£3m upgrades for county’s danger roads

TWO major Nottingham roads will be getting more than £3 million worth of improvements after being described as some of the country’s most dangerous routes.

The Government says it will be investing in the A60 Mansfield Road and A6200 Derby Road.

The stretch of Mansfield Road will get £2.225 million and part of Derby Road will receive £600,000. Improvements could include new junctions and roundabouts, improving signs, road markings and pedestrian crossings and new road surfacing.

The announcement forms part of a broader £38.3 million investment to improve road safety across the country, with the two Nottingham routes being among 17 in England getting the money.

Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation, said: “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.”

The Government says improvements to the A60 and A6200, as well as to the A6 in Northamptonshire, are expected to prevent around 53 fatal and serious injuries over 20 years.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that, as well as increased safety, the improvements would reduce congestion and boost the economy.