Campaigners calling for A180 to become a motorway

Campaigners are calling for the A180 to be turned into a motorway following two serious accidents involving broken down vehicles.

A lorry driver, who is thought to have broken down in a live lane on the eastbound carriageway, has been left fighting for his life in an incident between Immingham^[1] and Barnetby^[2] Top. Another lorry collided with his on Thursday, 20 July. Tragically, a mother and son from Scunthorpe lost their lives in a similar incident on the westbound carriageway of road after they too apparently broke down in a live lane.

Nicola Courtney, 34, and son Lucas Page, 3, were travelling in a blue Ford Focus when they were hit by an articulated lorry on Friday, 10 March. Now, Ulceby^[3] Road Safety Group is calling for an upgrade the A180^[4] to motorway status so it includes three live lanes and a hard shoulder on each carriageway.

A spokesperson said: "We see a lot of the impact these accidents have as the village acts as part of the diversion route when the A180 closes for the incidents. However, we don't think the infrastructure is able to cope with the level of traffic^[6] we're now seeing.

"The increased traffic flow from both Immingham and Grimsby^[7] docks has outgrown the road and it's becoming saturated. If the docks continue to expand, it will only make a bad situation worse."

They added: "The road was built in somewhat of a hurry a number of years ago, but nobody accounted for the growth we've seen since then." To alleviate the problem, the group feel a hard shoulder is necessary at the very least. "With no hard shoulder this is what can happen and we've seen similar incidents on Smart Motorways across the country.

"There is no safe lane for people to pull over to and events like last night and what happened in March are the results. With this amount of traffic, the right infrastructure needs putting in place."

When spoken to back in March following the deaths of Nicola and Lucas, the group voiced their concerns that this type of accident would happen again if something wasn't done. "Only four months ago we predicted this might happen and having already lost two lives something needs to be done.

"We know it would cost a lot, but there shouldn't be a price tag on human life. If it doesn't become a motorway soon or the hard shoulders aren't added, this will happen again."

The group is campaigning for the A180 to become three lanes wide with a hard shoulder on both carriageways. "We want three lanes either side and a hard shoulder to give people somewhere safe to pull off should they break down. Other roads in the country have done it so why shouldn't we."

Martin Vickers^[8], MP for Cleethorpes^[9], which is at the end of the eastbound carriageway, will be looking to speak about safety issues in an upcoming meeting with National Highways who manage the road. He said: "I'm due to meet with them in connection with getting rid of the A180's concrete surface and this will be the perfect chance to raise any safety issues."

References

1. ^{^} Immingham (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Barnetby (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Ulceby (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
4. ^{^} A180 (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
5. ^{^} A180 crash leaves driver fighting for life after two lorries collide (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
6. ^{^} traffic (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Grimsby (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Martin Vickers (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
9. ^{^} Cleethorpes (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)