Major scheme to improve safety on A683 from Caton starts soon

Saturday, 8 May 2021 08:46

The next phase of a programme to improve safety on one of Lancashire's highest casualty roads is due to start soon, bringing overnight closures on some sections of the road.

It will see hundreds of solar-powered LED road studs being fitted along the centre line of sections of an approximately 7-mile stretch of the A683 from Caton village to the A687 junction near Wrayton village. The road will also be painted with special high-reflectivity line markings.

The scheme is part of the Safer Roads Programme, a £7.9m investment to improve safety on five A-roads identified by the Department for Transport as the county's historically most dangerous routes.

The work to fit the LED road studs, and add the new line markings, is scheduled to take place from Monday 17 May to around the end of June, but could take longer if there are delays due to poor weather. It will be carried out overnight with sections of the A683 being closed from 6pm to 6am as the work progresses. Local diversions suitable for all vehicles will be fully signed while the road is closed.

A further phrase of the programme will also see average speed cameras being installed along the A683.

Phil Durnell, Lancashire County Council director of highways and transport, said: "Every death and serious injury on our roads is a tragedy and has an awful impact on those involved as well as their friends and families.

"The Safer Roads Programme is a result of a successful funding bid to the Department for Transport to make improvements to a number of our roads which have a record of serious incidents.

"Speeding has very often been a factor in these incidents, and the measures we are putting in place are designed to reduce vehicle speeds through enforcement, and improve drivers' awareness of their position on the road, as well as features such as junctions and tight corners.

"This is the first phase of these improvements on the A683 and I'd ask people to take particular care with their journeys in this area while this important work is carried out."

The A6 in Lancaster is also scheduled for improvement works under the scheme.