Roads in the area

[Hugo]

Chemical spillage closes part of A55 near Colwyn Bay


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-35869450

[Michael]

   OOhhh Hugo, I've got it in for you. If your wife was driving westward from the junction to colwyn bay, its no wonder it took her a long time. She should have been driving eastward.

[Hugo]

   OOhhh Hugo, I've got it in for you. If your wife was driving westward from the junction to colwyn bay, its no wonder it took her a long time. She should have been driving eastward.

It wasn't all bad Mike, at least I wasn't in the car with her.     

[SteveH]

One lane of A55 remains closed at Colwyn Bay after chemical spillage

Heavy traffic has been reported today on the westbound carriageway as a result of yesterday's incident.

One lane of the A55 remains closed this morning at Colwyn Bay after a major chemical spill yesterday shut the dual carriageway for at least 10 hours causing traffic chaos.
Heavy traffic has been reported on the westbound carriageway today, with one lane still shut.

The A55 at Colwyn Bay was closed completely at 11am yesterday, between Junction 22 the Promenade at Old Colwyn and Junction 23 at Abergele Road, after a tanker shed its load.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service chiefs said 27,000 litres of the chemical - believed to be a corrosive substance called Ferric Chloride - was spilled during the incident.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/one-lane-a55-remains-closed-11083023

[SteveH]

UPDATE.......A55 to be closed overnight

Drivers face further disruption during overnight roadworks on the A55 this evening.  23/3/16.
A stretch of the road will be closed in Conwy and Denbighshire .

The works were originally planned for last night, but were cancelled after a tanker spilled a chemical substance at Colywn Bay forcing the carriageway to be closed in both directions for around 10 hours.
Both the westbound and eastbound carriageways of the A55 will be closed overnight tonight for essential maintenance work and new signs and lighting to be installed.

It’s due to work between Junction 19 at the Black Cat roundabout in Llandudno Junction and Junction 22 at Old Colwyn between 8pm tonight and 6am tomorrow, Thursday, March 24.

Diversions will be in place.

In Denbighshire, barrier works mean one lane will be shut on the A55 in both directions between Junction 27 at St Asaph and Junction 31 at Caerwys between 8pm tonight and 6am tomorrow, Thursday, March 24.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/incoming/a55-closed-overnight-conwy-denbighshire-11085015

[SteveH]

A55 roadworks cancelled again due to chemical spillage clean-up             
Overnight roadworks on the A55 have been postponed again because of disruption caused by yesterday’s chemical spillage.

The works in Conwy and Denbighshire were originally planned for last night, but were cancelled after a tanker spilled a chemical substance at Colywn Bay and were rescheduled for this evening.

But the Welsh Government has now announced the upgrades have been postponed for a second time due to the ongoing clean-up works associated with the tanker incident .

No new date has been given
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/a55-roadworks-cancelled-again-due-11087319

[SteveH]

Investigation launched into A55 chemical spill which shut dual carriageway

The carriageway was completely shut in both directions on Tuesday after a lorry carrying a tank containing up to 27,000 litres of corrosive liquid came to a standstill, spilling ferric chloride onto the road surface.
Between the spill and the clean-up operation, it was more than 43 hours until all lanes of the A55 were reopened
Aside from questions raised about the potential safety issues around the spill, concerns have been raised about the apparent failure of the authorities to take control of the situation.

The fiasco has prompted calls for better management of emergency situations on the region’s most important road.

The closure effectively brought North Wales to a standstill, and Colwyn Bay was near gridlocked with lorries and cars trying to get from west to east.
The Daily Post has been able to establish that the company transporting the ferric chloride was an Irish haulage firm called Clare County Trucking, from Southern Ireland.
The consignment of chemicals belonged to an Irish firm by the name of Chemifloc.
The Daily Post contacted the firm yesterday, and was told that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) was investigating the incident.
But, when the Post had contacted that body on Wednesday, it said it had not yet been asked to investigate.

“We know from experience how much local people depend on having this road open in terms of the economy, and it’s vital that emergency services such as ambulances can get across the region without hindrance."

“But we also need to investigate the plans for dealing with a major closure on the A55. We cannot have another repeat of the gridlock that was created on Conwy roads."

Two statements from the same article......Altogether now ?

“However, road safety is a priority for the Welsh Government and there are stringent regulations and controls in place for the transportation of chemicals.
“We work closely with the emergency services and other agencies to ensure these controls are enforced and to respond as quickly and effectively as possible to any incident.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said it “worked closely with the emergency services”, but was unable to tell the Daily Post what steps are taken in response to an incident of this nature.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/investigation-launched-a55-chemical-spill-11095914

[Ian]

Iron Chloride is a nasty compound which can have devastating effects if accidentally ingested. Frankly, it has no place even being transported on roads during the day and, in fact, railways are far better suited to transporting these sorts of materials.

[mull]

If it had happened 4 hours later it could have been on a ferry.
That would make things interesting for the crew and passengers.
Sleep well !

[SDQ]

If it had happened 4 hours later it could have been on a ferry.
That would make things interesting for the crew and passengers.
Sleep well !

I think it had just come off the ferry.

[SteveH]

The Company in the recent A55 chemical spill, responsible for incident that left eight in hospital 4 years ago.

Irish firm Clare County Trucking was transporting the tanker and chemical on behalf of Chemifloc, who were responsible for a spill that left eight people in hospital in 2012.

That incident happened at the company’s Shannon site, and a subsequent Environmental Protection Agency report found materials had been stored incorrectly and the firm wasn’t fully compliant with its licence conditions.

In 2009, Chemifloc was prosecuted over “permitting emissions to the atmosphere at the Smithstown Industrial Estate” in Shannon two years earlier.
Neither of the incidents related to ferric chloride, which is used in waste water treatment.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/company-a55-chemical-spill-responsible-11097566

[Michael]

sSDQ I doubt it seeing it was heading towards Holyhead

[Michael]

  And whilst we are on the subject of road conditions may I point out the constant misuse of the word gridlocked. It first came out around 50 or so years ago to describe where very heavy traffic went around. Buildings, took four right hand turns and ended up at the back of his original queue. Blocked solid. Nothing could ever move until someone turned left and "unlocked" it by providing a space to allow the  movement to start. It used to happen a lot. But it should not be used to describe a long straight queue. That is not a gridlock. That is just a plain hold up. The gridlock word was obviously started because of its similarity to a grid in the ground. It cannot be broken until one section is smashed, and then it all collapses.
 Oh, and another way of unlocking it was for a few cars to reverse, thus allowing it all to move.

[SDQ]

sSDQ I doubt it seeing it was heading towards Holyhead

It was the other carriageway that was closed longest & only opened to one lane the next day so I thought that must have been the direction it was travelling.

[SteveH]

Car overturns near Hickory's Rhos on Sea and shuts road.

An overturned car has forced police to close a road in Rhos on Sea.
Officers were called to reports of a single vehicle collision on Brompton Avenue just after 10.14am.
They found a Fiat on its roof.
The road is currently closed as recovery teams work at the scene.
Eyewitnesses told the Daily Post that the driver and one passenger managed to get out the vehicle by their own accord after the crash.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokeswoman confirmed that a man and a woman escaped unharmed.
"We sent a crew in an emergency ambulance to the scene, where a male and a female were given a precautionary check-up but did not travel to hospital," she said.

The accident is near the Hickory’s restaurant and is still causing disruption.
A spokeswoman for Hickory’s said the restaurant is not affected and customers are still able to gain access.
REF DP.  http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/car-overturns-near-hickorys-rhos-11107194