* Newbridge Road is expected to re-open to traffic in early summer.
Wrexham councillors have thanked the Welsh Labour Government for its ‘crucial’ investment to restore and reopen a key local route.
The B5605 at Newbridge is set to reopen in early summer, according to Wrexham Council – which will be more than three years since a landslip caused by a major storm.
After awarding the council £2.8m in April 2022, the Welsh Government has now announced a further grant of £2.6m to cover additional costs incurred in the interim.
Cllr Dana Davies, Labour group leader, said: “It’s a massive investment in Wrexham by the Welsh Government – without this crucial funding the project would never have got off the ground. It’s a huge show of support for our area.
“The £2.8m grant awarded in 2022 was in addition to the £175,000 Ministers had already given the council for ground investigations and designs. This has been a massive job and additional costs have been incurred in the intervening period, so this extra £2.6m on top of almost £3m already committed by the Welsh Government comes as a huge relief to us as councillors as it’s a significant amount of capital the authority doesn’t have to find.”
Cllr Frank Hemmings (Chirk North) said: “As a B-road, Wrexham Council is actually responsible for the B5605 but this was always going to be a huge undertaking and extremely costly, so I was delighted when the Welsh Government said it would foot the bill. They’ve saved the day, really, as the council doesn’t have that kind of money lying around for unplanned bills running into millions of pounds."
Cllr Derek Wright (Cefn East) said: “As councillors we are being asked for updates all the time and for explanations as to why things have taken so long since when the initial grant was announced almost three years ago. I share people’s frustration – we’d all have liked this to have been sorted sooner. It’s a major project, but I do think the council could’ve been better at updating the public and answering their questions.
“We are so grateful for the Welsh Government’s vital support, and I know residents in my neighbouring ward will be too.”
Wrexham Council’s last update to members said the work is progressing as planned and the project should accelerate towards the finishing line once some of the more complicated elements of the rebuild, currently being tackled, are completed.
The road is expected to reopen in ‘early summer’.
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