Q: When is resilience important? A: When it's for a road!

[AndrewE]

A recent TV programme “Our Coast” had a section about the Menai Strait and mentioned that the third road crossing is still seen as essential “because the existing road bridges get closed in high winds.”
I wasn't even aware that one was proposed, but a bit of Googling reveals it was a serious possibility. However the cancellation of the Wylfa nuclear power station (the traffic for which seems to have been one of the main motives for building the bridge) doesn't seem to have finished it off.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50447448 says

The case for a third bridge linking Anglesey with the north Wales mainland has been weakened by the suspension of plans for a new nuclear power station, admits the Welsh economy minister.
But Ken Skates said he remained optimistic for proposals to deliver a new crossing "as planned"....
Construction was due to get underway in 2021 after further analysis was carried out, but the economy minister told BBC Wales that the suspension of the Wylfa Newydd programme would have to be considered in relation to a new crossing for the island.
"Without the Wylfa Newydd programme, of course the business case is not as strong," said Mr Skates. “But that's not to say it doesn't stack up and makes it less likely.
We're hopeful that we will be able to proceed as planned, in the timeframe we've outlined."
Mr Skates said the Welsh Government was keeping proposals for a third crossing in its infrastructure programme

What strikes me is the difference between this approach and the rather slow progress making the railway into Devon and Cornwall more resilient. I know that plans for Dawlish are creeping forwards, but I can't see that the railway will ever be fully reliable by that route.
Considering that re-opening the line north of Dartmoor will have lots of benefits in addition to resilience (if Cowley Bridge Jct can be sorted – I see it has been closed again) I wish they would get on with it! In fact, if there is heavy engineering to be done at Dawlish, having an alternative route available first for diversions would seem to be quite a good idea.

 

[mmh]

A recent TV programme “Our Coast” had a section about the Menai Strait and mentioned that the third road crossing is still seen as essential “because the existing road bridges get closed in high winds.”
I wasn't even aware that one was proposed, but a bit of Googling reveals it was a serious possibility. However the cancellation of the Wylfa nuclear power station (the traffic for which seems to have been one of the main motives for building the bridge) doesn't seem to have finished it off.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50447448 says

What strikes me is the difference between this approach and the rather slow progress making the railway into Devon and Cornwall more resilient. I know that plans for Dawlish are creeping forwards, but I can't see that the railway will ever be fully reliable by that route.
Considering that re-opening the line north of Dartmoor will have lots of benefits in addition to resilience (if Cowley Bridge Jct can be sorted – I see it has been closed again) I wish they would get on with it! In fact, if there is heavy engineering to be done at Dawlish, having an alternative route available first for diversions would seem to be quite a good idea.

The approach to a new Menai crossing has also been very slow. It's also not just a case of resilience, it's economic and social need. The Britannia Bridge does close regularly to high sided vehicles, and the Menai Bridge and the route to get there is not suited to convoys of HGVs. The Britannia Bridge is a bottleneck on the main route from Ireland to everywhere else in Europe. As well as regulations congestion around the ferries, daily there are tailbacks heading to the mainland in the morning and island bound in the early evening, due to the volume of commuter traffic. It should have had a new crossing years ago.

 

[yorksrob]

What strikes me is the difference between this approach and the rather slow progress making the railway into Devon and Cornwall more resilient. I know that plans for Dawlish are creeping forwards, but I can't see that the railway will ever be fully reliable by that route.
Considering that re-opening the line north of Dartmoor will have lots of benefits in addition to resilience (if Cowley Bridge Jct can be sorted – I see it has been closed again) I wish they would get on with it! In fact, if there is heavy engineering to be done at Dawlish, having an alternative route available first for diversions would seem to be quite a good idea.

Very true. We had a lot of talk from Mr Cameron in around 2014, but it seems that Plymouth and Cornwall are to remain at the end of a single long branch for ever more.

 

[MotorcycleAlan]

Very true. We had a lot of talk from Mr Cameron in around 2014, but it seems that Plymouth and Cornwall are to remain at the end of a single long branch for ever more.

Cornwall has had a lot of investment in the A30 in recent years, it is a question of where expenditure brings best value for money - and votes.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/milestone-for-cornwall-as-major-a30-upgrade-gets-the-green-light

 

[yorksrob]

Cornwall has had a lot of investment in the A30 in recent years, it is a question of where expenditure brings best value for money - and votes.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/milestone-for-cornwall-as-major-a30-upgrade-gets-the-green-light

That's prescious little use for rail passengers though. The railway industry doesn't help either - it's had little interest in serving new areas over the past twenty years.

 

[miami]

Vast majority of people in cornwall would prefer a better A30 than a rail line

 

[yorksrob]

Vast majority of people in cornwall would prefer a better A30 than a rail line

As @MotorcycleAllan has said, the A30 has already had lots of investment. Best not to put too many eggs in one basket, as the saying goes.

 

[miami]

Doubling the A38 from Bodmin to Plymouth
Doubling the A390 for Dobwalls to Truro
Doubling the A39
Completing the A30 dualling as far as Hayle

All will have far more support than a dawlish rail bypass