Profits slide for firm maintaining Suspension Bridge

THE company responsible for the A5 Menai Suspension Bridge has seen profits slide since major repairs began in autumn 2022. However dividends of £6.758m have since been paid out to shareholders.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

On October 4, the 199-year-old bridge was closed with little warning for safety reasons after “rusty nuts and bolts” were found under the road deck. It was reopened six days later with a three-tonne weight limit and stricter enforcement.

It was the crossing’s second emergency closure after problems with the bridge hangers were identified in October 2022. Since then, (in the three years to March 31, 2025), repairs have cost £8.964m. More money has been set aside for maintenance and upgrades yet to be completed.

‘The Daily Post has examined the accounts of UK Highways A55 Ltd, which won a £101m contract to build the A55's 31km Anglesey extension to Holyhead in 1998. Under the deal, the company was also required to maintain an extra 9km of local trunk road, including the two Menai Strait road bridges connecting Anglesey with the North Wales mainland.

‘The accounts reveal the Welsh Government has so far paid more than £350m for the infrastructure. By the time the 30-year contract expires in December 2028, the total bill to the taxpayer is likely to exceed £400m.

To finance the construction, UK Highways A55 Ltd borrowed £109m from a consortium of banks. The contract was agreed by Tony Blair’s UK Labour Government under a PFI Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO) arrangement. UK Highways A55 Ltd has no staff, three unpaid directors and uses a sub-con-tractor to carry out road maintenance.

Each year the company earns annual “shadow toll” payments from the Welsh Government, which are based on the amount of traffic on the road. These have increased from around £13m soon after the road opened in 2001, to more than £19m in 2024.

Over the past three years, operating costs have totalled £50.654m.

Of this, most was paid out for pre-agreed maintenance work. Just £11.428m was spent on unplanned “major maintenance” - a lower rate of expenditure than in the previous four years.