No central reservation gaps on A1 in Lincolnshire and Rutland have been ruled out from closure as National Highways reveals two more points to shut near Grantham
National Highways has announced plans to block off more A1 crossing points as bosses revealed no central reservation gaps have been ruled out from closure.
Two crossing points on the A1 at Easton will join the 11 other central reservation gaps between Colsterworth and Great Ponton earmarked for closure in July.
There had been some uncertainty around the two crossing points due to an effect on public rights of way, but after this was resolved National Highways added them to the list.
National Highways route manager, Phil Shaw, said: “This is the first milestone in a complex legal and technical process which will ultimately improve safety along the A1 across the whole region.
“We have listened to the concerns of local people and developed a long-term plan for this busy road which demonstrates our commitment to improving safety here for both road users and local people.
“There has been a lot of support for closing these gaps during our conversations with local communities.”
National Highways began a study last summer into all 57 of the crossing points on the A1 between Stamford and Blyth to find out what effect closing them would have on drivers.
Larger gaps across Lincolnshire, Rutland and Nottinghamshire will now be considered.
When asked which points could close, a spokesperson for National Highways said: “All gaps are being considered, nothing has been ruled out at this stage.
“But it is too soon to give any idea of which will go ahead or any time frame.”
According to highways bosses, the feedback has been ‘overwhelmingly in favour’ of closing the gaps and no objections were submitted to the Lincolnshire crossing points consultation.
A public meeting organised by Lincolnshire County Council last month attracted more than 100 people, concerned about safety on the road.
A number of central reservations on the Lincolnshire stretch of the A1 are accident hotspots as they require drivers to go through a small section of central reservation and cross the opposite carriageway, where vehicles are travelling at high speed.
When HGVs are sat in the central reservation their trailers can block the live carriageway, posing a danger to oncoming traffic and some drivers also cross when it’s not safe to do so.
Crossing points do provide direct access into a number of villages, including North Witham, Stoke Rochford, Claypole in Lincolnshire and Fernwood near Newark. Without them, drivers travelling to these villages would have to add extra miles onto their journeys.
We previously asked our LincsOnline readers whether they think A1 central reservation crossing points should be closed.
Of the 887 people who responded to the poll, 90% said they should be shut. Eight per cent of people want to keep them open while 2% are unsure.
Do you think closing crossing points will make the A1 safer? Let us know in the comments.