From Monday 18 November 2024 there will be a number of large deliveries coming to the project site along the A55, A487 and A497. These movements will be for the delivery of the TBM, which will be used to excavate the tunnel that will bury the 3km of overhead line underground across the Dwyryd Estuary.

Once assembled, the TBM will measure 166 metres long and weigh 436 tonnes, however it will be separated into components to be transported to our Garth construction compound near Minffordd.

What to expect

There will be a total of 27 deliveries over a period of up to three weeks. Of these, 21 will be Abnormal Indivisible Load (AIL) movements with eight loads requiring a full police escort and 13 loads requiring partial police escort. The other six deliveries will be normal HGVs which do not require any police escort.

There will be between one and four deliveries per day during the delivery period. All deliveries will be scheduled on weekdays, in daylight hours, and at times that aim to avoid congested areas during busy traffic periods.

Once delivered to our site compound, the TBM will be unloaded and prepared for launch in early 2025. It will reach its destination in Llandecwyn in mid 2026.

The delivery route

The large loads will be carried on specialist trailers and accompanied by North Wales Police and private escort vehicles to manage traffic and ensure safety. 

We have been working closely with the North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent (NMWTRA), Welsh Government, North Wales Police, relevant local authorities and our specialist haulage contractor, Fracht Group UK, to carefully plan the route and timings to minimise disruption to local people and traffic wherever possible.

The TBM will be transported from Germany to the UK by sea transport to Immingham Docks, North East Lincolnshire, then transported to Chester Services on the M56 ahead of its entry into North Wales. In Wales, the large loads carrying the TBM components will be transported on the A55, A487 and A497 trunk and local roads.

On each delivery day, the movements will commence from Chester Services and the overall journey time is expected to take approximately six hours. The loads will be moving at speeds of up to 40mph for the first section of the route via the A55 dual carriageway and then between 20mph and 30mph for the majority of the route via the A487. There will be times when the loads reduce in speed such as when passing through the narrowest part of the route at Penmorfa, where they will travel at walking speed. 

The AILs will then travel along the Porthmadog bypass (A487), past the Breedon Minffordd Quarry to the Minffordd roundabout. They will then turn right along the A497, before overshooting the entrance to the Back Lane to Minffordd at Britannia Terrace and then reversing down to the Garth site.

Once the large delivery trucks have unloaded the TBM components at the Eryri VIP project site, the trucks will be size adjusted and will make the return journey as standard HGVs. 

Minffordd roundabout works 

In order to allow the large loads to safely turn right at the Minffordd roundabout, we will need to temporarily remove street signage from around the Minffordd roundabout, just as the load passes that area. To enable that to happen, we need to replace the permanent signage with temporary, easily removable signage, ahead of the delivery period in November-December 2024.

The works to carry out these modifications will start on 4 November 2024 and will last up to five days. All works at the Minffordd roundabout will take place on weekdays between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm.

Traffic management in the form of 4-way temporary traffic lights will be in place while the works to remove, replace and then reinstate the signage takes place, and when AIL deliveries are passing along this route. 

After the TBM has been successfully delivered to site, we will fully reinstate the permanent street signage and furniture, which will take up to two days to complete. 

On days where there are no deliveries, all traffic management will be removed to minimise disruption to road users. 

We appreciate the patience and cooperation of the local community as we carry out this important delivery and we apologise in advance to our neighbours for any inconvenience or disturbance caused.

If you have any questions about the delivery of the TBM or any matter relating to the project, please contact the Eryri VIP project team by emailing us at [email protected] or calling 0800 018 1898 between 9am – 5:30pm, Monday to Friday. If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a message and one of our team will get back to you.