Menai Bridge: Repair work begins on Anglesey crossing

The first Menai Bridge was built in the early 19th Century

Emergency repairs have begun on an historic suspension bridge which links Anglesey with the mainland.

The Menai Bridge was closed on a Friday afternoon in October over "serious" safety risks.

It led to gridlock on the only other crossing to the island, Britannia Bridge, which has also been subject to maintenance work.

Repair works on the Menai Bridge began on Thursday morning and are due to be completed in four weeks.

However, the exact timescale will depend on weather conditions.

• Menai Bridge closure will have huge impact on UK, says MP

• Menai Bridge closure worse than Covid for trade, says business owner

The Welsh government and UK Highways A55 Ltd, along with engineering firms Spencer Group and COWI, have worked together to co-develop the repair scheme.

The programme will begin with the installation of the emergency works to the west side of the bridge before completing the works on the eastern side.

The recommendation to close the bridge to all traffic was made in October by structural engineers.

The sudden closure of the historic bridge, which was completed in 1826 and designed by Thomas Telford, came after tests discovered problems with the bridge's hangers.

'Complex piece of work'

While the emergency programme was being developed, additional maintenance works, including the resurfacing of the road, were brought forward to minimise future disruption for residents and businesses nearby.

It comes after businesses said the closure of the bridge was 'a nightmare' for them in the run-up to Christmas.

While the emergency hanger works are carried out this month, the Welsh government package of support for businesses is also still available.

Free parking will remain available at car parks in Menai Bridge town and at the two Park and Share sites throughout January.

To help with the loss of bus services on the island following the closure, the council has provided additional stops closer to the Menai Bridge.

The Welsh government's deputy minister for climate change, Lee Waters, said: "I am pleased that together with our partners, we have been able to press ahead at pace with this extremely important and complex piece of work on the Menai Suspension Bridge.

"In the meantime, the package of support to ease the transport pressures on people travelling to and from Ynys Mon remains in place and I am grateful to residents in the area for their patience as work on the Menai Suspension bridge continues."

Menai Bridge was closed suddenly over 'serious' risks to public safety

However, Conservative shadow minister for transport, Natasha Asghar, said that the Welsh government has been "far too slow to act from the offset".

"While I welcome the fact that work has finally begun on the Menai Bridge, the issue remains that Labour ministers let the bridge fall into disrepair," she said.

"The Labour government has paid out over £300m to date for the Anglesey A55 section - despite it costing around half that to build and maintain.

"The delays caused by this closure will continue to have a massive impact on people and businesses across North Wales with disruption to daily lives and loss of revenue."

She added that leaders "must be more proactive with Welsh infrastructure" and "abandon their ridiculous road building freeze".

'Very unique problem'

A spokesperson from UK Highways A55 Ltd said: "Finding a solution to this very unique problem posed a number of complex engineering challenges.

"We worked extremely closely with UK Highways, the Welsh government, and the wider project team of engineers to fully understand the issues and constraints, to allow us to develop a solution that is safe and robust for bridge users, and the structure itself, in the fastest possible timescale."