A55 North Wales expressway safety work to start in March

The project to improve safety and active travel will cost £29m

Work designed to improve safety on a mile of the A55 North Wales Expressway will begin in March for 18 months.

The £29m project will see tractor access points removed from Bangor to Abergwyngregyn in Gwynedd.

An "active travel route" - which can be used by pedestrians or cyclists - will replace the current eight gaps in the dual carriageways' central reservation.

Transport minister Ken Skates said it was part of £1bn of north Wales transport improvements over a decade.

"This scheme will deliver real improvements to safety on this section of the A55 and provide further protection against flooding in the area, boosting the carriageway's resilience against the threat of climate change," said the minister.

It follows flood drainage work on the same stretch in 2017.

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Mr Skates said he was awarding the contract for the design and construction of the Tai'r Meibion project during a visit to other project sites on Thursday, including the £135m Bontnewydd-Caernarfon bypass, and the Rhos Point active travel scheme in Conwy county.

Initial work on the A55 will be carried out off the expressway to minimise disruption, before roadworks are put in place over the autumn.

However, the government said all four lanes on the A55 would remain open during the day, with work expected to end in autumn 2021.