Hopes of a New Year start on £90m bypass
THE A487 in Gwynedd was closed for three hours on Friday after a Spar lorry crashed, spilling oil on the road.
The accident, which only involved the one vehicle, occurred at around 12.15pm between Maentwrog and Gellilydan.
No one was hurt in the incident. WORK on a £90m bypass between Caernarfon and Bontnewydd could start early in the New Year.
The Welsh Government said an inspector’s report, following a five-week public inquiry into the bypass in the summer, was handed to them last Wednesday.
The report, by planning inspector Hywel Wyn Jones on behalf of The Planning Inspectorate, will now be considered by Welsh Government economy minister Ken Skates, who is expected to make a decision “this winter” on whether it goes ahead or not.
There were hopes that the work would have started this autumn, but a Welsh Government spokesman said the starting date had always been “indicative.”
Claims that the scheme has been delayed by a year were
A North Wales Police spokesman said: “We were called to reports of a one-vehicle road traffic collision on the A487 between Gellilydan and Maentwrog at 12.18pm.
“It involves a lorry which is blocking the road.
“There are no injuries.” strongly denied by the spokesman, who said: “It is completely factually incorrect to say that this scheme has been delayed by a year.”
Neither the Welsh Government nor the Planning Inspec- torate were willing to reveal the report’s recommendations, which will only be made public when Mr Skates announces his decision.
The proposed six-mile (10km) route goes from the Goat roundabout on the A499/ A487 junction in the south to the Plas Menai roundabout in the north.
Commuters have been campaigning for such a road, which would bypass Bontnewydd and Caernarfon, for more than a decade because of congestion and daily long delays.
Gwynedd Cllr Peter Garlick, for Bontnewydd and Llanfaglan, said: “What we would like is for them to give us a firm answer on the bypass.”
He added that “almost everybody” he had spoken to was strongly in favour of the plan.
Arfon AM Sian Gwenllian said: “We’ve already lost a year because agencies couldn’t agree how best to mitigate for bats. Our whole area needs this new road – it’s a vital part of the infrastructure for us. Local people are fed up with waiting.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “For road schemes of this nature, they must follow the due statutory and legislative process. It is absolutely right that these inquiries and the consideration of the outcome of them involve careful consideration so that the evidence presented is prop- erly evaluated.
“While this may impact on scheduled start dates, or when final decisions can be made on a project, it is a crucial part of the democratic and legislative process”.
The five-week long public inquiry started on July 21. Then, Welsh Government official Christopher McNall said the new scheme would deal with the “pinch-point” of traffic at Bontnewydd.
Mr McNall said it was a question of “balancing difficult competitive interests” and that delivering “a modern, efficient and resilient transport in a natural environment was never easy.”
Mr McNally said the scheme was designed to carry forward national policy to support better transport links, improve health and safety, the economy and the environment; “connect people with jobs, housing and leisure and keep Wales moving”.