Delays on the A15 at Thurlby as pedestrian crossing is added

Drivers will face delays on a main road while a new £100,000 pedestrian crossing is built.

Work started on the puffin crossing on the A15 at Thurlby last month and there will be temporary traffic lights from today Monday (August 12) until Friday, August 16, while the crossing surface is laid.

The installation of the crossing at Thurlby follows a long campaign by residents, who managed to secure a similar pedestrian crossing on the A15 at Northorpe in 2015.

In January 2014 schoolgirls Willow James and Molly Williams were hit by a minibus while crossing the busy road.

Clare White from Thurlby launched a petition calling for the crossings, securing thousands of signatures.

Speaking this week, Clare said they had known a crossing would be installed at Thurlby and that the delay was due to council finances. The council has set aside £100,000 for the work.

She added: “It's good to see that, 10 years on, Thurlby’s is now nearly in place after hard work from a lot of people over the years. It’s good for the safety of local residents.”

Karen Cassar, assistant director for Lincolnshire County Council highways, said: “Following on from our Thurlby crossing construction works, which started on July 8, we’re now ready to lay the surface at this new crossing.

“This will be carried out under a series of overnight road closures next week.

“However, to ensure that the deep surfacing on the A15 can fully and properly set, the contractor has suggested using temporary two-way traffic signals in the day to ensure no vehicles drive over it.

“By allowing the new surfacing to fully set, the road will last longer and be much stronger – meaning we shouldn’t have to carry out resurfacing for at least 10 years.

“The downside of the daytime signals is that drivers will likely experience some significant delays next week on the A15, so we encourage anyone that drives this stretch of road to leave extra time for their journeys or to consider alternative routes.”

The traffic lights will be on the A15 at Thurlby next to High Street and Church Street

The official overnight diversion route will be via the A15 to the A1175 and the A16 through Spalding and on to the A151, and vice versa.