Menai Bridge that links Anglesey to Welsh mainland may be closed for another year

The bridge was closed by the Welsh Government to all traffic on Friday, October 21, with the decision made on safety grounds after advice from structural engineers and conversations with the police.

A Member of the Welsh Parliament has criticised the sudden closure of the bridge and said it caused "complete chaos" on the island.

Now Lee Waters has said in a meeting: "The decision was not made lightly; it was made on safety grounds.

"As part of their maintenance responsibility, UK Highways have been carrying out inspections on the bridge. They do this to an industry standard at two- and six-year intervals.

"As part of the last principal inspection in 2019, a concern about the resilience of hangers that support the suspension bridge were identified, and led to a weight restriction being imposed on the bridge while further studies were carried out. The latest inspection was reported to the Welsh Government last Wednesday, and it unexpectedly highlighted an immediate concern around the brittle failure mechanism of the hangers.

"As is standard practice, officials reviewed and challenged the findings. However, based on very clear advice from structural engineers, it was considered that there was no other option but to close the bridge while further checks on the analysis are undertaken by an independent consultant."

It was revealed that temporary hanger-strengthening works may need to be installed to ensure the safety of the Menai Bridge, and these works could take between 14 and 16 weeks - which would then allow the bridge to be reopened to vehicles weighing up to 75 tonnes in early 2023.

With the bridge closed, the vital link between Anglesey and North Wales has been cut off, but it was revealed by Mr Waters that the footway across the bridge can be reopened for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists, and that officials are working with UK Highways to help limit the impact on emergency services.

Emergency service vehicles that weigh less than 7.5 tonnes may be allowed to cross the Menai Bridge if the A55 Britannia Bridge is closed, but this is subject to criteria set by UK Highways.

Mr Waters added: "I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that this is causing. Clearly, the Menai Bridge is a vital link for the people of north Wales and beyond, and I’d like to thank local people for their patience and understanding whilst this urgent work takes place. And I want to reassure them that the Welsh Government is working with UK Highways and all stakeholders, including emergency services, to ensure that this can be done as quickly and safely as possible.

"All vehicular traffic is now being diverted to the Britannia Bridge, and Welsh Government officials are urgently working on further contingency plans in the area, and will continue to monitor the congestion to inform future changes. They are also developing further strategies to increase resilience on the Britannia Bridge to mitigate the risk of both bridges being closed in exceptional circumstances.

"I can confirm that, following discussions with UK Highways and their structural experts, it's been agreed that the footway across the bridge can be reopened for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists. Pedestrians must remain on the footways, and numbers will be limited, with monitoring taking place.

"Officials are working with UK Highways to help limit the impact on emergency services and allow their vehicles, which weigh less than 7.5 tonnes, across the Menai Bridge, if the A55 Britannia bridge is closed. This will be subject to the emergency services meeting certain criteria and the traffic management, put in place by UK Highways, is safe to allow this to happen."

Conservative MS Natasha Asghar said: "The scenes we've been seeing play out in Anglesey over the last few days are completely unacceptable and, dare I say it, avoidable. I must say, from the moment the bridge suddenly closed late on Friday afternoon, there has been complete chaos in the area, with drivers, pedestrians and cyclists left stranded.

"Closing the bridge at the last minute without prior warning for what could be potentially four months will not only hit residents, visitors and commuters, but also hard-working businesses in the area."

However, Mr Waters responded, saying: "The risk of a catastrophic event happening to the bridge is still low, but it is too high for us to be able to risk it. And as the Member rightly pointed out, this is a very old bridge.

"Some 40 of the hangers were replaced in 1990s, but there are over 200 remaining that are much older, and a much older technology. And that also creates a degree of uncertainty, because the newer technology is able to be tested and able to be monitored in a far more reliable way. There's a degree of uncertainty that we have with the much older hangers.

"That is one of the reasons why we've been cautious in making the decisions that we have. It's possible that the checks that will happen over the next two weeks will find that this has been an overreaction and that we'll be able to open the bridge, with a weight restriction, much, much sooner."