A Nottinghamshire MP says the spending of £1.5 million to make some of the county's roads safer will "save lives." The Government has announced a £50 million funding package to improve some of the country's most dangerous roads.
The new funding will be used on 27 roads, two of which are in Nottinghamshire. The money will be spent on the A6130 between the A60 and A6005 in Nottingham, as well as the A609 between the A610 in Nottingham and the A6514.
The A609 runs past areas including Radford and Beechdale, eventually passing through Wollaton and going on to areas including Trowell and Ilkeston. The A6130, meanwhile, passes through areas including Lenton, Radford and Hyson Green.
The investment in Nottinghamshire's roads alone totals £1,425,000. Elsewhere, £475,000 will be spent on safety improvements along the A52 in Derby.
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Putting in cross hatchings to add space between vehicles, adding signalisation and including facilities for walking and cycling are among the safety improvements that money could be spent on. The new investment has been announced through the third round of the Safer Roads Fund, previous rounds of which focused on making improvements to the 50 highest risk A roads in England.
Mansfield's Conservative MP and Nottinghamshire County Council's Leader, Ben Bradley, said: "I am delighted at government investing significant amounts of money into improving safety on Nottinghamshire's roads. The A52, A609 and A6130 are all vital roads for our county and it is vital that people are safe on these roads.
"We all know that unsafe roads can be fatal for drivers, and we must increase road safety to ensure people can get on with their day to day lives without harm. This vital funding will not only save lives but improve day-to-day journeys for people getting to work or to visit friends and family."
Analysis from the Road Safety Foundation estimates that the £50 million investment should prevent around 760 fatal and serious injuries over the next 20 years. The Road Safety Foundation's analysis also provided the basis for deciding which roads would receive investment.
Dr Suzy Charman, the Executive Director of the Road Safety Foundation said: "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 safely so when crashes occur, people can walk away.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper 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."
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