Plaid Cymru’s Ynys Môn Assembly Member Rhun ap Iorwerth has expressed his delight following the announcement of the chosen route for the third Menai crossing by Welsh Government this week.
The Plaid Cymru AM has led the campaign for a third bridge across the Menai Strait since taking office as Ynys Môn’s AM and today welcomed the news that the purple option had been chosen in public consultation, with work on the new bridge possibly starting in three years.
Following the announcement, Mr ap Iorwerth said:
“The duelling of the Britannia Bridge is something that I’ve called for consistently since I was elected – and my predecessor Ieuan Wyn Jones before me – and this is another huge victory for Plaid Cymru, as we continue to push for investment in crucial infrastructure for the benefit of all of Wales.
“This new bridge will not just respond to delays at rush hour, even though they’re very frustrating for travellers, rather this is a step towards building resilience for the connections between the mainland and Anglesey and will deliver benefits in terms of trade and for emergency services too.
“There have been many serious incidents over the last few years alone, where the Britannia bridge has had to close due to wind or accidents, leaving the nearly-200-year-old Menai bridge the only link open to the mainland – taking the pressure off, not adding to the pressure on our existing connections is what we should be doing in the future.”
The Anglesey AM added that Welsh Government now needs to push National Grid to incorporate their North Wales Connection plans into the new bridge development, as opposed to pursuing their original plans of building a £300m tunnel under the Strait to house any cables.
“This welcome announcement will allow traffic to continue to flow, give certainty to emergency services, increase trade, and now we must continue to impress on National Grid the need to incorporate the new North Wales Connection into the new bridge development, instead of progressing their very costly tunnelling option.
“Only last month, Welsh Government told me that they are in constructive discussions with Grid, and it is imperative now that pressure is kept on them to ensure a feasibility study is conducted as soon as possible on utilising the new bridge to carry cables.”
