The Welsh Government has announced plans to build a third bridge across the Menai Strait. Between £20-25m will be budgeted over the next five years for development works, with a total current estimated cost of £670m.
Funding and timeline
No decision has been made about how to fund the scheme, but private funding or tolls could also be considered. If money and permissions were secured, a new bridge could be open in eight to 10 years.
The new bridge would be two lanes in each direction, and one suggestion is that the Britannia Bridge would become a route for walking and cycling. The existing suspension bridge would remain open as it is now. The next stage is to draw up a business case.
Development and resilience measures
Development work for a third Menai crossing will be resumed, including design work, environmental assessment, business case development, and statutory approvals. A suggested timetable would be two to three years spent developing plans, with statutory permissions taking another two years to achieve. Building a bridge would take another three years.
As part of the plans, it is being suggested that shorter-term measures would be brought in within the next three to four years. That would include wind deflectors and variable speed limits on the Britannia Bridge. However, plans for a three-lane tidal-flow operation have been scrapped due to what was described as "significant safety and operational concerns".
Government statement
In its announcement, released as the transport minister began speaking in the Senedd, the Welsh Government said: "The review into the Menai crossings confirmed that resilience remains the key challenge for communities, businesses, and travellers on Ynys Môn and across north Wales when crossings are restricted or closed."
Transport minister Mark Hooper said: "People on Ynys Môn and across the north of Wales have waited a long time for greater certainty about the future of the crossings. Today we are setting out a clear way forward, with action to improve the resilience of the existing crossings while immediately beginning work to develop a third crossing."
