Autumn start for Cumbria A590 roundabout scheme

Construction work on a £1.5m roundabout along the A590 at Greenodd near Ulverston in Cumbria is on course for an autumn start.

Highways Agency confirmation of a start date comes after months of uncertainty during which the staff refused to confirm funding for the roundabout, despite having promised to take action years ago.

Official county council statistics show there have been 284 accidents on the A590 within South Lakeland over the past 5 years – eight of them fatal and 33 of them serious.

Site visits and some preparatory work have already begun and some advanced embankment work will begin in July.

However, road users and local people are being advised that the construction work on the roundabout itself won’t begin until September.

It forms part of a £317m national government programme to remove bottlenecks, improve safety and keep traffic moving on England’s motorways and major A roads.

The roundabout will replace the current junction layout and provide safer joining arrangements from the A5092 county council road.

Touring the A590 in September, Roads Minister Stephen Hammond pledged his support for the project and it was confirmed in October in a £30.9m package of regional schemes.

Andy Withington, the Highways Agency’s regional service delivery manager, said: “ We are aware that there is a lot of public interest in activities around the site at present related to various surveys and some preparation - but work on constructing the roundabout itself and associated roadworks affecting the A590 and A5092 won’t be starting until the autumn.”