Ruthin based Landscape, planning and environmental consultancy Richards, Moorehead and Laing Ltd (RML) has secured a contract with the Welsh Government to deliver design services for the new third crossing of the Menai Strait. 

Under the Contract, RML will, with our partners AECOM and Knight Architects, undertake the Key Stage 2 Appraisal of options to identify and develop initial designs for a new bridge crossing that will link Anglesey with mainland Wales, with a view to identifying a preferred route.

RML will carry out the key role of Environmental Coordinator and provide landscape appraisal services. Our long experience of infrastructure projects on the Island such as the design and construction of the A55 and our Welsh language capability will be important parts of our input into the project.

A third Menai crossing will alleviate traffic on the two existing bridges over the Menai Strait.

The Menai Bridge, built by Thomas Telford in the 1820s and Robert Stephenson’s Britannia Bridge suffer from heavy congestion. 

The Britannia Bridge is also the only section of the A55 that is not dual carriageway and can be a significant bottleneck for traffic along the route, which links the M53 with Holyhead Port and is part of the Trans European Road Network.

The aim of the scheme is to improve capacity, reliability and journey times along the route, as well as improve network resilience and opportunities for non-motorised users and safety.

RML’s services will contribute to a review of the potential impact of the proposed scheme on the two historic bridges to develop a design that minimises impact on the landscape and environment and is sympathetic to the existing crossings.

Ivor Richards OBE, Managing Director at RML, said “As an engineer I find it exciting and a privilege to be following in the steps of Telford and Stephenson”.