'Just a little money could prevent A66 deaths'

10 hours ago

Pamela TickellNorth East and Cumbria

Farmer and parish councillor Peter Moss said the A66 needed to be made safer

Supplied Peter Moss is looking directly into the camera and is smiling. He is wearing a grey hat, green fleece and a black overcoat. There is a grey vehicle behind him. — Farmer and parish councillor Peter Moss said the A66 needed to be made safer

A farmer who lives next to a busy cross-country route has said just "a little money" could help save lives on a "very dangerous" stretch of road.

Peter Moss, whose Ewebank Farm, near Greta Bridge, County Durham, sits next to a single carriageway stretch of the A66, said accidents, sometimes fatal, were getting "unbelievably worse".

The parish councillor is part of a campaign to place a speed limit and install cameras on the stretch, while a timeline for a planned full dualling of the road is considered.

National Highways said it constantly monitors roads and introduces additional safety measures "where necessary and suitable to do so".

The Rokeby, Brignall and Egglestone Abbey Parish councillor said the road was "terrible and it's got worse".

Moss said there had been three fatal incidents recently, including earlier this month.

"That can be mitigated by cameras," he said. "For a little money, it could be altered quite easily."

Parts of the A66 in County Durham are single-carriageway

Google The A66 is a single carriageway with white road markings depicting 'no overtaking' down the middle. The road is bordered by some lush green trees and fields beyond. There is a grey car travelling on the right-hand side of the road. — Parts of the A66 in County Durham are single-carriageway

Moss said it was "just about impossible now" to get tractors directly out on to the A66 because drivers seemed to ignore national speed limits.

National guidelines on single carriageways are 60mph (97km/h) for cars and 50mph (80km/h) for heavy good vehicles (HGVs).

The A66, which runs from Penrith to Scotch Corner, has more than twice the national average of HGV traffic for a road of its kind, the Department for Transport previously said.

Plans to fully dual the route were approved again last year, after the government put the scheme on hold, but timeline for the work is yet to be confirmed.

Moss said: "Until they do that [widen the road], they need to do a bit of work to try and make it safer."

National Highways said safety was its priority and improvement projects, including dualling, were in the works.

"There will also be a new grade-separated junction linking local roads to the A66, along with the construction of a new bridge at Cross Lanes junction and improvements to the existing junction of the B6277," a spokesperson said.

"We are working closely with the government to develop the [A66] project and the timeline for construction."

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