Llandysul bypass opened

The Llandysul Bypass project was managed by Ceredigion County Council's Highways, Property and Works Department and fully funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. The current expected final out-turn cost of the bypass is £23million.

Paying tribute to the part his colleague of twenty years ago, the late Dyfed County Councillor DGE Davies, played in their joint lobbying for the provision of a new link road, Councillor EJ Keith Evans went on to say: "I recall, when the Welsh Assembly Government was created, Rhodri Morgan stating that this new organisation would spread prosperity to all corners of Wales, how fitting therefore that we have the First Minister with us today to celebrate the investment in this important road link. I would also like to thank BAM Nuttall for their excellent delivery of the scheme and for being a considerate contractor. I would also like to thank Capita Symonds as Consulting Engineers. Similarly, my thanks go to the workforce of the Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire County Councils and the other retained contractors and agents associated with this scheme."

The First Minister said: "I' am glad to be here today to see the opening of this £23 million investment in improved transport links to the Cardigan Bay area of Wales. It will also benefit the local environment by taking traffic out of the town centre. Getting easier access to the M4/A48 main east west transport corridor is very important to business and local residents alike."

The Ceredigion Link Road Strategy was originally developed by Dyfed County Council following a report they commissioned during 1987 into road communications between Carmarthen and north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. The aim of the strategy was to improve the efficiency of the road network between Ceredigion and the A48/M4 corridor at Carmarthen and thereby secure and promote the economic wellbeing of Ceredigion and the Teifi Valley The implemented phases of the strategy have thus far concentrated on upgrading the main A485/B4336/A486 road link from Carmarthen via Pencader and Llandysul to the A487 Trunk Road at Synod.

The completion of the A485 highway improvements between Carmarthen and Alltwalis in 2001 represented a significant step forward and, in recent years, Ceredigion has completed four 'on-line' improvements on the A486 between Horeb and Capel Cynon.

The Llandysul bypass is an essential element in the strategy and its opening is a major milestone in its delivery.

The Llandysul bypass is just over 3 kilometres in length and has three major viaducts and four other significant structures. There is a 110 metre level difference between the roundabouts at Rhydygalfe and Cwm Meudwy and a climbing lane has been provided on the main section of the bypass for slow moving vehicles.

When Ceredigion held the public exhibition of the bypass options in January 2000 the proposal terminated at a roundabout on the A486 near Rhydygalfe in Pont Tyweli. It became clear at an early stage, however, that both Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire needed to adopt a coordinated approach in order to successfully deliver the cross border bypass. It was then agreed that the Rhydygalfe to B4336 link within Carmarthenshire formed an essential element of the scheme and that if the development was to be fully effective then it was essential that the whole bypass was constructed as a single civil engineering contract The successful delivery of the project has called for extremely close liaison and collaboration between officers of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire County Councils, especially in the fields of statutory procedures, planning consents and land acquisition.

The main contractor was BAM Nuttall with Capita Symonds acting as Consulting Engineers. The efforts of both contractors in embracing a partnership approach from the outset ensured the project ran smoothly and this has been recognised by Constructing Excellence through the award of 'demonstration project' status to the scheme's construction team.