Shropshire and Mid Wales braced for bank holiday traffic
Shropshire was expected to bear the brunt of the great August getaway to Wales today as families headed off for the Bank Holiday.
With weather forecasters predicting settled weather for much of the weekend there was expected to be a rush for the coast and the countryside of Mid Wales.
Shrewsbury and Oswestry bypasses were already busy early in the day.
This summer has already seen long delays on the Oswestry bypass where two trunk roads, the A5 and the A483 meet. The road, past Oswestry and Chirk, has been nose-to-tail with northbound traffic most Fridays and on many other nights.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has been campaigning for two decades for the A5 from Shrewsbury to the Welsh border to be dualled, in an effort to ease congestion and improve safety.
Mr Paterson said: “Oswestry has a bypass, but it is a bypass that is not working. It is woefully inadequate. If it had been built as a dual carriageway from the very beginning we would not have the problems that we have now.”
Good weather and the Bank Holiday was expected to see thousands more vehicles take to the roads.
Shropshire’s attractions were also gearing up for a busy extended weekend for those enjoying ‘staycations’.
The British Ironwork Centre at Oswestry is holding a three-day Shropshire Balloon Festival with only those purchasing advance tickets being admitted to prevent any traffic problems.
Two music events in Shrewsbury, the Shropshire Folk Festival, and the Fake Festival, were also hoping good weather would swell their crowds.
This weekend will also see the Shrewsbury Steam Rally event held at Onslow Park.
