Big traffic delays as bypass closed for bridge work
Long tailbacks and delayed buses are the just two of the knock-on effects of the closure of a trunk road on the Shropshire border all this week.
The Chirk bypass is closed so to allow for the replacement of part of the Ceiriog road bridge, which carries both the A5 and A483.
The road has remained busy despite the latest lockdown and with traffic, including the heavy goods vehicles, now being diverted through Chirk, residents say that the impact was felt as soon as the closure came into force.
Long delays built up on the trunk roads stretching back toward Oswestry to the south and Wrexham to the north today, while in Chirk traffic was almost at a standstill.
Local residents took to social media to complain about the noise of wagons through the early hours of the morning and being late for work because they could not get out of their drives onto the Holyhead Road.
Councillor Terry Evans says one of the big problems is the old bridge on the road into Chirk from south.
Disruption
Traffic lights have been put on the historic bridge during the road closure because the weight restriction means that two lorries cant be on the structure at the same time.
"The lights mean that the traffic is stop start, adding to the disruption," he said.
The Built in 1990, the bridge on the bypass spans 500 metres from the northern side of the Ceiriog Valley in Wales to its southern side in England.
After 30 years, the large expansion joint at the southern end of the viaduct is reaching the end of its operational life and must be replaced.
The work will include the demolition and reconstruction of the reinforced concrete viaduct where it joins its support on the southern side of the Ceiriog Valley.
Planned routine maintenance and bridge investigation works will also take place to make the most of the closure.
The Welsh Government and Highways England will carry out work on their own sections of the road.
