Fixed safety cameras on A66 in Cumbria

[mikero]

As reported in today's News & Star, permanent safety cameras are to be sited on A66 near Bassenthwaite Lake...

Permanent cameras will be installed on the A66 between Keswick and Cockermouth on Saturday.

The cameras are being installed to slow people down in the hope of reducing accidents on a 1.75-mile section of the westbound stretch of road, near Bassenthwaite Lake.

About 12,000 vehicles, including 1,400 heavy goods vehicles, use that section of road each day.

Between April 2004 and December 2008 there were 25 accidents there.

Infrared lighting, new signs and a new safety barrier will also be introduced.

Work to install the cameras begins on Saturday and should be finished by the end of the month.

The westbound carriageway will be temporarily closed while one of the two eastbound lanes is used as a contraflow lane.

A temporary 50mph speed restriction will be in place in both directions. Eastbound laybys and gaps in the central reserve will be closed with right-turn manoeuvres banned at Beck Wythop junction.

Phil Davies, project sponsor for the Highways Agency, said: “Permanent safety cameras on the strategic road network are few and far between and we only ever employ them for safety reasons.

“The westbound speed limit through this section of the A66 is already 50mph but we are having to introduce the cameras to ensure compliance with this limit.

“Accidents here are not only unacceptably high in terms of personal injuries but they also cause considerable disruption to travellers.”

[M8TJT]

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