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Intelligent traffic lights that reduce the need for vehicles to stop and start will form a key part of plans to cut congestion on one of the busiest routes in Central Lancashire.
The signals, which are set to replace a double roundabout on the A582 in the Farington area of South Ribble, will also prioritise buses and heavy goods vehicles in order to make public transport – and the revamped junction itself – operate more efficiently.
The scheme – which will see a radical revamp of the intersection between Flensburg Way, Farington Road, Croston Road and Centurion Way – was first proposed a year ago after a longstanding vision to turn the entire stretch of the A582 between Lostock Hall and Higher Penwortham into a dual carriageway was indefinitely postponed.
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More details about the exact layout and workings of the redesign have now been revealed in a planning application by Lancashire County Council seeking permission for the changes to what is one of the main road links between South Ribble and Preston.
If approved – and if government funding towards the cost of the £68.1m project is secured – the twin roundabouts would be replaced with three traffic light-controlled T-junctions. Unlike the current arrangement, the signals would enable the A582, as the main route, to be prioritised.
The technology underpinning the lights means they would be co-ordinated to create a so-called ‘green wave’ effect – allowing vehicles to pas through in one movement – and so reducing the stopping and starting of traffic.
According to documents accompanying the application, the system would also improve the “efficiency” of traffic flows via “intelligent systems which pick up the number of vehicles waiting at the lights”.
The junction’s operation would be further enhanced by the inclusion of “freight detection” to reduce the number of stops large vehicles need to make, especially those bound for the nearby Lancashire Business Park. Meanwhile, buses would also be similarly prioritised in order to keep them running to time.
The combined effect of the changes would be to minimise waiting times and bring the junction to within capacity during rush hour, rather than operating over capacity, as it does now.
The speed limit through the junction would be set at 40mph – compared to 30mph at the existing roundabouts – while Farington Road would become a 50mph route, reduced from the current 60mph, with Croston Road South down to 30mph from 40mph at present. No other speed limits would change in the vicinity.
Six new integrated ‘Toucan’ crossings would also be installed across Centurion Way – which would be remodelled – the A582 and Croston Road North, along with a new zebra crossing on Croston Road South, making the new junction more safely and easily navigable by pedestrians. Segregated footpaths and cycleways would also be incorporated into the new-look junction.
The planning application states that the expected improvements in flow and capacity on the A582 should reduce pressure on surrounding routes, because motorists would be more likely to stick to the main road.
While much of the new layout would be able to be accommodated with the existing expanse of highway, some land would need to be acquired east of the junction, between Centurion Way and the River Lostock, and from the Model Farm site to the west. County council cabinet members have previously agreed to use compulsory purchase powers if necessary.
The application will be decided by the authority’s independent, cross-party development control committee.
Lancashire County Council has previously committed £19m towards the scheme – some £6m of which is being used in the preparation of a full business case – but is yet to learn whether the government will agree to stump up the additional £50m that would be required to realise the project.
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