Nearly £7 million to be spent on making one of Wiltshire's most dangerous roads safer

A skateboard sticker on a sign indicating humps on the road is seen on a badly damaged section of the B4069 near Lyneham in Wiltshire
Wiltshire was identified as having roads some of the most high-risk roads in England. Credit: PA

One of Wiltshire's most dangerous roads is set to receive almost £7 million from the government to be made safer.

The funding comes as part of the governments Safer Road scheme, spending £47.5 million on improving roads in England that were identified as being high-risk.

The A3102 between the M4 junction 16 near Swindon and the A350 in Melksham are two of twenty-seven roads nationwide set to benefit from the road safety investment.

The scheme will look to reduce congestion, journey times and emissions by improving junctions and re-designing road signs and markings.

Wiltshire Council has previously been awarded more than £26 million of government funding to spend on improving its roads, mainly towards resurfacing roads, new road markings, replacing traffic signs and filling potholes.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said that whilst roads in the country are mostly safe there is always room for improvement

He said: “Britain’s roads are some of the safest in the world, but we are always looking at ways to help keep drivers and all road users safe.

“We’re injecting £47.5 million so that local councils around the country have the support they need to keep everyone safe, while reducing congestion and emissions and supporting local economies.”

Dr Suzy Charman, Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation said: “The commitment and funding announced today is transformational for road safety teams in local authorities across the country. 

"It will allow them to proactively reduce risk and make these 27 roads safer and more inviting for all road users.

“Systematic changes have already had a big impact on road death and serious injury, for example seatbelts and airbags protect lives when crashes happen. 

"In the same way we can design roads so that when crashes happen people can walk away, by clearing or protecting roadsides, putting in cross hatching to add space between vehicles, providing safer junctions like roundabouts or adding signalisation and/or turning pockets, and including facilities for walking and cycling.”