A NOTORIOUS East Lancashire motorway junction is to be finally re-lit following serious concerns about safety.

The move has been hailed as a victory for the Lancashire Telegraph’s ‘Turn the Light on Campaign’, which was launched following three deaths in 18 months on a danger stretch of the M65.

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The Highways Agency is planning to upgrade the Junction 8 slip road at Huncoat by repairing and then replacing lights following pressure from East Lancashire coroner Michael Singleton, politicians and the Lancashire Telegraph.

Engineers claim the move along with spending £325,000 on hi-tech white lines and ‘cats eyes’ will improve night-time visibility and make the stretch from Junction 4 at Blackburn South to Junction 10 safer.

However calls to completely turn the M65 lights back on is being refused, a decision the Telegraph will continue campaigning against. Highways bosses claim the latest improvements make further lighting unnecessary. Mr Singleton and local politicians welcomed the improvements but warned they did not go far enough.

MPs Jack Straw, Graham Jones, Gordon Birtwistle and Andrew Stephenson all demanded: “Why don’t they just switch the lights back on?”

The cross-party group will write to the Highways Agency calling for lighting to return during hours of darkness as demanded by the Lancashire Telegraph’s ‘Turn the Lights on Campaign’.

The campaign was launched in November 2013 after Burnley-born father-of-four Mark Burgess died in crash at Junction 8 with following vehicles crashing into debris.

Mr Burgess’s girlfriend Kirsty Tipping of Abbey Village said: “This is small improvement but it’s simply not enough. We just need the lights back on so no-one else goes through what I and Mark’s family have been through.”

“Turning them back on is the only way to make this stretch of motorway safe.”

Mr Singleton said: “This is an improvement and is welcome but more is needed. The lights need to be restored.”

The decision to turn off the M65 motorway lights was made in March 2011. A spokesman for Lancashire County Council, responsible for the rest of the M65 East to Junction 14 at Colne, said they had no plans to upgrade white lines and cats eyes or drop proposals to remove the lights, already switched off from midnight to 5am, later this year.

Lancashire Telegraph Editor Kevin Young said: “At last the Highways Agency have listened to our ‘Turn the Lights on Campaign’, Coroner Michael Singleton and the voices of all the experts concerned about driving in the dark on this dangerous stretch of the M65.

“It is a significant if small victory for our campaign and we will continue to make the case for a properly illuminated motorway until the agency and County Hall see the light and turn the street lamps crucial to safety back on.”

During the inquest into Mr Burgess’ death Mr Singleton singled out lack of lighting at the junction for the ‘carnage’, writing to the Highways Agency calling for a rethink.

In July last year Mohammed Iqbal and Mazafar Iqbal died in a collision between Junctions 9 and 10 renewing calls for lights to be switched back on.

Yesterday the Highways Agency gave details of the £325,000 carriageway improvement scheme between Junctions 4 and10. They include renewing all carriageway and slip lane white lines with the latest embossed road marking, a new treatment boosting night-time visibility in wet weather.

All ‘cats eyes’ will be replaced with more reflective versions.

Slip road lighting at junction 8, dark for more than a year will be repaired by the end of next week, with a full LED lighting renewal scheme to follow.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “The improvements are part of routine repair and maintenance work across the network. The new white lines and reflective road studs will improve visibility, particularly in wet conditions.”

“The lights at the junction 8 slip roads and roundabout near Padiham have not been working for some time, and we are carrying out work to repair the faulty cables.

“ A full scheme to replace the lights at the junction with new LED lighting columns will take place later in the year.

“Safety is our top priority and we are satisfied that the decision not to light this section of motorway has not had a notable effect on collisions during dark conditions or on road safety. We therefore do not plan to reinstate lighting on this route although we will continue to monitor the motorway.”

A county council spokesman said: “On the section which the county council is responsible for the reflective line markings and cats eyes are in good condition.”We therefore have no current plans to replace them.”