Motorists hurl bottles of urine and verbal abuse at bridge workers

Dale Spridgeon Local Democracy Reporter

Bottles hurled from cars, including one full of urine, vehicles being driven aggressively, verbal abuse and intrusive filming are just some of the shocking examples of harassment workers on the Menai Suspension Bridge have faced from motorists.

The levels of abuse, aimed at traffic management staff trying to prevent overweight (7.5 tonne vehicles) from crossing the 200-year-old structure while repair work takes place, have gotten so bad that staff have had to be withdrawn for their own safety.

Yesterday, the Deputy Minister for Transport Mark Hooper MS visited the bridge to show his support to the workers and to try to “understand first-hand” the problems local residents are enduring with repeated closures of one of just two crossings linking Anglesey with mainland Wales.

Mr Hooper condemned the recent bad behaviour saying there was “no place for harassment and bullying,” and said he wanted the workers to know “he has got their back.”

He said: “The operatives are just doing their jobs, trying to keep people safe.” Mr Hooper urged bridge users frustrated at delays to “take a breath” and not blame staff just doing their job.

He also confirmed there had been meetings with North Wales Police two weeks ago with regard to recent issues of abuse.

Traffic management operative Gary Roberts spoke candidly about the experience of staff on the front line.

He said: “People wind down their windows and shout at us. We have seen a few water bottles thrown, even one with urine, some have driven in sometimes an aggressive way to frighten people and others have filmed us on their phones.

“”When they shout at us we want them to know, we are just the guys on the front line. We don’t make the decisions, that’s done by higher up people, but we are the ones getting all the flack.”

He added: “People have said we are just sitting in deck chairs looking at our phones but we have an app and we use phones, when we are assessing the weights of vehicles. It is just part of our job.”

“We just want people to realise, we are just ordinary, working class people. We are just here doing our jobs, and at the end of the day, we are just trying to keep people safe.

“We have had a lot of abuse, verbally and online, and it can be very stressful.”

Mr Hooper also met with politicians and leaders, including members of Anglesey Council Council to discuss how they could think about resolving some of the wider bridge issues, including discussions over the resilience of the Britannia and Menai Suspension bridges and the option of building a third crossing.

He would not commit to any timetable, but did confirm that a statement would be given to the Senedd in the Autumn.

Mr Hooper insisted that the Welsh Government was acutely aware of the disruption caused by work on the suspension bridge, which dates back to October 2022.

Ideas being considered include stopping heavy vehicles further away from the bridge and use of signage, including on the A55. Other options include using wind deflectors on the Britannia Bridge – which would help to prevent weather-related closures and restrictions.

Mr Hooper said the problems being faced by locals and visitors “were very important matters that were being taken seriously” and that the governm,ent wanted both the island crossings to be “as effective as possible”.

But, even as the Deputy Minister stood talking to journalists by the bridge master’s house, on the Gwynedd side of the Menai Strait motorists loudly hooted their car horns whilst others shouted from their open vehicle windows as they passed.

Jon Bailey, project director for Spencer Bridge Engineering, said dealing with abuse was at times “very difficult” to manage and was especially hard for his staff.

He said: “We just try to ignore it as much as possible, and not engage with it.”

Repair work on the suspension bridge has been conducted on and off since October 2022, after defects were found in the hangers. It took until late 2024 to fix the hangers after which more structural problems were found and this work which is expected to take until 2027 to complete.

Mr Bailey said: “We are dealing with a 200-year-old bridge, so you never know what you might encounter.

“As long as we don’t find any new issues as we go along, we will likely be looking at going into the next year, but we can’t guarantee any specific (end) date as yet.”

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