A £61m scheme to improve a badly congested road linking England to north Wales is now complete.
The news has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Association, whose members first identified traffic congestion at the A550, A540 and M56 junctions as a barrier to reliable freight journey times in 2003.
Ian Gallagher, FTA’s regional policy manager for Wales, said: “FTA members operating in north Wales flagged up this particular ‘pinch point’ as a problem and we are delighted for them that connectivity to Wales has now been significantly improved with the A5117 link.
“Congestion along this stretch of road was certainly a cause for concern among hauliers as the resulting traffic jams represented a great deal of wasted fuel and were a barrier to reliable journey times.
“The knock-on benefits of free-moving traffic include improved safety and a much lower level of emission.”
However, Gallagher said: “We would like to see much greater importance placed on truck stops along this key trade route – the decision to refuse safe and secure areas for HGVs to park is myopic as without safe and secure truck stops not only are drivers put at risk from theft and hijack, they are also denied the opportunity to get a decent rest period which carries road safety implications.”
