A498 road

TheA498is a 16-mile road betweenPen-y-GwrydandPorthmadoginNorth Wales.

A498
The A498 at its junction with the A4085 inBeddgelert
Route information
Length	14.8 mi(23.8 km)
Major junctions
north end	53.0819°N 4.0022°W/53.0819; -4.0022(A498 road (northern end))
south end	52.9336°N 4.1543°W/52.9336; -4.1543
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Constituent country	Wales
Road network
Roads in the United Kingdom Motorways A and B road zones

At Pen-y-Gwryd, theA4086Llanberis Passroute bears off to the north. The A498 descends from a 277 m (909 ft.) summit at Pen-y-Gwryd and runs south west through the village ofBeddgelertand theAberglaslyn Pass,where it overlaps theA4085.The A498 then passes throughTremadogand crosses the A487 at a roundabout, before passing under theCambrian Coast railwayand terminating atPenamseron the A497(52.9336°N 4.1543°W/52.9336; -4.1543(A498 road (southern end))),about a mile west of Porthmadog. At its northern end, the road forms a link via the A4086 with theA5atCapel Curig,forming a useful holiday route to the Beddgelert/Porthmadog area. At the junctions, the A4086 to Llanberis is the minor road at Pen-y-Gwryd, while the A498 is the minor road at Beddgelert. AtPont Aberglaslyn,the A4085 is the minor road diverging to Penrhyndeudraeth and at Tremadog, the A498 is the major road. The junction west of Tremadog is a roundabout and at Penamser, the A498 is the minor road.

The A498 descends the Nant Gwynant Pass via a1+3⁄4miles section with limited width and poor alignment

There is a steep descent ofNantgwynantand some1+3⁄4miles of this is on a substandard, narrow twisting alignment, where larger vehicles have difficulty in passing. There are further substandard sections in the Aberglaslyn Pass and towards Tremadog and coaches have had difficulty passing in this section. The road passes through Beddgelert by way of a sharp right angled bend over a river bridge, not recommended for articulated vehicles. In the Aberglaslyn Pass the trackbed of theWelsh Highland Railway,now being reconstructed, can be seen on the opposite side of theAfon Glaslyn.At its west end, the route crosses the new A487 Porthmadog Bypass at a roundabout west of Tremadog.

Recent improvements

In late 2008 the Bryn-y-felin road bridge was rebuilt over the Welsh Highland Railwayas part of Gwynedd Council's WHR Bridges policy. Unfortunately the bridge was rebuilt with such narrow dimensions that vehicles wider than a standard car find it difficult to pass.

History

The road was created from earlytoll roads.There was some improvement in the 1960s/70s in Nantgwynant and south of the Aberglaslyn Pass. Just south of the Goat Hotel in Beddgelert is an arched railway overbridge (with height and width restrictions) built by thePortmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railwaybut never used.