Menai Bridge: Immediate closure for Anglesey crossing

One of two bridges linking Anglesey and the north Wales mainland has shut suddenly over "serious" safety risks.

The 200-year-old Menai Bridge - the first in the world of its kind - closed at 14:00 BST on Welsh government orders. It was publicly announced five minutes afterwards.

The work means it may be shut until next year, with vehicles diverted to the nearby Britannia Bridge.

Local businesses warned of "nightmare" traffic problems as a result.

The local Senedd Member said he was "very concerned", and councillors have met Anglesey council's chief executive Dylan Williams to discuss the situation.

Structural engineers recommended that the bridge close to all traffic, including pedestrian and cyclists, to allow essential maintenance work.

However, it has since reopened for walkers on footpaths and cyclists who dismount their bikes, with marshals set to be in place to monitor numbers.

It remains unclear how long the bridge will be closed but, if required, officials said hanger strengthening works could take up to 16 weeks.

The Welsh government instructed its roads agency Traffic Wales to implement the closure. The announcement came in an email to media organisations at 14:05 BST on Friday which said in part: "This will take effect from 14:00 on Friday 21 October"".

As part of UK Highways A55 maintenance of the bridge, it was identified that further testing would need to be carried out, alongside the replacement of some of the hangers.

The Welsh government said "serious risks" have been identified and these findings are currently being reviewed which could take up to two weeks.

It added that available options to reopen the bridge as soon as possible are being actively assessed.

In addition, further strategies to increase resilience on the Britannia Bridge are being worked on, to reduce the risk of both bridges being closed.

However, the impact is already of concern to people living and working in the area.

Traffic early on Friday evening was backed up about 1.6 miles (2.5km) almost to upper Bangor, and one driver said it took him two-and-a-half hours to make that journey. 

A 30mph speed limit was also put in place on the bridge due to high winds.

Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, was "very concerned", and "will be seeking more information and sharing when I can".

"This is why we need to build more resilience by dualling the Britannia crossing," he said.

Businesses have spoken out about the consequences for them and warned visiting customers to plan ahead, as traffic builds on the Britannia Bridge.

Steph Rielly, company secretary at T and V Haulage, Y Felinheli, said: "It's going to be a massive inconvenience. Basically all of our trucks go over Britannia Bridge two or three times a day.

"One driver left 40 minutes ago, it's five minutes away and he still hasn't got over the bridge because of the traffic.

"It's appalling they haven't given us notice. [Our drivers] are going to run out of time and there's literally nowhere for these trucks to park up.

"The trucks and lorries are going to be everywhere - it's going to be a massive nightmare."

Kerry Jones, of Cefni Barber Shop in Llangefni said she has had customers phoning to say they have been stuck in the traffic for more than 90 minutes.

She said: "It's bumper to bumper. People are ringing to say there's a possibility [they] might not make it.

"It's going to be horrendous - when they closed the bridge last time due to a bad accident we couldn't even get to work.

"Hopefully plans get approved for a third lane or a third bridge."

Road traffic cameras captured mounting queues on the A55 on Friday evening.

Menai Bridge is widely considered to be the world's first modern suspension bridge.

Its 200th anniversary was marked in 2019 with a programme of events.

In 1819 civil engineer Thomas Telford began working on improving the journey between London and Holyhead, and designed the bridge.

Construction started that year but was not finished until January 1826.

A spokesperson for UK Highways A55 said: "While this issue will cause disruption, we must act in the interest of public safety. We are currently peer reviewing the findings that led to the recommendation of closure and assessing all available options to reopen the bridge as soon as possible."

Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters added: "This urgent work is being carried out for public safety, unfortunately it is unavoidable, but we are fully aware of the implication this will have for people in the local area.

"We are working closely with UK Highways to ensure this work is carried out safely and as quickly as possible with minimal disruption to the local community."