TEMPORARY BRIDGE APPEARS OVERNIGHT TO PREVENT BYPASS WORK TRAFFIC DELAYS

ATEMPORARY bridge to prevent traffic delays during the construction of a new bypass appeared overnight.

Motorists on their morning commute were surprised to notice last week that a temporary bridge had been installed over the A487 main trunk road.

Last month project manager Hefin Lloyd Davies told of how three temporary bridges are set to be installed over three water courses as well as the one above the A487.

The idea behind the scheme is it will eliminate the need to install temporary traffic lights in the area during the summer months.

Construction vehicles will be able to travel from one side to the other

using the bridge without affecting those travelling along the stretch of road.

Plans to build the bypass were delayed on numerous occasions before the then First Minister Carwyn Jones finally gave the plans the green light in May 2018.

Commuters have been campaigning for the bypass for over a decade because of congestion and daily long delays on the road which is the main arterial route to the Llŷn Peninsula and south Gwynedd. The work to build the 9.8km road finally began six months ago and is on schedule to be completed in early 2022. The £135m bypass is a joint venture between Ruthin-based Jones Bros and Balfour Beatty. It will start at the Goat roundabout on the A499/ A487 junction at Dinas to the Plas Menai roundabout near Felinheli.

One motorist who spotted the new addition to the stretch of road on Tuesday morning said they were amazed at how fast the bridge went up.

He said: “At about 11pm they closed the road until about 6am and by the morning the bridge was already up.

“You could see big lights there overnight while they worked on the bridge and there was a crane in place while they put the steel bridge up.

“The way it went up was amazing.”

Another said: “It’s great that work seems to progressing well.

“It’s a relief to see that they’ve put this bridge across so that the construction work doesn’t impact too much on everyday traffic.

“We already have quite heavy delays in this area, especially during rush hour, so it’s good to know that the building of the bypass isn’t going to add to that.

It is hoped that through introducing the bypass it will help with congestion in the area and reduce journey times as well as prevent further collisions in the surrounding urban areas.