Road safety improvements near Sherborne
Construction work is due to take place to improve visibility at the A352 / New Road junction near Sherborne.
This junction has been the location of several road traffic collisions where people have been injured.
The works will start on 2 April 2024, and will take up to four weeks to complete.
We will relocate road signs and move fences to improve visibility. Road markings will also be adjusted to improve the angle at which drivers approach the junction from New Road.
As part of the improvement works, the speed limit of the A352 will be reduced to 30mph on Horsecastles Lane, Ottery Lane and Dancing Hill. This will also include a section of 40mph limit on Sherborne Hill.
Jack Wiltshire, Head of Highways, said: “We are committed to improving road safety. This scheme will help to address issues at a junction where there have been multiple collisions over the years. We thank everyone for their patience while these works take place”.
To enable the works to be carried out safely, traffic will be managed with temporary traffic lights. Drivers are encouraged to allow extra time when planning their journey in this area while the work takes place.
Categories: Highways
Comments
1 Comment
Dear Mr Wiltshire,
I note your stated commitment "to improving road safety" and your plea for "patience", but WHY has it taken you such an inordinate period of TIME to recognise that this junction is a veritable hazard for all road users? For your information, I met in person with the (then) MP for West Dorset, The Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin, on 09 December 2016 and Sir Oliver agreed with me that urgent attention to the very same junction was LONG OVERDUE. Sir Oliver informed me that his repeated requests for ACTION over many years to the (then) West Dorset District Council had gained very little traction. And so, here we are over nine(9) years later and you are about to undertake works to "improve visibility". I submit that your proposed works are scarcely over-ambitious and that you need to seriously implement a major re-engineering project, including an elevated viaduct constructed with Sherborne stone to ferry traffic from Dancing Hill high over the railway lines to meet the A30 Sherborne to Yeovil road. The Romans built viaducts in Dorset 2,000 years ago. In short, Mr Wiltshire, we need much greater Vision from Dorset County Council as well as improved visibility.
Respectfully submitted,
Julian E. Ashby
Fern Blick, Longburton DT9 5PD