The closure of the 200-year-old Menai Suspension Bridge has left some NHS staff living on Anglesey facing a four-hour round trip to work, and has left residents terrified in case they need an ambulance. That was the warning from Arfon's Plaid Cymru MS Sian Gwenllian when the closure was discussed in the Senedd.
It was announced on Friday that the bridge had to be closed for essential maintenance work, with immediate effect, and it could be closed until early next year. The historic crossing has been closed to all traffic, following safety recommendations from structural engineers, it was announced.
Since then there have been long queues and delays, and the Welsh Government has been accused of causing "complete chaos". The Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, was told the impact of the closure on North Wales was "completely unacceptable" by his Tory opposite number Natasha Asghar MS.
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Mr Waters, in a statement to the Senedd, acknowledged that people were "distressed, annoyed and concerned", and he said the decision to close the bridge was "not made lightly" after a routine inspection "unexpectedly highlighted" an immediate safety concern about the bridge's hangers. Mr Waters said there was "no other option" but to close the bridge while checks were carried out.
Natasha Asghar MS, the Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, said the events of the past few days were "completely unacceptable." Ms Asghar said: "I must say, from the moment the bridge suddenly closed late on Friday afternoon, there has been complete chaos in the area, with drivers, pedestrians and cyclists left stranded.
"My inbox has been inundated with messages over it, and I'm based in south-east Wales. Closing the bridge at the last minute without prior warning for what could be potentially four months will not only hit residents, visitors and commuters, but also hard-working businesses in the area. Of course, Deputy Minister, safety is paramount—I'm not going to deny it for a single second—but how on earth are we only now aware of structural weaknesses here today?"
Anglesey MS Rhun ap Iorwerth described the situation as "far more than an inconvenience," questioning what steps were being taken to keep traffic flowing and safely reopen the bridge.
Sian Gwenllian MS also emphasised the local impact of the closure. She said: "We had queues of nearly three hours just to leave the car park at the hospital (Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor), even before the cars joined the queues to cross the Britannia bridge. By now, hospital staff who live only a few miles away on Anglesey face a two-hour journey in both directions every day."
The Welsh Government has said that ideas for resolving the traffic issues are being "actively considered", including park-and-ride facilities and concessions for cyclists and emergency vehicles.
Mr Waters said: “We will do all we can to help the people of Ynys Môn and beyond who are inconvenienced by the congestion this causes at peak times. There is a lot of thought going into looking at a whole range of possibilities, given the importance of this link.”
Mr Waters added that, as part of a two-week review, an option under consideration is the lifting of restrictions on cyclists having to dismount and push their bicycles across the Menai bridge. He said: “That’s being tested, as well as the access for emergency vehicles (weighing less than 7.5 tonnes) going slowly over the bridge when the Britannia Bridge isn’t available."
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