A55 road: Difference between revisions

A55
A55
North Wales Expressway
	Looking eastbound at junction 40 near Chester
Route information
	Part of E22
	Maintained by ; National Highways (England); North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent
Length	87 mi (140 km)
Existed	1922–present
History	Completed: 2001
Major junctions
West end	Holyhead
	; J9 → A487 road; ; J11 → A5 road; ; J19 → A470 road; ; J33B → A494 road; ; J34 → A494 road; ; J38 → A483 road; /; J39 → A41 road/A5115 road; ; J40 → A51 road; ; M53 motorway (J12)
East end	Chester
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Cheshire
Primary; destinations	Holyhead; Bangor; Conwy; Chester
Road network
	Roads in the United Kingdom; Motorways; A and B road zones;

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The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway (Welsh: Gwibffordd Gogledd Cymru),^[1] is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and North Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and several short sections where there are gaps in between the two carriageways. All junctions are grade separated apart from a roundabout east of Penmaenmawr and another nearby in Llanfairfechan. Initially, the road ran from Chester to Bangor. In 2001, it was extended across Anglesey to the ferry port of Holyhead parallel to the A5. The road improvements have been part funded with European money, under the Trans-European Networks programme, as the route is designated part of Euroroute E22 (Holyhead – Leeds – Amsterdam – Hamburg – Malmö – Riga – Moscow – Perm – Ekaterinburg – Ishim).

Route

The Chester southerly bypass

The A55 begins at junction 12 of the M53, the southern end of the motorway, near Chester. It is known as the Chester southerly bypass between J39 Christleton and J36a Broughton. The A55 crosses the River Dee and the border into Wales, passing close to Broughton, Flintshire, and passing north of Buckley, Penyffordd and Northop. There is a major climb between Broughton and Dobshill (Junctions 36a Broughton to 35 Dobshill) though with no crawler lane. Junction 34/33b is point at which the A494 converges and then diverges with the A55. The road briefly has a three-lane section as westbound traffic from Queensferry can leave towards Mold. In the eastbound direction another short three-lane section allows vehicles to join the A494 or exit onto the A55 to Chester. Traffic taking the A55 into England must negotiate a tight 270 degree speed-limited single lane curve to climb up and over the A55/A494 at Ewloe loops. Plans to upgrade the A494 between this junction at Ewloe and Queensferry were rejected by the Welsh Government on 26 March 2008 due to their scale.^[2]

Ewloe to Colwyn Bay

From Ewloe, the road is relatively flat until after Northop when it climbs up onto the flanks of Halkyn Mountain range, passing to the southwest of Holywell with major climbs between Northop and Halkyn (Junctions 33 and 32b) and Halkyn and Holywell Summit (Junctions 32 and 31). This section of road is notorious for poor weather conditions including fog, ice and snow in winter months. In fine weather, however there are extensive views over the River Dee estuary to the Wirral Peninsula, Liverpool and beyond. The highest part of the road is in the vicinity of Brynford at around 790 feet (240 m). The steep descent towards St Asaph is down the new Rhuallt Hill (Junctions 29 to 28), which also provides the first views of the mountains of Snowdonia in the far distance. There is a crawler lane on Rhuallt Hill for eastbound traffic. The road bypasses St Asaph to the north, and runs past Bodelwyddan and Abergele to reach the North Wales coast at Pensarn (Junction 23A). From here onwards to Bangor, the route is close to the North Wales Coast railway.

Colwyn Bay Bypass

Two sections between (Junction 23) Llanddulas to (Junction 17) Conwy are assigned 70 mph (110 km/h) speed limits because they are actually special roads. This is because these sections were built under legislation for building motorways but they were never declared as motorways.^[3]^[4] Legally it means these two stretches of the A55 are neither part of the national UK motorway network nor trunk roads. As such, the national speed limit does not apply so 70 mph (110 km/h) signs (the maximum speed permitted on UK roads) are used instead. Unlike other sections of the A55 that have National Speed Limit (NSL) signage and are accessible to all motor vehicles, motorway restrictions are enforced on these two stretches of road (therefore no pedestrians, learner drivers, etc.)

A 50 mph (80 km/h) limit remains in force through the Colwyn Bay bypass (Old Colwyn to Mochdre). The restriction was imposed for several reasons. First as a safety precaution because the slip-roads on this stretch are unusually short due to the road's design. Part of it was built on a narrow swathe of land through the town that was once the North Wales coast railway; Colwyn Bay railway station had to be rebuilt and the track bed realigned to complete the underpass as the road used the former railway goods yard which was relocated to Llandudno Junction. The former four-track railway was reduced to two more northerly tracks to make space for the road. Secondly, the reduced speed limit was intended to reduce road noise for residents. However, since the completion of the Colwyn Bay bypass, the lower speed limit has been an unpopular decision with drivers.^[5]

Conwy Tunnel

The crossing of the estuary of the River Conwy is by means of an immersed tube tunnel, the first of its kind constructed in the United Kingdom.^[6] At 1060m, the tunnel is the longest road tunnel in Wales.^[7]

The decision to construct an immersed tube tunnel bypass followed an extensive public consultation, named the Collcon Feasibility Study. This ruled out another bridge by the castle on aesthetic grounds, since it would have damaged the view of the world heritage site Conwy Castle, and the two bridges by Robert Stephenson and Thomas Telford. Another alternative bridge crossing was proposed at Deganwy, but this too was ruled out for aesthetic reasons. An inland alternative with heavy grades which would have passed over Bwlch y Ddeufaen pass at 430 metres (1,410 ft), following the old Roman road, was also worked up but rejected for cost and utility reasons as it would have required a very long crawler lane.

The tunnel was constructed by a Costain/Tarmac Construction joint venture,^[8] as pre-formed concrete sections, and then floated into position over a pre-prepared trench in the bed of the estuary. The 3 million tonnes of silt and mud extracted to create the trench in which the tunnel sections sat, were vacuumed to one side of the construction site, as to let them drift down river would have harmed the large mussel fishing beds downstream. The silt was deposited upstream of the bridge at Conwy which created a large new area of low-lying land which was subsequently given to the RSPB for a wildlife preserve. The casting basin for the tunnel sections was later converted into a new marina in the lower estuary. Because of the valuable fishery in the river and also because of the history of heavy metal mining in the catchment of the river, extensive ecological assessments were made both prior to the construction of the tunnel and subsequently. These studies finally concluded that no significant environmental damage had been caused.

After five years of construction, the tunnel was opened in October 1991 by Queen Elizabeth II, the tunnel initially had an advisory 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) speed limit, but this was dropped in 2007 as accidents were rare in the tunnels.

Penmaenbach and Pen-y-clip tunnels

An easterly view of the A55 at Penmaenmawr with the North Wales Coast Railway on the seaward side. The Penmaenbach Tunnels are in the distance

Leaving Conwy in a westerly direction, the construction of this section has involved major civil engineering works because it crosses two major headlands: Penmaenbach Point and Penmaenan Point. Work has involved the cutting of several hard rock tunnels beneath the sea cliffs.

The first to be built in 1932 was the Penmaenbach Tunnel which carried motor traffic to Penmaenmawr. Two smaller tunnels through Penmaenan Point, opened 1935, carried the road on to Llanfairfechan. This new route, carrying traffic in both directions, relieved the original coach road built by Telford in the early 19th century. Cut into the cliffs by hand, this narrow, winding route hugged the contours around both steep headlands. Telford's route has now been converted into a cycleway across Penmaenbach and Penmaenan Points. Originally at the western end (Llanfairfechan) of the modern Pen-y-Clip tunnel, access was only allowed in an easterly direction because travelling the other way would mean heading the wrong way up the eastbound carriageway. However, in 2009 a purpose-built bridge – over the westbound carriageway – was constructed to allow unrestricted access to cyclists and walkers.^[9]

The 1930s alignment was used until a new two-lane Penmaenbach Tunnel opened in 1989 to carry westbound traffic. Eastbound traffic would now travel through the 1932 Penmaenbach Tunnel using both its original lanes. Four years later, work to build the Pen-y-clip tunnel was completed. Like at Penmaenbach it carried westbound traffic while the original road carried vehicles in the opposite direction. Both new routes were subject to an advisory 50 mph speed limit until these were lifted in 2007 as there had been few accidents.

However traffic travelling eastbound on the 1930s cliff-hugging route still faced speed restrictions at both tunnel locations. For instance the eastbound carriageway at Penmaenbach is subject to a 30 mph (50 km/h) speed limit due to sharp curves and double white lines nominally preclude lane changing. Plans to rectify the awkward alignment by building another tunnel parallel to the current westbound tunnel (as originally intended when the westbound tunnel was proposed) have been discussed for several years. The work in late-2007 at Penmaenbach eastbound has seen the erection of gantries to close lanes when bidirectional working is in place. New bridges over the railway tunnel entrances at each end were added and a footbridge over the railway at the eastern end to accommodate the cycleway.

Penmaenmawr to Anglesey

Some sections of the rest of the route are of lower standard than that of those further east. Some traffic leaves for major holiday destinations such as Caernarfon or the Llŷn Peninsula, though much continues on to the port of Holyhead. As such part of the route is not classed as clearway and has two at grade junctions (roundabouts), Penmaenmawr (Junction 16) and Llanfairfechan (Junction 15). The Bangor bypass, in which the road previously terminated and became the A5 regains high standards and is such through the Anglesey section, bar the Britannia Bridge, which is a single carriageway deck above the North Wales Coast railway over the Menai Strait. In 2007 the Welsh Assembly Government undertook a consultation to determine which of four options would be preferred for another crossing. This section intersects with the A487 towards Caernarfon, and the west coast of North Wales.

Anglesey

The final section of the A55 to be constructed was the Anglesey section. This 20 mile (32 km) section from the end of the Llanfairpwll bypass to Holyhead Harbour was constructed as Private Finance Initiative scheme where the builders, a Carillion / John Laing joint venture, earn a shadow toll based on usage and lane availability. They also have to maintain the road for the extended period of their shadow toll agreement. When travelling eastbound along this section there are fine views of Snowdonia. The approach to Holyhead required major work with a new section over the sea paralleling the Stanley Embankment that carries the original A5 and the North Wales Coast railway.

Improvements underway

Work started in early 2017 on the upgrading of the 1960s built substandard section of dual carriageway west of Abergwyngregyn from Tai'r Meibion towards Tan-y-lon, which is a relatively narrow section of dual carriageway and prone to flooding.^[10] After a pause, work restarted on the scheme (now known as the Abergwyngregyn-Tai'r Meibion scheme) in 2021 and encompassing some 2.2 km of the A55. It involves constructing a new road to the north of the dual carriageway for general use including cycleway and farm access. This allowed the closure of 8 central reservation gaps used by slow moving agricultural vehicles which caused safety concerns with the volume and speed of traffic on the dual carriageway. The work was well underway in September 2021 and due to open fully in 2022.^[11]

Planned improvements

Plans are also in their final stages to grade separate the two roundabouts at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan planned to be completed by 2022.^[12] A Public Inquiry was due to be held on 21/9/21 in Llandudno Junction concerning issues over the side roads. The two roundabout improvements will now be treated separately and the full plans can be seen on the A55 microsite.^[13] In June 2021 the Welsh Government decided to review all road schemes whilst looking at public transport alternatives.^[14] In September 2021 the Welsh Government announced an expansion of their plans for the North Wales Metro that may impact this road scheme. In particular longer term plans to reopen old rail routes from Bangor to Amlwch and Bangor to West Wales (presumably a link to Cambrian Coast railway and possibly onwards from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen) may impact cash available for road schemes.^[15] The Junction 16 scheme involves creating a new grade separated junction close to the Penmaenbach Tunnel with a single overbridge allowing access for all directions. This will replace the limited access junction 16A there for Dwygyfylchi. The existing junction 16 roundabout would be replaced by a limited access junction (westbound off/westbound on) as it is a difficult location close to the North Wales coast railway and cycle route and partly on a railway bridge. A new local road would run from the new Dwygyfylchi interchange to the existing roundabout passing around the rear of the Penguin Cafe/truckstop. The Llanfairfechan junction 15 grade separation is much easier to achieve and will be completed on site as a grade separated junction with a single overbridge allowing access/exit for all possible directions.

In November 2012, the Welsh Government published two more detailed studies looking at options to improve transport in the North East Wales and the A55 / A494 areas.^[16] Possible changes to be considered further include

applying managed motorway concepts
providing hard shoulders
providing crawler lanes at key points
redesigning and improving slip roads.^[17]

History

The A55 partly follows the alignment of the Roman road from Chester (Deva) to Caernarfon (Segontium), particularly from Junction 31 to 30 and Junction 13 to 12. Between Chester and Holywell the alignment of this road is uncertain and between St. Asaph and Abergwyngregyn, the Roman road followed an inland route, via Canovium Roman Fort at Caerhun, avoiding the difficulties of the crossing of the Conwy estuary and the cliffs at Penmaenbach and Pen-y-Clip.

A55 opening dates of major improvements

1930s

Unknown date pre1832 Ewloe to Northop avoiding Northop Hall (shown of OS surveyor's 1832 hand-drawn survey map in Flintshire Archives)
1931 or 1932 Northop Bypass
Summer 1932 Holywell Bypass
Unknown date 1930s? St. Asaph to Rhuallt dual carriageway and roundabouts
Unknown date 1930s? Short section of 'experimental' concrete road west of St Asaph
1932 Penmaenbach Tunnel
1935 Pen-y-Clip Tunnels
Post 1938 Vicar's Cross: A41/A51 interchange. (Directly over the site of Vicar's Cross, a mansion in occupation 1938 – Folliott family-this only became the A55 on completion of the Chester southerly bypass in 1976).

1950s

1958 Conwy new bridge avoiding Telford's suspension bridge opened 13 December 1958. This also included a one way system through Conwy with a new route for eastbound traffic around the town's north wall, eliminating a traffic lights at the town's narrow north gate. Originally it had been intended to go along the quay to the new bridge but this would have destroyed the harbour fishing industry.

1960s

1960s Tai'r Meibion to Tan-y-lon dual carriageway east of Bangor
1964? Ewloe roundabout (part of the A494 Queensferry to Ewloe dualling, the 'Aston Bypass')
Unknown date 1965? Llysfaen dualling
1968 Abergele Bypass

1970s

1970 St. Asaph Bypass
1975 Northop Hall Crossroads to East of Gables
1976 Coed-y-Cra to Chaingates (Holywell)
1976 Chester Southerly Bypass (terminating at Broughton with a single carriageway section for the final mile as this was planned to be superseded by the Hawarden Bypass on a more southerly alignment)

1980s

1980 Britannia Bridge and link roads
December 1980 Holywell By-Pass (Stage 1)
March 1981 Diversion East of Abergele
December 1983 Bangor By-Pass
September 1984 Hawarden By-Pass (from a point east of Broughton on the Chester Southerly Bypass to Northop Hall)
December 1984 Llanddulas to Glan Conwy (Colwyn Bay By-Pass, Stage 1)
June 1985 Llanddulas to Glan Conwy (Colwyn Bay By-Pass, Stage 2)
October 1986 Holywell By-Pass (Stage 2)
December 1986 Bodelwyddan By-Pass
June 1989 Penmaenbach Tunnel
June 1989 Northop By-Pass (Northop Hall to Halkyn)
October 1989 Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan By-Passes (excluding Pen-y-Clip Tunnel)

1990s

May 1990 Travellers' Inn Improvement
June 1991 Extension of Chester Bypass to M53 (Junction 12)
25 October 1991 Tunnel crossing of the River Conwy
May 1992 Rhuallt Hill Improvement
October 1993 Pen-y-Clip Tunnel
October 1994 Abergwyngregyn Improvement

2000s

16 March 2001 Anglesey section (Llanfairpwll to Holyhead) including Llanfairpwll by-pass
2000/2004 Penmaenmawr eastbound slip road and grade separation at the summit of the Rhuallt Hill
2004 Improvements to railway underbridges and cliffs at Penmaenbach (eastbound)
2007 Alterations to roundabout at Llanfairfechan and bidirectional road indicators at Penmaenbach (eastbound)
2008 New overbridge between Junction 32A and 32B for improved local access

Services

There are three large service areas on the A55, along with numerous other petrol stations at the side of the road. The three major services are:

Bangor Services
(off J11) This service area is 200m off A55 via A5 southbound then turn right at roundabout onto A4244 before immediately turning right into services) – Starbucks, Subway, Greggs, Burger King, Travelodge, Esso, Costa Express

Gateway Services, Ewloe
Eastbound (After J33) – Starbucks, Greggs, Travelodge, Shell, Costa Express
Westbound (After J33B) – Costa Coffee, Subway, McDonald's, OK Diner, Holiday Inn, Shell, Costa Express, Deli2Go

Kinmel Park, St Asaph
Eastbound (After J24) – Esso, Starbucks & Greggs

Westbound (After J25) – Esso, Starbucks & Greggs

Junctions

County	Location	Miles	km	Junction	Destinations	Notes
Isle of Anglesey	Holyhead	0.0	0.0	–^{[coord 1]}	Holyhead railway station, Holyhead ferry port, Fish quay, Park and ride, Long stay	Roundabout
				–^{[coord 2]}	Local traffic	Traffic lights, TOTSO
		0.3	0.5	–^{[coord 3]}	A5154 - Town centre	Traffic lights, TOTSO
		0.4	0.7	1^{[coord 4]}	B4545 - Trearddur Bay Kingsland	Terminus of the North Wales Expressway, Roundabout
		0.7 1.2	1.2 2.0	2^{[coord 5]}	A5153 - Trearddur Bay Parc Cybi
	Valley	4.4 4.8	7.1 7.7	3^{[coord 6]}	A5 - Valley, Caergeiliog
	Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn	6.0 6.3	9.6 10.2	4^{[coord 7]}	A5 - Caergeiliog, Bryngwran Bodedern
	Bryngwran	8.7 9.1	14.0 14.6	5^{[coord 8]}	A4080 - Rhosneigr, Aberffraw
	Llangefni	14.4 14.9	23.2 24.0	6^{[coord 9]}	A5 - Rhostrehwfa, Pentre Berw A5114 - Llangefni
	Gaerwen	17.3 17.8	27.8 28.6	7^{[coord 10]}	A5152 - Gaerwen, Pentre Berw, Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll
	Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll	19.4	31.3	7a^{[coord 11]}	A5 - Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll Star	No access to A55 Westbound, no access to or exit from A55 Eastbound
		20.4 20.8	32.9 33.4	8^{[coord 12]}	A5025 - Benllech, Menai Bridge, Amlwch
		21.0	33.8	8a^{[coord 13]}	A5 - Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, Menai Bridge, Beaumaris	No access to A55 Westbound, no exit from A55 Eastbound
Gwynedd	Bangor	21.9 22.1	35.3 35.6	9^{[coord 14]}	A487 - Bangor, Caernarfon
		22.6 23.0	36.4 37.0	10^{[coord 15]}	A4087 - Bangor
		25.0 25.4	40.3 40.9	11^{[coord 16]}	Bangor services A5 - Bangor, Betws-y-Coed
	Tal-y-bont	27.1 27.5	43.6 44.2	12^{[coord 17]}	Tal-y-bont
	Abergwyngregyn	29.3 29.5	47.2 47.5	13^{[coord 18]}	Abergwyngregyn
	Llanfairfechan	30.4 30.6	48.9 49.2	14^{[coord 19]}	Llanfairfechan
Conwy	Llanfairfechan	32.1	51.7	15^{[coord 20]}	Llanfairfechan	Roundabout
	Penmaenmawr	33.4 33.7	53.8 54.2	15a^{[coord 21]}	Penmaenmawr	No access to A55 Eastbound, no exit from A55 Westbound
	Penmaenmawr	34.9	56.2	16^{[coord 22]}	Penmaenmawr, Dwygyfylchi	Roundabout
	Dwygyfylchi			Services^{[coord 23]}
	Dwygyfylchi	35.9	57.8	16a^{[coord 24]}	Dwygyfylchi	No access to or exit from A55 Eastbound
	Conwy	37.5 37.9	60.4 61.0	17^{[coord 25]}	A547 - Conwy	Terminus of special road
	Llandudno Junction	39.5 39.9	63.6 64.2	18^{[coord 26]}	A546 - Deganwy, Llandudno Junction
	Llandudno Junction	40.3 40.7	64.8 65.5	19^{[coord 27]}	A470 - Betws-y-Coed, Llandudno
	Rhos-on-Sea-Colwyn Bay boundary	42.7 43.4	68.7 69.8	20^{[coord 28]}	B5115 - Rhos-on-Sea
	Colwyn Bay	43.9 44.1	70.6 71.0	21^{[coord 29]}	B5104 - Colwyn Bay
	Old Colwyn	44.4 44.7	71.5 72.0	22^{[coord 30]}	Old Colwyn
	Llanddulas	47.2 47.3	76.0 76.1	23^{[coord 31]}	A547 - Llandulas	Terminus of special road
	Llanddulas			Services^{[coord 32]}
	Pensarn	49.7 50.0	80.0 80.4	23a^{[coord 33]}	A548 - Pensarn, Rhyl	No access to A55 Eastbound, no exit from A55 Westbound
	Abergele	50.5 50.9	81.2 81.9	24^{[coord 34]}	A547 - Abergele, Rhuddlan, Prestatyn
	St George	52.6	84.6	24a^{[coord 35]}	Towyn, St George	No access to A55 Westbound, no access to or exit from A55 Eastbound
Denbighshire	Bodelwyddan			Services^{[coord 36]}	Kinmel Park services
	Bodelwyddan	53.7	86.4	25^{[coord 37]}	Bodelwyddan, Glan Clwyd Hospital
	St Asaph	54.8 55.2	88.2 88.8	26^{[coord 38]}	St Asaph Business Park
		55.9 56.3	89.9 90.6	27^{[coord 39]}	A525 - St Asaph, Rhyl
		56.9	91.6	27a^{[coord 40]}	A525 - Denbigh	No access to or exit from A55 Westbound
	Rhuallt	57.2 57.9	92.9 93.2	28^{[coord 41]}	B5429 - Rhuallt, Tremeirchion Trefnant
	Rhuallt	60.1 60.5	96.7 97.3	29^{[coord 42]}	B5429 - Rhuallt, Tremeirchion
Flintshire	Lloc	61.5 61.7	99.0 99.3	30^{[coord 43]}	Tremeirchion
	Lloc	62.3 62.6	100.3 100.8	31^{[coord 44]}	A5026 - Holywell A5151 - Prestatyn B5112 - Caerwys
	Pentre Halkyn	67.5 67.6	108.7 108.8	32^{[coord 45]}	A5026 - Holywell	No access to A55 Eastbound, no exit from A55 Westbound
	Pentre Halkyn	67.9 68.3	109.3 109.9	32a^{[coord 46]}	B5123 - Rhosesmor	No access to A55 Westbound
	Halkyn	69.2	111.3 111.4	32b^{[coord 47]}	Pentre Halkyn, Rhosesmor	No access to or exit from A55 Westbound
	Northop	71.2 71.6	114.6 115.3	33^{[coord 48]}	A5119 - Flint, Mold
	Northop Hall	72.4	116.5	33a^{[coord 49]}	B5126 - Connah's Quay Northop Hall
	Northop Hall			Services^{[coord 50]}	Gateway services
	Ewloe	74.6	120.0	33b^{[coord 51]}	A494 - Mold	No access to A55 Westbound, no exit from A55 Eastbound. Terminus of concurrency with A494
	Ewloe	74.9 75.2	120.5 121.1	34^{[coord 52]}	A494 - Queensferry	Terminus of concurrency with A494, TOTSO
	Buckley	76.5 76.8	123.1 123.6	35^{[coord 53]}	A550 - Buckley, Wrexham
	Broughton	77.9 78.2	125.3 125.9	36^{[coord 54]}	A5104 - Pen-y-ffordd, Broughton
	Bretton	79.8	128.5	37^{[coord 55]}	Broughton	No exit from A55 Eastbound, no access to A55 Westbound
Cheshire	Chester			38^{[coord 56]}	A483 - Wrexham, Chester
				39^{[coord 57]}	A41 - Whitchurch A5115 - Chester	No access to A55 Northbound, no exit from A55 Southbound
				40^{[coord 58]}	A51 - Chester, Nantwich
				—^{[coord 59]}	M53 - Ellesmere Port A56 - Chester, Helsby	Road continues as M53 towards Ellesmere Port
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access

Notes

Data from location marker posts are used to provide distance and carriageway identification information. Where a junction spans several hundred metres and the data is available, both the start and finish values for the junction are shown.^[18]
Coordinate data from ACME mapper

Coordinate list

References

^ "The Chester to Bangor Trunk Road (A55), Talerdy Junction Phase 2, St Asaph – Environmental Impact Assessment". Welsh Government. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
^ Welsh Assembly Government – Decision on A494 Drome Corner to Ewloe scheme Archived 30 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ "The Special Road (Llanddulas to Colwyn Bay) Regulations 1984". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
^ "Motorway Database A55". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
^ "50mph limit at Colwyn Bay should be scrapped say drivers". walesonline.co.uk/. 7 June 2012.
^ "Conwy Tunnel praised on 20th anniversary". BBC News. 25 October 2011.
^ "North Wales Tunnels". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "The North Wales Coast Road. A55". ciht.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008.
^ "New cycleway 1". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
^ Welsh Government Update 11/10/16 The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) published its National Transport Plan in July 2009.<ref Welsh Government | National Transport Plan Archived 18 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ "A55: Abergwyngregyn to Tai'r Meibion improvements".
^ Welsh Government Update 16/6/2016
^ "A55: Junctions 15 and 16 (Overview)".
^ "Freeze on new roads projects to be announced".
^ "New images show true scale of ambitious North Wales metro programme". 10 September 2021.
^ "Studies to improve transport in North East Wales published". Welsh Labour. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
^ "A55 A494 WelTAG Study – Stage 1 Appraisal" (PDF). Welsh Government. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
^ "Resources". Traffig Cymru/Traffic Wales. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011. Select Telephone & marker post locations.

External links

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/A55 road

KML is from Wikidata

[18] 53°18′27″N 4°37′48″W / 53.30748°N 4.63010°W / 53.30748; -4.63010 (Start of the A55)

[19] 53°18′23″N 4°37′46″W / 53.30641°N 4.62933°W / 53.30641; -4.62933 (Intersection with London Road)

[20] 53°18′23″N 4°37′55″W / 53.30625°N 4.63184°W / 53.30625; -4.63184 (Intersection with Victoria Road)

[21] 53°18′16″N 4°37′49″W / 53.30446°N 4.63023°W / 53.30446; -4.63023 (Junction 1 of the A55)

[22] 53°17′57″N 4°37′22″W / 53.29916°N 4.62268°W / 53.29916; -4.62268 (Junction 2 of the A55)

[23] 53°16′44″N 4°32′59″W / 53.27895°N 4.54977°W / 53.27895; -4.54977 (Junction 3 of the A55)

[24] 53°16′32″N 4°30′51″W / 53.27549°N 4.51407°W / 53.27549; -4.51407 (Junction 4 of the A55)

[25] 53°15′42″N 4°27′16″W / 53.26163°N 4.45448°W / 53.26163; -4.45448 (Junction 5 of the A55)

[26] 53°14′21″N 4°19′31″W / 53.23906°N 4.32535°W / 53.23906; -4.32535 (Junction 6 of the A55)

[27] 53°13′34″N 4°15′38″W / 53.22603°N 4.26042°W / 53.22603; -4.26042 (Junction 7 of the A55)

[28] 53°13′22″N 4°12′59″W / 53.22268°N 4.21643°W / 53.22268; -4.21643 (Junction 7a of the A55)

[29] 53°13′28″N 4°11′28″W / 53.22444°N 4.19122°W / 53.22444; -4.19122 (Junction 8 of the A55)

[30] 53°13′13″N 4°11′21″W / 53.22023°N 4.18907°W / 53.22023; -4.18907 (Junction 8a of the A55)

[31] 53°12′21″N 4°10′30″W / 53.20596°N 4.17504°W / 53.20596; -4.17504 (Junction 9 of the A55)

[32] 53°12′18″N 4°09′30″W / 53.20491°N 4.15830°W / 53.20491; -4.15830 (Junction 10 of the A55)

[33] 53°12′17″N 4°06′24″W / 53.20484°N 4.10661°W / 53.20484; -4.10661 (Junction 11 of the A55)

[34] 53°13′14″N 4°03′52″W / 53.22049°N 4.06438°W / 53.22049; -4.06438 (Junction 12 of the A55)

[35] 53°14′06″N 4°01′05″W / 53.23491°N 4.01814°W / 53.23491; -4.01814 (Junction 13 of the A55)

[36] 53°14′39″N 3°59′55″W / 53.24423°N 3.99857°W / 53.24423; -3.99857 (Junction 14 of the A55)

[37] 53°15′37″N 3°58′20″W / 53.26024°N 3.97231°W / 53.26024; -3.97231 (Junction 15 of the A55)

[38] 53°16′04″N 3°56′11″W / 53.26788°N 3.93652°W / 53.26788; -3.93652 (Junction 15a of the A55)

[39] 53°16′33″N 3°54′37″W / 53.27595°N 3.91015°W / 53.27595; -3.91015 (Junction 16 of the A55)

[40] 53°16′50″N 3°53′59″W / 53.28060°N 3.89965°W / 53.28060; -3.89965 (Dwygyfylchi Services)

[41] 53°17′04″N 3°53′29″W / 53.28453°N 3.89146°W / 53.28453; -3.89146 (Junction 16a of the A55)

[42] 53°17′20″N 3°51′09″W / 53.28889°N 3.85257°W / 53.28889; -3.85257 (Junction 17 of the A55)

[43] 53°16′51″N 3°48′34″W / 53.28095°N 3.80951°W / 53.28095; -3.80951 (Junction 18 of the A55)

[44] 53°16′49″N 3°47′28″W / 53.28026°N 3.79121°W / 53.28026; -3.79121 (Junction 19 of the A55)

[45] 53°18′02″N 3°44′29″W / 53.30042°N 3.74142°W / 53.30042; -3.74142 (Junction 20 of the A55)

[46] 53°17′43″N 3°43′19″W / 53.29541°N 3.72207°W / 53.29541; -3.72207 (Junction 21 of the A55)

[47] 53°17′35″N 3°42′27″W / 53.29298°N 3.70763°W / 53.29298; -3.70763 (Junction 22 of the A55)

[48] 53°17′27″N 3°38′40″W / 53.29092°N 3.64433°W / 53.29092; -3.64433 (Junction 23 of the A55)

[49] 53°17′31″N 3°38′06″W / 53.29182°N 3.63506°W / 53.29182; -3.63506 (Llandulas Services)

[50] 53°17′34″N 3°34′56″W / 53.29269°N 3.58227°W / 53.29269; -3.58227 (Junction 23a of the A55)

[51] 53°17′04″N 3°34′13″W / 53.28450°N 3.57030°W / 53.28450; -3.57030 (Junction 24 of the A55)

[52] 53°16′23″N 3°32′07″W / 53.27311°N 3.53532°W / 53.27311; -3.53532 (Junction 24a of the A55)

[53] 53°16′09″N 3°31′09″W / 53.26910°N 3.51908°W / 53.26910; -3.51908 (Kinmel Park services)

[54] 53°15′58″N 3°30′08″W / 53.26609°N 3.50211°W / 53.26609; -3.50211 (Junction 25 of the A55)

[55] 53°15′44″N 3°28′38″W / 53.26218°N 3.47726°W / 53.26218; -3.47726 (Junction 26 of the A55)

[56] 53°15′39″N 3°27′10″W / 53.26095°N 3.45266°W / 53.26095; -3.45266 (Junction 27 of the A55)

[57] 53°15′46″N 3°25′58″W / 53.26276°N 3.43265°W / 53.26276; -3.43265 (Junction 27a of the A55)

[58] 53°15′46″N 3°24′39″W / 53.26270°N 3.41070°W / 53.26270; -3.41070 (Junction 28 of the A55)

[59] 53°16′25″N 3°21′39″W / 53.27369°N 3.36096°W / 53.27369; -3.36096 (Junction 29 of the A55)

[60] 53°16′16″N 3°19′53″W / 53.27108°N 3.33141°W / 53.27108; -3.33141 (Junction 30 of the A55)

[61] 53°16′24″N 3°18′28″W / 53.27325°N 3.30776°W / 53.27325; -3.30776 (Junction 31 of the A55)

[62] 53°14′58″N 3°12′03″W / 53.24956°N 3.20082°W / 53.24956; -3.20082 (Junction 32 of the A55)

[63] 53°14′39″N 3°11′35″W / 53.24424°N 3.19303°W / 53.24424; -3.19303 (Junction 32a of the A55)

[64] 53°13′53″N 3°10′31″W / 53.23130°N 3.17522°W / 53.23130; -3.17522 (Junction 32b of the A55)

[65] 53°12′45″N 3°07′53″W / 53.21253°N 3.13140°W / 53.21253; -3.13140 (Junction 33 of the A55)

[66] 53°12′16″N 3°07′04″W / 53.20433°N 3.11771°W / 53.20433; -3.11771 (Junction 33a of the A55)

[67] 53°11′32″N 3°04′50″W / 53.19209°N 3.08061°W / 53.19209; -3.08061 (Gateway services)

[68] 53°11′19″N 3°04′21″W / 53.18863°N 3.07244°W / 53.18863; -3.07244 (Junction 33b of the A55)

[69] 53°11′15″N 3°03′51″W / 53.18754°N 3.06428°W / 53.18754; -3.06428 (Junction 34 of the A55)

[70] 53°10′08″N 3°02′17″W / 53.16877°N 3.03800°W / 53.16877; -3.03800 (Junction 35 of the A55)

[71] 53°09′40″N 3°00′26″W / 53.16121°N 3.00723°W / 53.16121; -3.00723 (Junction 36 of the A55)

[72] 53°09′48″N 2°58′19″W / 53.16339°N 2.97204°W / 53.16339; -2.97204 (Junction 37 of the A55)

[73] 53°09′23″N 2°54′48″W / 53.15637°N 2.91342°W / 53.15637; -2.91342 (Junction 38 of the A55)

[74] 53°10′46″N 2°51′18″W / 53.17947°N 2.85509°W / 53.17947; -2.85509 (Junction 39 of the A55)

[75] 53°11′42″N 2°50′41″W / 53.19503°N 2.84462°W / 53.19503; -2.84462 (Junction 40 of the A55)

[76] 53°12′42″N 2°51′09″W / 53.21164°N 2.85252°W / 53.21164; -2.85252 (Junction 12 of the M53)

[Trunk_Road-1] "The Chester to Bangor Trunk Road (A55), Talerdy Junction Phase 2, St Asaph – Environmental Impact Assessment". Welsh Government. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.

[2] Welsh Assembly Government – Decision on A494 Drome Corner to Ewloe scheme Archived 30 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "The Special Road (Llanddulas to Colwyn Bay) Regulations 1984". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

[4] "Motorway Database A55". roads.org.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

[5] "50mph limit at Colwyn Bay should be scrapped say drivers". walesonline.co.uk/. 7 June 2012.

[6] "Conwy Tunnel praised on 20th anniversary". BBC News. 25 October 2011.

[7] "North Wales Tunnels". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[8] "The North Wales Coast Road. A55". ciht.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008.

[9] "New cycleway 1". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2024.

[10] Welsh Government Update 11/10/16 The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) published its National Transport Plan in July 2009.<ref Welsh Government | National Transport Plan Archived 18 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[11] "A55: Abergwyngregyn to Tai'r Meibion improvements".

[12] Welsh Government Update 16/6/2016

[13] "A55: Junctions 15 and 16 (Overview)".

[14] "Freeze on new roads projects to be announced".

[15] "New images show true scale of ambitious North Wales metro programme". 10 September 2021.

[16] "Studies to improve transport in North East Wales published". Welsh Labour. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2012.

[17] "A55 A494 WelTAG Study – Stage 1 Appraisal" (PDF). Welsh Government. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.

[77] "Resources". Traffig Cymru/Traffic Wales. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011. Select Telephone & marker post locations.

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[18]

v t e Roads in Zone 5 of the Great Britain road numbering scheme
	A5 A50 A51 A52 A53 A54 A55 A56 A57 A58 A59
	A500 A501 A505 A507 A508 A509 A511 A512 A514 A515 A516 A518 A519 A523 A525 A527 A528 A529 A530 A531 A533 A535 A536 A537 A538 A540 A541 A555 A556 A562 A563 A565 A570 A572 A574 A580 A583 A584 A585 A586 A587 A588 A590 A591 A592 A593 A594 Leicester Cumbria A595 A596
	A5004 A5012 A5025 A5036 A5038 A5058 A5100 A5103 A5109 A5112 A5114 A5117 A5120 A5124 A5127 A5130 A5135 A5147 A5150 A5183 A5199 A5268 A5300 A5758
	B5289 B5300 B5302 B5470
List of A roads in Zone 5 List of B roads in Zone 5

v t e Strategic road network in England
South West	M4 M5 M32 M48 M49 A4 A30 A36 A38 A40 A46 A303
Area 3 (South)	M3 M4 M27 M271 A3(M) A308(M) A404(M) A3 A27 A31 A34 A303 A404
Area 4 (South East)	M2 M20 M23 A2 A20 A21 A23 A26 A27 A259 A2070
Area 5 (DBFO) (M25 links)	M1 M3 M4 M11 M20 M25 M26 A1(M) A1 A2 A3 A13 A20 A23 A30 A40 A282 A316 A405 A1089 A3113
East	M1 M11 A1(M) A1 A5 A11 A12 A14 A47 A120 A141 A414 A421 A428 A1307
Area 7 (East Midlands)	M1 M6 M45 M69 A1 A5 A6 A14 A38 A42 A43 A45 A46 A50 A52 A453 A516 A5111
Area 9 (West Midlands)	M5 M6 M40 M42 M50 M54 M69 A5 A38 A40 A45 A46 A49 A50 A446 A449 A458 A483 A500 A4510 A5148
North West	M6 M53 M55 M56 M57 M58 M60 M61 M62 M65 M66 M67 M602 A74(M) A627(M) A41 A55 A56 A66 A483 A494 A550 A556 A585 A590 A595 A663 A5036 A5103 A5117
Area 12 (Yorks/Lincs)	M1 M18 M62 M180 M181 M606 M621 A1(M) A1 A57 A61 A63 A64 A160 A162 A180 A616 A628 A1033
Area 14 (North East)	A1(M) A66(M) A194(M) A1 A19 A66 A184 A696
Other DBFO	M1 M40 M62 A1(M) A6 A19 A30 A35 A50 A69 A168 A174 A249 A417 A419 A1053
Toll roads	M6 Toll

v t e Trunk roads in Wales
Managed by the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent	Bangor - Chirk Trunk Road (A5) London - Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) Newtown - Aberystwyth Trunk Road (A44) Holyhead - Chester Trunk Road (A55) Shropshire Boundary - Mallwyd Trunk Road (A458) Cardiff - Glan Conwy Trunk Road (A470) Glanusk Park (Crickhowell) - Llyswen Trunk Road (A479) Swansea - Manchester Trunk Road (A483) Fishguard - Bangor Trunk Road (A487) Newtown - Machynlleth Trunk Road (A489) Dolgellau - South of Birkenhead Trunk Road (A494)
Managed by the South Wales Trunk Road Agent	M4 motorway M48 motorway A48(M) motorway London - Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) Chepstow - Carmarthen Trunk Road (A48) Newport - Worcester Trunk Road (A449) Neath - Abergavenny Trunk Road (A465) Chepstow - Monmouth Trunk Road (A466) Cardiff - Glan Conwy Trunk Road (A470) St Clears - Pembroke Dock Trunk Road (A477) Swansea - Manchester Trunk Road (A483) Fishguard - Bangor Trunk Road (A487) Newport - Shrewsbury Trunk Road (A4042) East of Abercynon - East of Dowlais Trunk Road (A4060) Haverfordwest - Milford Haven Trunk Road (A4076) A4232 Trunk Road (Capel Llanilltern – Culverhouse Cross Link Road) (A4232)
Related topics and further information	Trunk roads in Wales Trunk road agent North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent South Wales Trunk Road Agent Welsh Government traffic officers Welsh Government roads review Highways in England and Wales List of UK motorways List of UK A roads beginning with 4 List of UK A roads beginning with 5
Category Commons Roads Wales