“Wales has the potential to be a world class sustainable tourist destination,” said Ken Skates, Welsh Transport Secretary. “Applying the principles of Green Corridors will set us as an exemplar of best practice, showing innovation in the sustainable management of green transport infrastructure.”

 

Priorities set by the programme will see work beginning during the current financial year along the three routes making up the ‘Wales Way’. They are the A487 ‘Coastal Way’ running along the country’s west coast, the north-south A407 ‘Cambrian Way’ through the mountainous spine of Wales, and the A55 ‘North Wales Way’ along the northern coast.

 

Work to identify and deliver improvements will also start on entrances into Wales on the M4, M48, A483, A5 and A494 Deeside.

 

Activity will then continue in subsequent years with the addition of other gateway routes and strategic sites such as principal towns and cities. Opportunities will be explored and actions taken that include restoring existing or creating new habitats, or providing safe crossing points for protected species.

 

Ken Skates added: “We will seek opportunities to investigate and implement ‘nature based solutions’ such as using vegetated systems for sustainable drainage, or tree and shrub planting for earthworks stabilisation, in both the design of new road infrastructure projects and along the existing network.