Traffic lights, speed limit reductions, and a roundabout are planned in a major overhaul of four junctions on a Wiltshire A-road.
Wiltshire Council is currently carrying out a £7 million improvement scheme to increase road safety on the A3102 through Wiltshire.
The key route, which runs from junction 16 of the M4, near Swindon, to the A350 at Melksham, via Royal Wootton Bassett and Calne, will see a total of 35 upgrades.
These works attempt to reduce crashes on the route, following a high number of fatal and serious collisions.
While work on the less disruptive interventions started last year and remains ongoing, the council has now provided an update on the major overhaul of four important junctions.
These include the A3102’s junctions with Stoneover Lane at Royal Wootton Bassett, Stanier Road at Calne, and the northern and southern A342 junctions near Bromham.
READ MORE: A3102 upgrades to cause traffic delays in Wiltshire
In a recently released video, the council revealed proposals for the redesign of these “major sites” have been drawn up following feasibility studies.
The detailed design stage is ongoing, and it is hoped work will start on some of these junctions next spring.
At Stoneover Lane, the council believes the risk of serious or fatal injuries comes from vehicles turning in and out of the junction conflicting with high-speed traffic on the route.
The proposed solution to this issue would be implementing traffic lights to control all three arms of the junction.
There are similar issues at Stanier Road, where analysis shows “uncontrolled” traffic turning into and out of the junction, near a pedestrian crossing, creates the risk of crashes.
Wiltshire Council is also proposing a traffic signal system at this site, and this would be combined with the widening of the carriageway and the staggering of toucan crossings.
SEE ALSO: A3102 junctions in Wiltshire could be redeveloped by council
At the northern junction between the A3102 and the A342, motorists turning right currently must cross high speed traffic, while rear-end shunts are also an issue due to queuing traffic at the turning.
The council says this junction is “constrained”, and instead of traffic lights a right-turn island is planned for the A3102 and a right-turn lane for traffic joining the A-road.
A 40mph speed limit is also proposed at the junction while there will be a formal pedestrian crossing point added.
At the southern junction between the two important routes, near the V&P Collins Farm, a roundabout is proposed.
It is hoped this four-arm junction, combined with a speed limit reduction to 50mph, would reduce vehicle speeds and provide safer access in all directions.
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