East Lancashire's danger roads 'need improved markings' (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire's danger roads 'need improved markings'

4:00pm Friday 23rd November 2012 in News By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

TWO of East Lancashire’s most dangerous highways have been highlighted by a safety group as needing rad-ically improved road markings.

The bikers’ favourite A646 from Burnley to Todmorden and the A 671 from Whalley to the M65 at Padiham, including the infamous Devil’s Elbow bend at Read, are identified as among the roads most in need of their lines repainting.

The Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA) has produced a list of the UK roads where markings are not up to standard.

The M66 between Ramsbottom and Bury features as one of the worst five motorway sections in Britain, with 49 per cent of its white lines in need of an immediate repaint.

Also on the danger list is the A59 from Preston to Whalley, where two thirds of the dual carriageway has inadequate road markings, while the stretch of the A56 from Ramsbottom to the M65 needs more than a third of its white lines revamping.

Another worrying road in the area is the A671 — which has seen many deaths — where 34 per cent of road markings need immediate replacement and 26 per cent a programmed repaint.

And the A646 road from Burnley to Halifax via Todmorden needs 50 per cent of its marking upgrading immediately and 16 per cent soon, says the RSMA chief executive George Lee.

He said: “I used to live in Haslingden so know East Lancashire well. These are dangerous roads, especially the A671 and A646. Road markings are the most effective and cheapest way of improving safety. We want to see them kept in good order on all roads.”

Andy Ashcroft, highways manager for Lancashire County Council which maintains the A672, said: “We inspect all A-roads on a very regular basis and road markings are ref-reshed as part of an ongoing programme of maintenance, with particular attention paid to areas where safety is an issue.

“The A671 has a comparably good safety record for a busy A-road but this does not mean we are complacent and we will carry out a further inspection in response to this report.”

A spokesperson for the High-ways Agency, which maintains the other highlighted roads, said: “Where markings on sections of road are found to be sub-standard and require urgent improvement, we take prompt action to remedy them.”