A fatal crash has led to renewed calls for a 50mph speed limit on a notorious stretch of the A66.
Chloe Lightfoot, a 33-year-old mother of one, was killed last month when her van collided with an HGV near Cross Lanes.
The vital cross-country trunk road was closed due to the incident, leading to hours of traffic chaos as drivers desperately tried to find alternative routes through Teesdale.
Barnard Castle was virtually gridlocked for several hours and there were reports of HGVs illegally using the County Bridge, despite the 7.5 tonnes weight limit.
Parish councillors have long campaigned for stricter speed limits on the two-lane section of the A66 from Greta Bridge to the Cross Lanes junction, east of Bowes. The road narrows from dual carriageway to single at those pinch-points.
Cllr Peter Moss, of Ewebank Farm, has to negotiate that section of the A66 every time he drives his tractor to his fields nearby.
He is mystified by the lack of action from National Highways to reduce the risks to drivers, particularly after so many serious incidents on the road.
Cllr Moss said Rokeby, Brignall and Egglestone Abbey Parish Council has made repeated attempts to push the Highways Agency to introduce safety measures on that section of the A66.
“I’m on the parish council and we’ve tried for a number of years to get a speed limit on this section of the A66,” he told the Mercury.
“They come back and say it’s not justified because there haven’t been enough accidents over the years. I think even one accident justifies it but it’s well known that there have been many accidents on this part of the A66.
“It’s terrible to have these accidents but my argument is that if the traffic was moving more slowly, the accidents may not have happened or may not have been as serious.”
Cllr Moss says a major issue is the speed vehicles heading east from Bowes are travelling when dropping down from Gallows Hill towards Cross Lanes.
“At the Bowes end of this section, the road tapers in where the Scargill junction is, and then slightly further down you’ve got the Barnard Castle junction and the Cross Lanes Farm Shop and Brignall junction on the other side,” he explained.
“Vehicles come down the hill at 70mph or even faster as they approach the single-carriageway section. Many are still overtaking as the road narrows!
“I just think if there was a 50mph speed limit well before that section it might slow cars down.
“There’s a 50mph speed limit on the A66 near Ravensworth and it’s so much better because of that.
“We did campaign for speed cameras and the van is here quite regularly but you need permanent ones to have a long-term impact.”
Cllr Moss believes the problem is made worse by the confusing design of the junctions leading on and off the A66.
One possible stumbling block to making changes to the road signage and/or layout of the junctions is the fact that the delayed plans to dual the remaining single-carriageway sections of the A66 have finally been given the green light.
“There’s the argument that they’re now going to widen the road and that will sort the problem, but nobody really knows when that work will be completed,” argues Cllr Moss.
“There’s talk that the work will start near Penrith so it could be years before they get to this part of the A66.”
A County Durham Police spokesman made the following statement regarding the incident.
“Shortly after 8am, emergency services were called to the A66 near Bowes following reports of a collision between a HGV and a Citroen Berlingo van.
“Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the driver of the van, a woman in her 30s, was sadly confirmed dead. Her family have been notified and are being supported by specialist officers.
“The driver of the HGV was unhurt but shaken.”
A National Highways spokesman said: “National Highways regarding the demands for stricter speed limits and concern over the confusing layout of the junctions leading on and off the A66.
A spokesman made the following comment: “Road user safety is always our priority.
“We constantly monitor the roads for safety and will introduce additional safety measures where necessary and suitable to do so.
“The A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project will improve this section of the carriageway by introducing a grade separated junction, and a new section of dual carriageway.
“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.
“We are working closely with the Department of Transport to develop the project and the timeline for construction”
Grade separated junctions mean cars pull on and off major roads from junctions that are on a separate level, similar to motorways.
