Delivery of Tunnel Boring Machine as part of Eryri Visual Impact Provision project

From Monday 18 November 2024 there will be a number of Abnormal Indivisible Load (AIL) movements in your area as part of the Eryri Visual Impact Provision project (Eryri VIP).
As you are aware from our continued engagement, the Eryri VIP project aims to transform the landscape by removing the 10 pylons and 3km of overhead line currently crossing the Dwyryd Estuary between Minffordd and Llandecwyn. The overhead line will be replaced with electricity cables buried in a tunnel underground.

A Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) will be used to excavate the tunnel. Once assembled, the TBM will measure 166 metres long and weigh 436 tonnes, however it will be separated into components to be transported from Germany to our Garth construction compound near Minffordd.

The delivery route

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.

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.

What to expect

From Monday 18 November, for a period of up to three weeks, there will be a total of 27 deliveries, with between one and four deliveries per day.

Of these, 21 will be AIL movements with eight loads requiring a full police escort and 13 loads requiring partial police escort. All AIL deliveries will require road pilot accompanying the convoy.

The other six deliveries will be normal HGVs which do not require any police escort.

All deliveries will be scheduled on weekdays, in daylight hours, and at times to best avoid congested areas during busy traffic periods where possible. The deliveries are scheduled to take place on the following dates:

• Monday 18 November
• Tuesday 19 November
• Thursday 21 November
• Friday 22 November
• Monday 25 November
• Tuesday 26 November 
• Wednesday 27 November 
• Thursday 28 November 
• Friday 29 November 
• Monday 2 December
• Tuesday 3 December

The movements will commence from Chester Services on the M56 and the overall journey time is expected to take approximately six hours. The loads will be moving at speeds up to 40mph for the first section of the route via the A55 dual carriageway and then between 20mph and 30mph for the remainder of the route via the A487. There will be times when the loads reduce in speed such as when passing through Penmorfa where they will be reduced to walking speed.

The AIL will then travel along the Porthmadog bypass A487, past the Breedon quarry to the Minffordd roundabout. It 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.

The TBM will then be prepared for launch in early 2025. It will reach its destination in Llandecwyn in mid 2026. The TBM has been named Buddug by Scarlett from Ysgol Eifion Wyn, Porthmadog following a competition among local schools.

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. Further information is available on our website

Contact us

National Grid, and our principal contractor, Hochtief UK, has been working to ensure that the local community and all road users are aware of these proposed deliveries and traffic management measures, to enable journeys to be planned accordingly. We have recently written to local businesses and residents to provide advanced notice of the deliveries.

We are working to keep any disruption to a minimum and would like to apologise for any inconvenience these deliveries may cause.

More information about the Eryri VIP project can be found at nationalgrid.com/eryrivip 

If you have any further queries, please contact our community relations team by emailing us at visualimpact@nationalgrid.com or calling 0800 019 1898 (and leaving a message if prompted). 

Steve Ellison
Senior Project Manager