The Menai suspension bridge that links mainland Wales to the island of Anglesey is set to partially reopen following being closed by the Welsh Government due to structural issues.
In a statement issued earlier today, the Welsh Government said that it planned to reopen the bridge between 7 am and 7 pm with a 3-tonne weight restriction still in place, adding that the bridge would remain shut to all traffic overnight.
Whilst the bridge is open, there will be traffic management in place allowing for a single flow of traffic off the island in the morning and onto the island in the afternoon. The Government also said that cyclists will be expected to dismount when on the bridge and use the pedestrian footway, and added that emergency access arrangements for ambulances not able to cross the nearby Britannia Bridge will be in place.
There has been no timeframe given for how long these restrictions will be in place; the Government said that ‘discussions are ongoing’ with both UK Highways A55 and North Wales Police, adding that confirmation of timescales and how enforcement will be managed will be provided ‘as soon as a plan is fully agreed’.
Whilst these restrictions are in place, work is taking place to repair the bolts underneath the bridge so that phase 2 of the scheduled maintenance can continue as planned.
Cause of the closure
As part of a second phase of maintenance works on the bridge, investigations revealed that bolts on beams under the bridge needed replacement. Following this, engineers recommended that a weight limit of 3 tonnes be placed on the bridge, which was introduced on 3 October.
However, only one day later, the Government announced the temporary closure of the bridge to all traffic after ‘challenges with enforcement’ of the new weight limit were encountered.
Previously, a 7.5 tonne limit was placed on the bridge whilst maintenance was undertaken, but UK Highways A55, the company that is responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, reported repeated instances of HGVs ignoring weight limit signs.
