HC Deb 17 July 1991 vol 195 cc171-2W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date the first study on the need for a replacement for the Pont Seiont on the A487 to the south of Caernarfon was initiated; on what date that study was completed; what were the initiation and completion dates of any subsequent surveys; on what date construction work on a new bridge was originally scheduled to start; on what dates the start date was revised, for what reason and to what new start date; what is the latest start date for this scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Wyn Roberts

As part of a general exercise to assess the load-carrying of certain bridge structures on trunk roads in Wales a study of Pont Seiont was

Port Country of origin Destination Type of waste Tonnes
Holyhead Ireland Greater Manchester Glycolmethacrylate Scrap 16.0
Metal Hydroxide/Oxides 340.1
PolychloroBiphenyl (PCB) 13.7
Hampshire CC Miscellaneous Waste 22.6
Miscellaneous Chemical Waste 15.1
Organic Waste (mix) 84.8
Pharmaceutical Waste 79.0
Torfaen BC Adhesive Waste 12.4
Liners (cont: toxic waste) 35.2
Miscellaneous Waste 14.6
Miscellaneous Chemical Waste 131.5
Organic Waste (mix) 19.7
PolychloroBiphenyl (PCB) 12.0
Pharmaceutical Waste 19.2
Total 815.9
Newport Austria Greater Manchester Metal Hydroxide/Oxides 84.1
Miscellaneous Waste 1,090.6
Germany Hampshire CC Laboratory Waste 66.5
Pesticides 70.0
Torfaen BC Miscellaneous Chemical Waste 6.9
Pesticides 23.9
Finland Torfaen BC PCB Fluid/Transformer 10.7
Ireland Greater Manchester Metal Hydroxides/Oxides 1,515.7
Hampshire CC Organic Waste (mix) 31.3

commissioned in 1973. This study culminated in the announcement by the then Secretary of State in November 1979 of his "Preferred Route" for the replacement of Pont Seiont. The scheme was included in the 1978 "Roads in Wales" programme for a start in the time band 1981–83. Also as a consequence of the study the existing bridge was strengthened in 1982 to enable it to carry trunk road traffic in the short to medium term. A recent assessment has shown the bridge to be in good condition satisfying current and anticipated loading requirements.

The time band for the start of the replacement scheme has changed in subsequent publications of "Roads in Wales" to reflect this scheme's priority in relation to others in the roads programme. The 1991 supplement to "Roads in Wales: Progress and Plans for the 1990s" shows the scheme in the time band April 1994 to March 1997.

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