Diolch yn fawr iawn, Llywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to provide Members with an update on the Menai bridge. As Members will know, at 2 p.m. on Friday 21 October, the Welsh Government made the decision to close the Menai bridge to all traffic with immediate effect. The decision was not made lightly; it was made on safety grounds after clear advice from structural engineers and conversations with the police.

The Menai bridge is managed by a private company, UK Highways A55 Ltd, as part of a private finance initiative so-called design-build-finance-operate contract, or DBFO, for the A55 on Ynys Môn and the Menai loop. As part of their maintenance responsibility, UK Highways have been carrying out inspections on the bridge. They do this to an industry standard at two and six-year intervals. The general inspections every two years are visual inspections where all parts of the structure are examined, typically using binoculars or aerial drone surveys. The principal inspection occurs every six years, and involves close examination of all inspectable parts of the bridge within touching distance. The in-depth survey includes visual inspections, as well as specialist techniques such as hammer tap surveys of concrete, or corrosion measurement.

As part of the last principal inspection in 2019, a concern about the resilience of hangers that support the suspension bridge were identified, and led to a weight restriction being imposed on the bridge while further studies were carried out. The latest inspection was reported to the Welsh Government last Wednesday, and it unexpectedly highlighted an immediate concern around the brittle failure mechanism of the hangers. As is standard practice, officials reviewed and challenged the findings. However, based on very clear advice from structural engineers, it was considered that there was no other option but to close the bridge while further checks on the analysis are undertaken by an independent consultant.

As I say, this was not a decision that was taken lightly, and I fully appreciate the implications that this has for local people, especially without any advanced warnings. We did initially plan a communications campaign in advance to give people warning, but on further conversations with the police and based on the advice, we decided that it was prudent to close the bridge with immediate effect. The safety of our network and the travelling public is paramount, and the decision has been based upon the safety recommendations from numerous structural engineers, amongst the best in the world. The findings that led to the recommendation to close the bridge are currently being reviewed, as is standard. The initial review will take up to two weeks. Officials, along with stakeholders, are assessing all available options to reopen the bridge as soon as possible. Temporary hanger-strengthening works may need to be installed to ensure the safety and integrity of the Menai bridge, and this programme could take between 14 and 16 weeks, with the bridge reopening to vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes, again in early 2023. 

Now, I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that this is causing. Clearly, the Menai bridge is a vital link for the people of north Wales and beyond, and I’d like to thank local people for their patience and understanding whilst this urgent work takes place. And I want to reassure them that the Welsh Government is working with UK Highways and all stakeholders, including emergency services, to ensure that this can be done as quickly and safely as possible. All vehicular traffic is now being diverted to the Britannia bridge, and Welsh Government officials are urgently working on further contingency plans in the area, and will continue to monitor the congestion to inform future changes. They are also developing further strategies to increase resilience on the Britannia bridge to mitigate the risk of both bridges being closed in exceptional circumstances.

I can confirm that, following discussions with UK Highways and their structural experts, it's been agreed that the footway across the bridge can be reopened for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists. Pedestrians must remain on the footways, and numbers will be limited, with monitoring taking place. Officials are working with UK Highways to help limit the impact on emergency services and allow their vehicles, which weigh less than 7.5 tonnes, across the Menai bridge, if the A55 Britannia bridge is closed. This will be subject to the emergency services meeting certain criteria and the traffic management, put in place by UK Highways, is safe to allow this to happen.

The effects of the closure are in their infancy. Officials are already considering the impacts and will continue to monitor the road network to see what can be done to ease congestion further. I'll be providing further updates as things progress, and I would like to invite the local Members to a technical briefing with Welsh Government officials, so they can ask detailed questions of their own to satisfy themselves of the decision making and the next steps. I'd encourage local people to visit the Welsh Government and Traffic Wales websites and social media channels to keep up to date with the latest information. Once again, I'm extremely grateful to everyone this will affect. We'll do everything within our power to reopen the bridge as soon as it is safe to do so. Diolch.