Rush hour delays as Menai Suspension Bridge closed

The Menai Suspension bridge links north Wales mainland to Anglesey

Motorists are facing congestion and potential delays after the unexpected closure of the Menai Suspension Bridge - connecting Anglesey to the Welsh mainland - over the weekend.

Commuters are currently being diverted to the nearby Britannia Bridge after the suspension bridge had to be closed when engineers found some of the bolts on beams under the bridge needed replacing.

The bridge closed on Saturday on orders of the Welsh government, with Transport Secretary Ken Skates apologising for "frustrations" caused to bridge users.

Ynys Môn MP Llinos Medi has called on the Welsh and UK governments to invest in transport infrastructure, as well as funding to support "hard-hit" local communities.

Medi said the closure, which came into effect at 14:00 BST on Saturday, "exposes the complete failure of strategic planning from the Welsh government, and a lack of commitment to funding infrastructure projects by successive UK governments".

She said local businesses were "particularly hit hard by repeated closures".

As leader of Anglesey council in 2023, Medi said she had outlined evidence-based plans to improve the island's connectivity and "two years later, those warnings have been ignored".

The Menai crossings are crucial to a strategic European trade corridor linking Holyhead to Dublin, and beyond, she said, and yet Anglesey was "left disrupted with ageing infrastructure and repeated closures" while investment was made elsewhere in the UK.

Medi called for a dedicated resilience fund to support businesses and communities until a long-term solution was put in place.

The Welsh government encouraged businesses to access support via its Business Wales service.

It said many smaller businesses in Menai Bridge already qualified for 100% rates relief and paid no non-domestic rates, with about 30 additional Menai Bridge businesses invited to apply for rates relief during phase one of the work under the retail, leisure and hospitality rates relief scheme, overseen by Anglesey council.

Any businesses liable for non-domestic rates which may be eligible to apply for a temporary reduction in rateable value were urged to seek support via the UK government website.

Safety concerns

On average, 13,300 vehicles use the Menai bridge every day, travelling in both directions, between the island and the north Wales mainland.

In response to Saturday's closure, Anglesey council leader Gary Pritchard has called for an urgent meeting with the Welsh government.

"Although we understand the rationale for restricting traffic over the Menai Bridge, it is a concern for us, as residents, that this weakness was not highlighted during the previous inspections," he said.

Pritchard said the restrictions "highlight once again the concern we, as politicians on the island, have repeated time after time, about the lack of resilience with regards to our crossings to and from the mainland".

Apologising for Saturday's unforeseen closure, Ken Skates said the government had to prioritise advice from onsite engineers at the bridge "to ensure the safety of everyone".

The Menai bridge, which is more than 200 years old, will remain shut while further investigations are completed in the coming days, with Skates pressing for "an early resolution to this issue".

It comes after the suspension bridge was closed for four months in 2022 amid serious safety concerns.

That work began in September 2023, causing widespread delays. The first phase was completed in October 2024, and the bridge was then reopened to all traffic.

Phase two, including full repainting and preservation, had not been due to finish until spring 2026, but the bridge has remained open while this took place.

Motorists have been warned of possible delays due to the closure

MS for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, described the bridge closure as "incredibly frustrating news".

He acknowledged safety had to remain "the top priority" but added it was "unacceptable that the bridge has been closed again with little to no warning - just as it was nearly three years ago".

He added: "People on Ynys Môn have been waiting years for this work to be completed, and their patience is running out."

Huw Roberts, who lives locally, said the closure meant a four-mile detour over the significantly busier Britannia Bridge - typically carrying 36,000 vehicles a day - to get to and from Bangor.

He added that traffic was "horrible" when ships came into Holyhead and could add an additional half an hour to the journey.