Angelsey councillors will this week consider a report that concludes a third crossing over the Menai Strait is essential to protect the island’s economy and to improve the resilience of links with mainland North Wales.
Report cites recent closures and repeated disruption
The draft case, prepared for the island council’s executive meeting on Tuesday 21 July, follows a period of significant disruption caused by temporary closures of the Menai Bridge. The paper highlights the “negative impacts” of the sudden closure in October 2022 and further problems during a recent Eisteddfod yr Urdd week when the Menai Bridge was reportedly forced to close three or four times in 24 hours after overweight vehicles crossed.
“People in Ynys Môn and across north Wales have been let down for too long when it comes to the resilience of the Menai crossings.”
The wording above is drawn from a Written Statement by the Deputy Minister for Transport, Mark Hooper MS, which the council quoted in its draft submission. The report says those incidents, and others, have had a “profound negative impact” on residents and businesses on both sides of the strait.
Case for a new crossing and next steps
Among its recommendations, the council paper calls for steps to raise the profile of the case for a third crossing across public and private sectors, and for a meeting with government ministers to agree a collaborative approach and a timetable for progress. The aim is to put a formal programme in place for the next stages of work.
- Raise profile: engage stakeholders to build support for a third crossing.
- Ministerial talks: seek a meeting with government to agree next steps and a timetable.
- Formal case: develop and publish a draft case for a new link across the Menai Strait.
Historic bridges and lifespan concerns
No new bridge has been built across the Menai Strait since the mid‑19th century. The Menai Bridge itself was completed in 1826 and is marking 200 years this year; the Britannia Bridge was completed in 1850 (parts of it were rebuilt following a fire in the 1970s). The report cites the Green Book (2026), which advises a project life cycle of 60 years for infrastructure projects, noting that the Menai Bridge has already exceeded that timescale.
| Bridge | Completed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Menai Bridge | 1826 | 200 years old in 2026 |
| Britannia Bridge | 1850 | Partly rebuilt after 1970s fire |
Council members are being asked to back a programme of action to press for a third crossing and to seek ministerial support. The report frames the proposal not as a matter of preference but of safeguarding the island’s socio‑economic future and the wider North Wales region against further episodes of congestion and isolation.
For island residents and businesses, the debate will be about more than engineering: it concerns reliable access to jobs, services and events. The council paper says that what should have been a celebration during the Eisteddfod week was “partially overshadowed by the chaos caused by the closure of the Menai Bridge”.
The executive meeting on 21 July will decide whether to adopt the recommendations and to advance a co‑ordinated campaign involving local and national partners.
