Home News Local & Flintshire News

Carl Sargeant AM says a link between Flintshire Bridge and the A55 Expressway will help alleviate Flinthsire traffic congestion

THE debate on easing Flintshire's traffic woes needs to be widened according to Alyn and Deeside Labour AM Carl Sargeant.

Mr Sargeant described calls by Flintshire councillors Alex Aldridge and Tony Sharps for a Flint bypass in last week's Chronicle as ‘interesting’.

Both want the £67m earmarked for the ditched Aston Hill widening scheme to be poured into a Flint bypass and the upgrade of the whole of the A548 Coast Road.

They have had a big response from the public supporting their proposals.

But Mr Sargeant questions whether this scheme alone would alleviate traffic problems throughout Flintshire.

He said: “I’ve always said we need improvements. A bypass for Flint could add to the fuller picture but it would have to be part of a programme to address problems on Deeside.

“My view on Aston Hill is built into that. Aston Hill was too big and wouldn’t sort out the whole problem. It’ll be six years before we can visit any Aston Hill scheme again. The solution has to be bigger than making improvements to Aston Hill but in the interim we could designate one of the lanes as a crawler lane.

“There are opportunities for the Flintshire Bridge. Since I was a kid the A548 from Rhyl has been very busy. But I’m not convinced Deeside’s traffic solution is a Flint bypass. It’s a bit of a red herring.

“Rather we could have a link from the bridge straight onto the A55 Expressway. This would also take traffic away from Flint.

“Making the A548 into a trunk road is an interesting point but where do you draw the line?

“The All Wales Transport Plan, released three weeks ago, doesn’t say much about how we’re going to solve the specific problems we have in North East Wales.”

Local Businesses

LocalMole

LocalMole.co.uk

The smart way to find local businesses Read