North Wales civil engineering firm Jones Bros is currently undertaking three key infrastructure projects in the region under a contract with the North Wales Trunk Roads Agency.
Under the three-year framework deal, Jones Bros is working on various projects with values between £200,000 and £1.5m. They include key highways works, minor road improvements and enhancements to a busy town centre high street.
The largest is a £1.3m project to improve a section of the A487 Trunk Road at Ty Cerrig, Garndolbenmaen in Gwynedd. The work, that is expected to be complete by mid July this year, involves online reconstruction (building the new road on the line of the existing road) and widening a section of the busy route that runs from Caernarfon to Cardiff.
The company has also begun a £625,000 contract on the Glyn Rhonwy – Clegir Link Road at Llanberis. The project, due for completion in April 2011, involves the construction of a reinforced earth embankment, landscaping, drainage and carriageway construction. The work also includes preparing an area of land on the site for use by a potential future developer.
In addition to this, electricity cabling is being installed through Llanberis to the Glyn Rhonwy site.
Llanberis town centre will be enhanced and made safer thanks to the third contract, worth £210,000. The project, due for completion at the end of March 2011, includes the installation of a footbridge, new pavements, road resurfacing and a new pelican crossing from the Llyn Padarn car parks into Market Street.
The town will be also be made safer by pavement widening and bollard installation on the High Street. This scheme also involves the creation of additional parking spaces at Llyn Padern.
Pete Jackson, senior contracts manager of Jones Bros, based in Ruthin, said: “These projects are important for our company, they allow us to continue to employ locally and builds on our growing reputation as one of the UK’s major construction and infrastructure firms.
“The advantage of a framework contract like this is it cuts down significantly on project lead in times and reduces paperwork. The local authorities in the partnership know who they are dealing with and have all the relevant information to hand so projects can begin almost straight away.”
The North Wales Trunk Roads Agency formed following a Welsh Assembly Government Review of trunk road management. It operates as a partnership of six North Wales county councils, with Gwynedd Council as the lead authority.