63-657: The A494 is a trunk road in Wales and England . The route, which is officially known as the Dolgellau to South of Birkenhead Trunk Road , runs between the terminus of the M56 motorway between Mollington and Capenhurst and the A470 at Dolgellau , Gwynedd . Its northern sections remain among the busiest roads in Wales. The original routes into North Wales meant using fords when
126-611: A dual carriageway , or are of motorway standard. The term trunk road, or trunk highway , is sometimes used more generically to refer to other categories of major highway. In the United Kingdom, trunk roads were first defined for Great Britain in the Trunk Roads Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6 . c. 5). Thirty major roads were classed as trunk roads, and the Minister of Transport took direct control of them and
189-524: A " T ". Connecting roads were classified as 'link roads", and had route numbers prefixed by an " L ". Many of these roads had their origins in historic routes , including turnpike roads . Although a number of old road signs using these route designations may still be encountered, Ireland has adopted a newer classification scheme of national primary and national secondary routes ("N" roads), regional roads , and local roads . "N" roads remain equivalent to trunk roads in that they are planned and managed at
252-553: A 70 mph (110 km/h) speed limit because they are actually special roads . This is because these sections were built under legislation for building motorways but they were never declared as motorways. Legally it means these two stretches of the A55 are neither part of the national UK motorway network nor trunk roads . As such, the national speed limit does not apply so 70 mph (110 km/h) signs (the maximum speed permitted on UK roads) are used instead. Unlike other sections of
315-565: A footbridge over the railway at the eastern end to accommodate the cycleway. Some sections of the rest of the route are of lower standard than that of those further east. Some traffic leaves for major holiday destinations such as Caernarfon or the Llŷn Peninsula , though much continues on to the port of Holyhead. As such part of the route is not classed as clearway and has two at grade junctions (roundabouts), Penmaenmawr (Junction 16) and Llanfairfechan (Junction 15). The Bangor bypass, in which
378-517: A full network map of trunk roads and motorways in England. Most interurban trunk roads are primary routes , the category of roads recommended for long distance and freight transport. Not all primary routes are trunk roads, the difference being that maintenance of trunk roads is paid for by national government bodies rather than the local councils in whose area they lie. Primary routes are identified by their direction signs, which feature white text on
441-700: A grade separated junction with a single overbridge allowing access/exit for all possible directions. In November 2012, the Welsh Government published two more detailed studies looking at options to improve transport in the North East Wales and the A55 / A494 areas. Possible changes to be considered further include The A55 partly follows the alignment of the Roman road from Chester (Deva) to Caernarfon ( Segontium ), particularly from Junction 31 to 30 and Junction 13 to 12. Between Chester and Holywell
504-630: A green background with route numbers in yellow. Trunk roads, like other "A" roads, can be either single- or dual-carriageway. Historically, trunk roads were listed on maps with a "T" in brackets after their number, to distinguish them from non-trunk parts of the same road, however this suffix is no longer included on current Ordnance Survey maps, which simply distinguish between primary and non-primary "A" roads. A trunk road which has been upgraded to motorway standards may retain its original "A" number, but with an "M" in brackets to denote that motorway regulations apply on it. Long distance examples of this are
567-559: A limited access junction (westbound off/westbound on) as it is a difficult location close to the North Wales coast railway and cycle route and partly on a railway bridge. A new local road would run from the new Dwygyfylchi interchange to the existing roundabout passing around the rear of the Penguin Cafe/truckstop. The Llanfairfechan junction 15 grade separation is much easier to achieve and will be completed on site as
630-494: A link to Cambrian Coast railway and possibly onwards from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen) may impact cash available for road schemes. The Junction 16 scheme involves creating a new grade separated junction close to the Penmaenbach Tunnel with a single overbridge allowing access for all directions. This will replace the limited access junction 16A there for Dwygyfylchi. The existing junction 16 roundabout would be replaced by
693-520: A news report at the time stated it "is barely wide enough for two lines of vehicles, and five-mile traffic jams are normal". In the late 1960s, the A494 was upgraded to a dual carriageway from Drome corner. The original route through Shotton and Queensferry was bypassed after a wider fixed-arched bridge was constructed across the River Dee. This was facilitated by reduction of larger river traffic following
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#1732773126424756-597: A plan of the route being detrunked. The routes to be detrunked (as set out in detrunking orders) are not always linear sections, but can be split into multiple sections, and span multiple counties. In England, the government has de-trunked much of the trunk road network since the late 1990s, transferring responsibility to local councils to allow National Highways to concentrate on a selection of core trunk routes, mostly dual carriageways and motorways. The most important roads in Sweden are labelled "national trunk road". In 1982,
819-406: A pre-prepared trench in the bed of the estuary. The 3 million tonnes of silt and mud extracted to create the trench in which the tunnel sections sat, were vacuumed to one side of the construction site, as to let them drift down river would have harmed the large mussel fishing beds downstream. The silt was deposited upstream of the bridge at Conwy which created a large new area of low-lying land which
882-527: A purpose-built bridge – over the westbound carriageway – was constructed to allow unrestricted access to cyclists and walkers. The 1930s alignment was used until a new two-lane Penmaenbach Tunnel opened in 1989 to carry westbound traffic. Eastbound traffic would now travel through the 1932 Penmaenbach Tunnel using both its original lanes. Four years later, work to build the Pen-y-clip tunnel was completed. Like at Penmaenbach it carried westbound traffic while
945-534: A rolling bascule bridge , called the New Jubilee Bridge, was opened by the Ministry of Transport for the newly named A494. Its design allowed river traffic to use the wharfs at Saltney . The original bridge was demolished although the stone abutments can still be seen today. The steel bridge remained the sole road crossing at Queensferry until the late 1950s. But its size and design had limitations,
1008-726: A roundabout east of Penmaenmawr and another nearby in Llanfairfechan . Initially, the road ran from Chester to Bangor . In 2001, it was extended across Anglesey to the ferry port of Holyhead parallel to the A5 . The road improvements have been part funded with European money, under the Trans-European Networks programme, as the route is designated part of Euroroute E22 ( Holyhead – Leeds – Amsterdam – Hamburg – Malmö – Riga – Moscow – Perm – Ekaterinburg – Ishim ). The A55 begins at junction 12 of
1071-468: A short 1.5 miles (2.4 km) concurrency with the A5 to Druid. The A494 diverges from the concurrency with the A5 at the road junction at Druid, Denbighshire . It then heads south west for 27 miles (43 km) to Dolgellau , Gwynedd . This section of the A494 remains single carriageway. It has variable speed limits. North Wales Police regularly conduct traffic operations on this road. The A494 enters
1134-602: A special, slightly larger budget. However, they are not signed in any special way. Therefore, there is no difference in signage, numbering, road standard or map marking from other national roads. Some national roads are only considered trunk for part of their length. National Roads 73 and 75 are both built to motorway standard and have high traffic, but are not considered trunk. European routes are always trunk in Sweden, and are more visible with special numbering. In Ireland, major roads were previously classified under an old system as "trunk roads", and had route numbers prefixed by
1197-542: A specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom , Sweden and formerly Ireland . Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk roads which are managed by local authorities. Trunk roads are important routes usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports and other places, which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic . Many trunk roads have segregated lanes in
1260-552: Is a relatively narrow section of dual carriageway and prone to flooding. After a pause, work restarted on the scheme (now known as the Abergwyngregyn-Tai'r Meibion scheme) in 2021 and encompassing some 2.2 km of the A55. It involves constructing a new road to the north of the dual carriageway for general use including cycleway and farm access. This allowed the closure of 8 central reservation gaps used by slow moving agricultural vehicles which caused safety concerns with
1323-470: Is greater than required. —— Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones This part of the A494 will remain a two-lane dual carriageway and the speed limit will be 50 mph (80 km/h). The decision has left a question mark over the future of the remaining upgrade at Ewloe Interchange . Resentment also remains within the Aston Hill community as thirty households were evicted from their homes earlier in
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#17327731264241386-535: Is notorious for poor weather conditions including fog, ice and snow in winter months. In fine weather, however there are extensive views over the River Dee estuary to the Wirral Peninsula , Liverpool and beyond. The highest part of the road is in the vicinity of Brynford at around 790 feet (240 m). The steep descent towards St Asaph is down the new Rhuallt Hill (Junctions 29 to 28), which also provides
1449-477: Is point at which the A494 converges and then diverges with the A55. The road briefly has a three-lane section as westbound traffic from Queensferry can leave towards Mold . In the eastbound direction another short three-lane section allows vehicles to join the A494 or exit onto the A55 to Chester. Traffic taking the A55 into England must negotiate a tight 270 degree speed-limited single lane curve to climb up and over
1512-678: The A1(M) in England, and the A74(M) in Scotland. It is possible for roads to be "de-trunked" – for example, when superseded by a motorway following a similar route – in which case they normally become ordinary "A" roads . When a road is de-trunked, signposts are often replaced, and sometimes route numbers are changed, making the original route of the road harder to follow. Roads are formally and legally detrunked by statutory instruments named 'Detrunking (or sometimes De-Trunking ) Orders' which include
1575-615: The A487 towards Caernarfon , and the west coast of North Wales . The final section of the A55 to be constructed was the Anglesey section. This 20 mile (32 km) section from the end of the Llanfairpwll bypass to Holyhead Harbour was constructed as Private Finance Initiative scheme where the builders, a Carillion / John Laing joint venture, earn a shadow toll based on usage and lane availability. They also have to maintain
1638-554: The M53 , the southern end of the motorway, near Chester . It is known as the Chester southerly bypass between J39 Christleton and J36a Broughton. The A55 crosses the River Dee and the border into Wales, passing close to Broughton, Flintshire , and passing north of Buckley , Penyffordd and Northop . There is a major climb between Broughton and Dobshill (Junctions 36a Broughton to 35 Dobshill) though with no crawler lane. Junction 34/33b
1701-652: The North Wales Expressway ( Welsh : Gwibffordd Gogledd Cymru ), is a major road in Wales and England , connecting Cheshire and North Wales . The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route , with the exception of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and several short sections where there are gaps in between the two carriageways. All junctions are grade separated apart from
1764-564: The Snowdonia National Park just outside the market town of Bala . It then runs adjacent to Bala Lake ( Welsh : Llyn Tegid ) for 4 miles (6.4 km) and past Aran Fawddwy . Beyond the south west end of the lake, at the summit of the pass at Pant Gwyn, the A494 enters a long steeply graded valley that follows the River Wnion ( Welsh : Afon Wnion ) to Dolgellau . Again a former railway also runs parallel with
1827-874: The Trunk Roads Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 30). Others, like virtually all British motorways, have entered the system as a result of new construction. As of 2004, Great Britain had 7,845 mi (12,625 km) of trunk roads, of which 2,161 mi (3,478 km) were motorways. Since 1994, trunk roads in England have been managed by National Highways (formerly Highways England, and before that, Highways Agency), while Scotland has had responsibility for its own trunk roads since 1998 ; these are currently managed by Transport Scotland , created in 2006. The Welsh Government has had responsibility for trunk roads in Wales since its establishment in 1998 . England has 4,300 miles (6,900 km), Scotland has 1,982 miles (3,190 km) and Wales has 1,048 miles (1,687 km) of trunk roads, inclusive of motorways. National Highways publishes
1890-689: The national highways and expressways in India . The term "trunk road" sometimes appears in the names of specific routes, most famously the Grand Trunk Road . In Canada, core national routes are part of the National Highway System , which receive some funding and strategic planning from the federal government, but are managed by the provinces. In China, major national roads are part of China National Highways and Expressways of China . A55 road The A55 , also known as
1953-639: The national roads network in Poland are similar models of nationally planned and managed major highways. In the United States, the U.S. Highway and Interstate Highway systems fulfil a similar role to trunk roads. However, individual states are responsible for actual highway construction and maintenance, even though the federal government helps fund these activities. The states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin designate their highways as "state trunklines" or "(state) trunk highways". In India they are
A494 road - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-551: The A494. After 15 months, protesters' high-profile message had garnered more than 2,300 individual letters and numerous petitions rejecting the proposals. A planning inquiry was held in September and October 2007. In March 2008 the proposals (in entirety) were ordered to be scrapped by Ieuan Wyn Jones , Deputy First Minister, responsible for Transport at the Welsh Assembly. In reaching my decision I have taken account of
2079-513: The A494. At this point the dual carriageway becomes the A55 and the A494 diverges onto a single-carriageway trunk road. This section is approximately 25 miles (40 km) in length. It is largely national speed limit with exceptions through urbanised areas. The A494, which follows a largely unchanged historic route, passes Mold through the Clwydian Mountains , down to Ruthin and on to the market town of Corwen . Although it follows
2142-473: The A55 that have National Speed Limit (NSL) signage and are accessible to all motor vehicles, motorway restrictions are enforced on these two stretches of road (therefore no pedestrians, learner drivers, etc. ) A 50 mph (80 km/h) limit remains in force through the Colwyn Bay bypass ( Old Colwyn to Mochdre ). The restriction was imposed for several reasons. First as a safety precaution because
2205-611: The A55/A494 at Ewloe loops. Plans to upgrade the A494 between this junction at Ewloe and Queensferry were rejected by the Welsh Government on 26 March 2008 due to their scale. From Ewloe, the road is relatively flat until after Northop when it climbs up onto the flanks of Halkyn Mountain range, passing to the southwest of Holywell with major climbs between Northop and Halkyn (Junctions 33 and 32b) and Halkyn and Holywell Summit (Junctions 32 and 31). This section of road
2268-660: The Dee estuary was at low tide north west of Chester . But when the river was canalised in the 1730s several new coach roads were laid out through Sealand , Shotton and Queensferry . These were built by the Dee Company under the River Dee Act of 1743 to serve the hand-operated ferries which had replaced the fords. By 1861 the ferry at Shotton was steam operated, with an engine house on the Queensferry side. In 1897
2331-544: The United Kingdom. At 1060m, the tunnel is the longest road tunnel in Wales. The decision to construct an immersed tube tunnel bypass followed an extensive public consultation, named the Collcon Feasibility Study. This ruled out another bridge by the castle on aesthetic grounds, since it would have damaged the view of the world heritage site Conwy Castle , and the two bridges by Robert Stephenson and Thomas Telford . Another alternative bridge crossing
2394-479: The Vale of Clwyd. Beyond the town, it heads south through several small villages. Beside the road for much of the way is the disused Ruthin to Corwen Railway line . The A494, up to this point, often remains congestion -free as a lot of traffic follows the parallel shorter A5104 between the A55 and Corwen around Llantysilio Mountain. The A494 meets the A5 trunk road at a T-junction just outside Corwen. It now makes
2457-568: The alignment of this road is uncertain and between St. Asaph and Abergwyngregyn, the Roman road followed an inland route, via Canovium Roman Fort at Caerhun, avoiding the difficulties of the crossing of the Conwy estuary and the cliffs at Penmaenbach and Pen-y-Clip. There are three large service areas on the A55, along with numerous other petrol stations at the side of the road. The three major services are: Bangor Services (off J11) This service area
2520-401: The awkward alignment by building another tunnel parallel to the current westbound tunnel (as originally intended when the westbound tunnel was proposed) have been discussed for several years. The work in late-2007 at Penmaenbach eastbound has seen the erection of gantries to close lanes when bidirectional working is in place. New bridges over the railway tunnel entrances at each end were added and
2583-399: The bridges across them. The Trunk Roads Act came into force in England and Wales on 1 April 1937, and in Scotland on 16 May 1937. This development did not extend to Northern Ireland , which has always had a separate system of highway and road traffic law. At that time, 4,500 miles (7,200 km) of British roads were classified as trunk roads. Additional roads have been "trunked", notably in
A494 road - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-435: The cliffs by hand, this narrow, winding route hugged the contours around both steep headlands. Telford's route has now been converted into a cycleway across Penmaenbach and Penmaenan Points. Originally at the western end (Llanfairfechan) of the modern Pen-y-Clip tunnel, access was only allowed in an easterly direction because travelling the other way would mean heading the wrong way up the eastbound carriageway. However, in 2009
2709-535: The closure of the sea-going wharfs at Saltney. The present route had remained unchanged until a lane upgrade in 2004. This section forms part of the North Wales coast route between Holyhead and the M56 motorway . The section of the A494 north of the River Dee was upgraded to four lanes plus hard shoulders in each direction in 2004 as part of a wider scheme, which upgraded the A550 as well, although not all of
2772-400: The concerns raised by the inspector that the overall size of the scheme would have a significant impact on the landscape and would affect walking and cycling routes. I have also noted [the planning inspector's] remarks that while he considers that this section of the A494 will need some form of improvement in the foreseeable future, he considers that the scale of the scheme as originally proposed
2835-407: The cutting of several hard rock tunnels beneath the sea cliffs. The first to be built in 1932 was the Penmaenbach Tunnel which carried motor traffic to Penmaenmawr . Two smaller tunnels through Penmaenan Point, opened 1935, carried the road on to Llanfairfechan . This new route, carrying traffic in both directions, relieved the original coach road built by Telford in the early 19th century. Cut into
2898-451: The ferry was replaced by an innovative retractable bridge because of increasing mechanised transport. The Queen Victoria Jubilee Toll Bridge, which was built from iron, stone and wood, could retract its middle sections for the passage of river traffic. However, by the early 1920s, increasing numbers of motor vehicles and the narrowness of the bridge made the area notorious for traffic congestion. These issues prompted its replacement. In 1926
2961-519: The first views of the mountains of Snowdonia in the far distance. There is a crawler lane on Rhuallt Hill for eastbound traffic. The road bypasses St Asaph to the north, and runs past Bodelwyddan and Abergele to reach the North Wales coast at Pensarn (Junction 23A). From here onwards to Bangor , the route is close to the North Wales Coast railway . Two sections between (Junction 23) Llanddulas to (Junction 17) Conwy are signed as
3024-490: The full plans can be seen on the A55 microsite. In June 2021 the Welsh Government decided to review all road schemes whilst looking at public transport alternatives. In September 2021 the Welsh Government announced an expansion of their plans for the North Wales Metro that may impact this road scheme. In particular longer term plans to reopen old rail routes from Bangor to Amlwch and Bangor to West Wales (presumably
3087-527: The lanes on the A494 have been opened. The next stage of the scheme was to widen a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) stretch of the A494 from the River Dee up Aston Hill to the Ewloe Interchange , the junction of the A55 and A494, to three and four-lane plus hard shoulder standard. In April 2006, local residents living at Aston Hill, part of the proposed route, began a campaign to oppose any further widening of
3150-570: The national level by the National Roads Authority . Some former trunk roads, or sections of former trunk roads, became non-trunk regional roads under the new road numbering system introduced in the 1970s and 1980s. More recently, sections of former national primary routes which have been bypassed by motorways or other road improvement schemes have been downgraded to regional road status. The route nationale system in France and
3213-526: The original road carried vehicles in the opposite direction. Both new routes were subject to an advisory 50 mph speed limit until these were lifted in 2007 as there had been few accidents. However traffic travelling eastbound on the 1930s cliff-hugging route still faced speed restrictions at both tunnel locations. For instance the eastbound carriageway at Penmaenbach is subject to a 30 mph (50 km/h) speed limit due to sharp curves and double white lines nominally preclude lane changing. Plans to rectify
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#17327731264243276-493: The parliament decided upon which roads were to become national trunk roads. They are considered recommended main roads for long-distance traffic. They were also supposed to be used for movement and transport of heavy military vehicles, ordnance and logistics and during wartime were to be guarded and defended at all odds. National trunk roads are planned and managed by the national Swedish Transport Administration , as opposed to other roads, which are planned locally. They also have
3339-564: The road for the extended period of their shadow toll agreement. When travelling eastbound along this section there are fine views of Snowdonia. The approach to Holyhead required major work with a new section over the sea paralleling the Stanley Embankment that carries the original A5 and the North Wales Coast railway . Work started in early 2017 on the upgrading of the 1960s built substandard section of dual carriageway west of Abergwyngregyn from Tai'r Meibion towards Tan-y-lon, which
3402-492: The road previously terminated and became the A5 regains high standards and is such through the Anglesey section, bar the Britannia Bridge , which is a single carriageway deck above the North Wales Coast railway over the Menai Strait . In 2007 the Welsh Assembly Government undertook a consultation to determine which of four options would be preferred for another crossing . This section intersects with
3465-407: The road. The remains of the line can be seen in places. The A494 terminates at a T-junction with the A470 just outside the market town of Dolgellau beneath Cadair Idris . Download coordinates as: 52°58′14″N 3°27′18″W / 52.9705°N 3.4551°W / 52.9705; -3.4551 ( A494 road ) Trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with
3528-621: The scheme. These houses were earmarked to be demolished to make way for the road-widening works. An upgrade "blue route" was again one of two options first published in 2015 to alleviate congestion in the Deeside corridor. The alternative route "red route" was eventually chosen which will route round the Deeside Industrial Estate and over the River Dee Bridge. Just past Ewloe interchange the A55 converges with
3591-409: The slip-roads on this stretch are unusually short due to the road's design. Part of it was built on a narrow swathe of land through the town that was once the North Wales coast railway ; Colwyn Bay railway station had to be rebuilt and the track bed realigned to complete the underpass as the road used the former railway Goods Yard which was relocated to Llandudno Junction. The former four-track railway
3654-411: The traditional coach route, work has been undertaken over many decades to improve various sections of this road. For instance a bypass was completed in 1999 to allow traffic to avoid Mold's town centre. Likewise a dangerous road junction for Moel Famau , just outside Loggerheads , that was on a bend and blind brow has now been completely bypassed. The A494 enters Ruthin by traversing the steep side of
3717-484: The tunnel was opened in October 1991 by Queen Elizabeth II , the tunnel initially had an advisory 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) speed limit, but this was dropped in 2007 as accidents were rare in the tunnels. Leaving Conwy in a westerly direction, the construction of this section has involved major civil engineering works because it crosses two major headlands : Penmaenbach Point and Penmaenan Point. Work has involved
3780-522: The volume and speed of traffic on the dual carriageway. The work was well underway in September 2021 and due to open fully in 2022. Plans are also in their final stages to grade separate the two roundabouts at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan planned to be completed by 2022. A Public Inquiry was due to be held on 21/9/21 in Llandudno Junction concerning issues over the side roads. The two roundabout improvements will now be treated separately and
3843-496: Was proposed at Deganwy , but this too was ruled out for aesthetic reasons. An inland alternative with heavy grades which would have passed over Bwlch y Ddeufaen pass at 430 metres (1,410 ft), following the old Roman road, was also worked up but rejected for cost and utility reasons as it would have required a very long crawler lane. The tunnel was constructed by a Costain / Tarmac Construction joint venture, as pre-formed concrete sections, and then floated into position over
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#17327731264243906-525: Was reduced to two more northerly tracks to make space for the road. Secondly, the reduced speed limit was intended to reduce road noise for residents. However, since the completion of the Colwyn Bay bypass, the lower speed limit has been an unpopular decision with drivers. The crossing of the estuary of the River Conwy is by means of an immersed tube tunnel , the first of its kind constructed in
3969-581: Was subsequently given to the RSPB for a wildlife preserve . The casting basin for the tunnel sections was later converted into a new marina in the lower estuary. Because of the valuable fishery in the river and also because of the history of heavy metal mining in the catchment of the river, extensive ecological assessments were made both prior to the construction of the tunnel and subsequently. These studies finally concluded that no significant environmental damage had been caused. After five years of construction,
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