* The barrier at the Castle Street/Mill Street junction was demolished during a day of heavy traffic congestion yesterday caused by the latest diversion.
Llangollen county councillor Karen Edwards says the town cannot sustain the level of "dangerous and irresponsible" disruption caused by traffic diversions from the A483 and A5.
And she has called for a re-think of the town's traffic system in the light of recent events.
Over the past few days Llangollen has twice been used as a diversion route after storm warnings led to the closure of the viaducts over the nearby trunk routes, causing massive traffic congestion on both occasions.
In a statement issued to llanblogger this morning (Wednesday) Cllr Edwards says: "Many residents will have been caught up in the
gridlock that occurred in Llangollen last night and last week when gale force
winds caused the North Wales Trunk Road Agency to close the viaducts on the A5
/ A 483.
"The closure caused all north and southbound traffic to be diverted
through Llangollen and along with the resultant chaos ,damage was caused to the
railings on the recently narrowed town bridge.
"There was a failure to properly manage the traffic
and without question confirmation that the redesign of Castle St with the
narrowing of the road renders the chosen route diversion unsuitable for HGVs.
"Attempting to safely put trunk road traffic through
a road which has been redesigned for traffic calming and increased pedestrian
usage didn’t work last night or at any other time these diversions are
implemented. In simple terms, there is now no resilience in the highway
network and the recent investment to our street scene ( like it or loathe it )
has been damaged again."
She adds: "As a resident before I was elected I challenged the
design/layout prior to its implementation with the DCC officers and the DCC
Head of Service responsible for the implementation and I will call for another
design review of this junction and layout by DCC in light of the recent events.
"Three years have now elapsed since the collapse and
closure of the Newbridge Road. Had it been repaired this would have been the
option for traffic diversion when the viaducts are closed whether due to
inclement weather or any other reason.
"I would like to assure residents that I will be
doing my utmost to ensure that lessons are learned at county and government
level by those responsible for the glacial speed of the repair on the Newbridge
Road and are fully aware that Llangollen cannot sustain this level of disruption - it's unsustainable, dangerous, and irresponsible."
* Clwyd South MS Ken
Skates said: “I raised this matter with the council yet again last week. With
the recent storms causing road closures, it has reiterated the urgent need for
the road to be reopened and residents are getting more and more frustrated at
the lack of information.
“It’s now almost two
years since the Welsh Government confirmed funding of £2.8m to fix this – in
addition to the grants it had already given to the council for investigations
and exploratory work. People are asking me why nothing appears to be happening
and where the money has gone.
“I’m sure the council is working hard on this behind
the scenes, but my constituents need answers."
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