A55: Abergwyngregyn to Tai’r Meibion improvements

Why we are doing it

The A55 is the main north Wales coastal route and is part of Euroroute E22 Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). It is also an important link, via county roads, for local towns and communities and provides a connection with the north-south A470 to south and central Wales.

This section of the A55 was upgraded to a dual carriageway in the late 1960s and does not comply with current highway standards. The section is prone to flooding.

Current progress

We have completed making improvements along the A55 and finished building the new length of county road.

We started work in autumn 2021 and completed work in spring 2023.

What we have done

We have improved safety along a 2.2km stretch of the A55 by removing eight gaps in the central reservation. These gaps were used by agricultural vehicles to cross and posed a risk to road users. We built a new length of county road for vehicle access to farms.

We built a 3.6km long active travel route between junction 12 and 13, so it will be safer to walk and cycle.

We have provided metre wide hardstrips along the central reserve and edge of carriageway and a concrete central reserve barrier to improve safety.

We have improved 800 metres of multiuser path next to the westbound carriageway on the A55. This will make it a safer walking and cycling route between Abergwyngregyn and Llanfairfechan. 

We have also improved the road's drainage to reduce the risk of flooding. Improvements were made to the drainage work completed in 2017.

We have completed most works off the A55 and maintained two lanes of traffic on the A55 to minimise disruption.

The improvement scheme was designed to consider sustainable development  biodiversity. A pond was created to limit discharge to watercourses, culverts to encourage otters and fish. Dry pipes were installed across the A55 to allow small mammals to cross safely. 

The resurfacing work included the installation of low noise surfacing after consultation with residents of Abergwyngregyn.

We secured £20.775 million through the European Regional Development Fund to deliver these improvements.

Timetable

Publication of draft orders: autumn 2016
Enabling works contract commencement: late 2018
Completion of enabling works contract: spring 2019
Start of main works construction: autumn 2020
Completion of new section of trunk road: spring 2023
Environmental aftercare period: spring 2023 to spring 2028

Next steps

We will be commissioning the new variable message signs and close circuit television cameras. These will be linked to the North Wales Traffic Control Centre.

We will start a five-year environmental aftercare period now that the construction has been completed. This will involve monitoring species to ensure the environmental mitigation and enhancements built into this scheme are working.