Clwyd West MS Darren Millar, who has been calling for improvements on two dangerous stretches of the A494, is encouraging residents to get behind his petition urging the Welsh Government to carry out the works needed to make them safer.
Darren is frustrated that despite repeated calls for action over the years and warnings that lives could be lost on the Maes Gamedd bends in Gwyddelwern and the Lôn Fawr junction in Ruthin, the Welsh Government has withdrawn funding for projects to improve them.
He has therefore submitted written question to the Welsh Government and sent a letter to the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, urging him to prioritise the two projects in any future capital investment programme.
He also raised the matter in this week’s Business Statement during Tuesday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament.
He said:
“Trefnydd, can I call for a statement from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change on the Welsh Government's roads review? As you will know, there's a moratorium on many capital projects across Wales at the moment, including two on the A494 in my own constituency.
“One is a piece of work to address the concerns about highway safety on the Maes Gamedd bends in Gwyddelwern, and the other is on Lôn Fawr in Ruthin.
“These are causing lots of accidents and near misses, many of which could be avoided. There seems no reason whatsoever as to why they should be paused because of a concern about climate change—these issues are about safety, and they need to be actioned.
“When can we have a statement so that we can know that some of these schemes will proceed. They have been held up for far too long—in the case of Maes Gamedd, well over a decade – they need to be unplugged and action taken to address them, so that people can travel safely on our roads?”
The Trefnydd told Darren that the Deputy Minister for Climate Change is “currently looking very closely at the Roads Review, which is under consideration by the Welsh Government” and that “he will be bringing forward a statement, probably, now, in the next half of this current term.”
Darren added:
“Both these stretches of the A494 pose a serious risk to drivers, cyclists and pedestrians and have already seen numerous accidents over the years.
“The southern end of Lôn Fawr needs widening and the Lôn Fawr/Corwen Road junction needs to be reengineered. Parts of Lôn Fawr narrow to the extent that it effectively becomes a single carriageway; this is not acceptable for a Trunk Road which also acts as part of a circular route around Ruthin for cyclists, pedestrians and the many people who seek to access the local sporting and community facilities which have been developed on both sides of Lôn Fawr over the years to serve the growing population of the town.
“In addition, the priority at the Corwen Road/Lôn Fawr junction needs to change to follow the A494 for through traffic and act as a speed reduction measure for traffic on the approach to Ruthin town centre via Corwen Road, which often hurtles past at excessive speeds due to the long and straight nature of the highway.
“I have written to the Deputy Minister for Climate Change to relay their fears and asked that prior to any reengineering of the Lôn Fawr/Corwen Road junction, that the signage on the approach to the junction from all directions is improved to safeguard drivers.
“People should feel safe on our roads, but sadly this is not the case for those of travelling along these two stretches on the A494. These improvements need to be carried out, and soon, to prevent further accidents from taking place.”
ENDS
