A major road across North Liverpool is to benefit from almost £1m in government funding.
As part of the Department for Transport’s Safer Roads Fund, the A5038 - a more than six mile stretch which runs from Netherton to near the Queensway tunnel - is to be upgraded through improved junctions and improved signage. The road is one of five to benefit from the latest tranche of £3.6m in funding, with £859,000 awarded to Liverpool.
The programme will reduce the risk of collisions, in turn reducing congestion, journey times and emissions. As part of the fund, the government working with local authorities such as Liverpool Council, and safety groups is continuing to deliver a wide range of improvements across all roads.
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To date, £100m has been provided through the programme to improve the 50 most dangerous roads in England, the majority of which are rural roads. Some of the improvements already made include improved signage, safer pedestrian crossings and better designed junctions.
Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep motorists and all road users safer. That’s why this £3.6 million injection for cities across the North West is the first crucial step to ensuring local councils have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while also reducing congestion and emissions.”
Part of a national investment of £47.5m to 27 different schemes around the country, the allocation has been based on data independently surveyed and provided by the Road Safety Foundation. The data analysed is based on a road safety risk, looking at data on those killed and seriously injured alongside traffic levels.
The previous rounds of the award-winning Safer Roads Fund focused on treating the 50 highest-risk local A-road sections in England with enhanced road safety engineering interventions, and the scheme is set to prevent around 1,450 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years.
Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation said: “The commitment and funding announced today is transformational for road safety teams in local authorities across the country. It will allow them to proactively reduce risk and make these 27 roads safer and more inviting for all road users.
“Systematic changes have already had a big impact on road death and serious injury, for example seatbelts and airbags protect lives when crashes happen. In the same way we can design roads so that when crashes happen people can walk away, by clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatching to add space between vehicles, providing safer junctions like roundabouts or adding signalisation and/or turning pockets, and including facilities for walking and cycling.”
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