Safety plan for dangerous Shifnal junction
The speed limit will be reduced at a dangerous crossroads, which has been subject to "temporary" traffic lights for nearly a year.
Investigation work has now been completed at the A464 Upton Crossroads near Shifnal to find a permanent solution to improve road safety at the junction.
Accidents at the junction are so regular that the lights were put purely to force traffic to slow down.
The stretch of road is straight, encouraging motorists to speed up, and a number had lost control with disastrous consequences.
Now, a plan has been put together for the future of the road by Shropshire Council, which will include vehicle-activated signs on both of the approaches to the junction, that will illuminate to alert oncoming traffic that a vehicle is waiting to emerge from one of the two Upton Lane side roads.
This will be accompanied by a lowered speed limit and new traffic management measures, to reduce vehicle speeds and highlight the unusual road layout.
These type of measures have been used successfully at other places in Shropshire to reduce both the number and severity of accidents.
The option to install permanent traffic signals looked at, but, this has been rejected as it would not work within the existing boundaries of the road.
To install traffic signals to ensure compliance with current design standards would mean significant purchase of land which is not currently in public highway ownership, and the timescales and costs to achieve this option were too prohibitive to consider progressing further.
Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We are very mindful of the traffic delays and inconvenience that have been experienced since April 2016 when the temporary traffic signals were installed as a holding measure.
"Bearing this in mind, we are aiming to progress the design and implementation of this permanent scheme during this current financial year, with implementation likely between January and March 2018.”
Stuart West, local Shropshire Councillor for Shifnal South and Cosford, said: “I am pleased that we have finally agreed on a scheme that we are able to progress, that has been successful in other parts of the county, and should make Upton Crossroads a much safer place.”
