Road safety measures confirmed for A48
Poster information
Posted on: Tuesday 08 May 2018
Road safety improvements including a speed limit review, resurfaced footpaths, extended footway links, fresh signage and new road markings are set to be introduced along a 5km section of the A48.
With £100,000 already invested in undergrowth clearance, design work and more, Welsh Government has confirmed that a further £290,000 has now been approved for the project, which was launched by Bridgend County Borough Council following a number of accidents between Laleston and Waterton.
An independent report commissioned by the council found that while the route ‘generally benefits from good forward visibility with an average carriageway width of 10m’, there were 32 collisions between 2011 and 2015.
Five occurred on the eastbound approach to the Broadlands roundabout, 10 between the Merthyr Mawr Road and Island Farm Road junctions, three between the Ewenny roundabout and Heronston Lane junction, and five were west of the retail park roundabout.
Half of all the collisions involved a ‘rear-end shunt’ between vehicles, while nine per cent were between vehicles and pedestrians. Three of the collisions were classed as ‘fatal’, seven as ‘serious’ and 22 as ‘slight’.
The study found that the collision rate for the route was less than the national average for corresponding types of road. Nine of the 32 collisions occurred at night, six took place during wet weather, and alcohol, driver error and illegal manoeuvres also figured in the data.
I’m grateful to Welsh Government for this funding as the local stretch of the A48 remains a very well used and extremely busy road.
Undergrowth clearance and design work between the Laleston and Waterton roundabouts have already been completed, and we will soon be commencing implementation of road safety improvement works.
Every effort will be made to minimise inconvenience while the works are underway, and I hope that drivers and pedestrians alike will support these efforts to improve safety along this vital route.
Councillor Richard Young, Cabinet Member for Communities