Calls for safety improvements after crash closes Chirk bypass
Renewed calls have been made for extra safety measures on a bridge on one of the the region's busiest trunk roads.
The Chirk bypass, which carries both the A5 and A483 on the Shropshire/Welsh border, was closed for more than 36 hours after a car hit a barrier on the bridge over the River Ceiriog on Monday evening.
Local people fear unless improvements are made on the bridge - which runs 142 foot above the valley below - there will be a tragedy.
The car came to a rest precariously close to the edge of the bridge parapet and firefighters had to work within feet of the drop to release the female driver from the wreckage of the vehicle.
Highways contractors were brought in to mend the barriers with the northbound carriageway between the Gledrid Island and Halton Island closed all day on Tuesday.
Traffic was diverted through Chirk, as it has been on regular occasions over the past six months while a major reconfiguration of the Gledrid Island has been taking place.
The £700,000 improvements are due to finish at the end of the month.
Chirk councillor, Terry Evans, said he believed it was only time before a vehicle plunged over the parapet and people were killed.
About three years ago Chirk Town Council campaigned for safety measures on that bridge and still nothing has been done.
"There is going to be a tragedy if something is not done," he said.
"Someone is going to go over that parapet, it could be a lorry hitting that barrier too hard or it could be a family going on holiday."
The council wrote to local MP Susan Elan Jones who brought the safety issues up in parliament.
"We would like to see better or extra barriers installed on the bridge. Money is being spent on improving the flow of traffic but they are not thinking about safety."
"There have been so many engineering improvements recently that there must be something that could be installed that would not cost a lot of money."
In 2015 two brothers in a tractor were left in shock when the vehicle hit the barriers and came to rest with one wheel hanging over the bridge.
Two men died in a road accident on the bridge in 2010. Cows being transported in a wagon fell to their deaths when they escaped from the vehicle following the crash.
