Queue Busting Down The A470

An innovative, cost-effective plan to cut an hour off the road journey times between north and south Wales is recommended in a new report commissioned from transport consultants WS Atkins by the IWA. The report, Uniting the Nation: Improving The Cambrian Way North-South Road Links in Wales, took nine months to complete and included a video survey of the A470 between Cardiff to Llandudno, the A487 between Newtown and Bangor, and the A483 between Newtown and Wrexham.

The key proposal is for route widening at strategic intervals along the length of The Cambrian Way to enable regular two-lane passing opportunities on south bound and north bound journeys. Fifty possible schemes for passing places are identified in the study, distributed over the A470, A487 and A483, at an estimated cost of £63 million at current prices. A conservative analysis, allowing for such variables as traffic flows, number of heavy vehicles and average speeds, concludes these measures would result in:

• 34 minutes being cut from the journey time between Cardiff and Bangor
• 33 minutes being cut from the journey time between Cardiff and Llandudno
• 23 minutes being cut from the journey time between Cardiff and Wrexham
  

To these time savings should be added those that will accrue between north and south on the three routes as a result of already planned (though not all programmed) Welsh Office improvements. These are shown and costed, as at November 1997, in the report. The recommended passing place scheme -- similar to schemes undertaken in Australia, Canada and New Zealand -- would significantly enhance the traffic flows resulting from these planned improvements, leading to a cutting overall of at least an hour from present north-south journey times.

The report recommends that the proposed improvements to The Cambrian Way be undertaken over a ten-year period, at an average cost of £6.3 million a year. The National Assembly will have the powers and the ability to incorporate such a medium-term strategic policy as a significant component of a new transport strategy for Wales. The Assembly's projected total budget in 2000 - 2001 is £8,288 million, an increase in real terms over the previous year of £380 million. To allocate £6.3m to begin the process of improving The Cambrian Way routes between north and south Wales would represent 1.6 per cent of these increased resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
John Osmond, IWA Director -- 01222 575511

The full technical report, with 27 detailed plans of the north-south routes, and six technical appendices is available at £40 (+p&p). A summary report is available for £10 (+p&p). The summary report is available at £5 to members of the IWA.