesda were gridlocked due to traffic leaving the A55.
Responding to Janet Finch-Saunders MS, Ken Skates MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Welsh Government, stated:
“There is a long-standing established diversion route for when the Conwy Tunnel is closed. It utilises the A470 and A5 trunk road network. The diversion plan is shared with the Local Resilience Forum which includes the relevant Local Authorities. However, drivers with local knowledge will use local roads and drivers will also use their SatNavs”.
Commenting, Janet said:
“Whenever any section of the A55 is closed between Llandudno Junction and Bangor there is a major impact on the long-standing diversion route.
“The same communities time after time encounter the same traffic mayhem, such as HGVs being unable to pass through Llanrwst, the arches of Conwy town, or the parked vehicles in Bethesda.
“What the Cabinet Secretary calls an established route is extremely poorly managed. How much worse can you get than members of the community having to volunteer to guide traffic because the traffic and police officers with the legal authority to manage traffic in crisis communities do not take action?
“Nobody, including the Cabinet Secretary, wants to take ultimate responsibility for management of the diversion route. Failure to do so and ensure that officials with legal authority help manage traffic flows could result in a serious accident”.
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