Chester MP Stephen Mosley has taken concerns about safety and capacity at one of Chester’s most notoriously congested traffic hotspots to the Highways Agency.
Regular travellers into Chester, whose daily routine involves navigating the A483 / B5445 Pulford Roundabout and the main A483 / A55 junction (the Posthouse roundabout), will be all too aware of the rush hour congestion that can add up to 30 minutes to their journey.
Traffic on the Wrexham Road has been known to back up all the way to Pulford village during morning rush hour, and on the A483 as far back as the Dodleston Lane flyover, but now the Highways Agency is assessing the feasibility of improving the road configuration to relieve traffic congestion.
Stephen Mosley said:
“Anyone who has experienced the congestion on these stretches of road will know of the frustration trying to get past the Pulford and Posthouse roundabouts. I have been contacted by constituents who are at the end of their tether with queuing, and I am delighted that the Highways Agency has promised to look at improvements to reduce the queues.”
In response to Mr Mosley, the Highways Agency explained:
“We are considering the feasibility of a possible improvement scheme to address the problem of vehicles queuing on the A483 northbound approach to Pulford Roundabout, and along the section linking it to the main A55 trunk road junction in both directions. In parallel, we are looking at the possibility of improvements to the main A55 junction.
“Should a decision be made to proceed with these projects, then work could start during the 2013/14 financial year, but delivery of this potential scheme within that timescale would be subject to the availability of funding, affordability, and whether it represents good value for money.”
In addition, between April 2007 and June 2011 thirteen personal injury accidents occurred at the junction, with eleven classed as slight and two considered serious. The majority of these accidents were in free-flowing traffic outside of peak hours with no blame attributed to the layout of the junction or its operation.
However, the rate of personal injury accidents at the junction has led the Highways Agency to consider safety improvements at the junction – mainly improved road markings and signs which will hopefully occur in the 2012/13 financial year.
