Safety work at accident blackspot comes decade after horror crash

The Department for Transport has re-confirmed that Rotherham Council will receive £11.8m to support its plan to improve the two-and-a-half kilometre stretch of road from the A57 at Todwick crossroads to junction 31 of the M1.

In turn, the council will add funding of £2.9m to the long-awaited scheme, which will see the notorious winding piece of road turned into a dual carriageway.

Due to a cut in funding from the Government, the new scheme is slightly different from the one originally proposed.

Under the revised plans, the road will have a pedestrian crossing to replace the originally planned subway and, as a result, the road will also have a 50mph speed limit instead of 70mph.

Planning permission will need to be granted before the roadworks begin and an application is set to go before Rotherham Council’s planning board in the “coming months.”

The authority will also be seeking confirmation of the previously-made compulsory purchase order at a public inquiry likely to be held in the summer.

Subject to the compulsory purchase order and planning permission both going ahead, roadworks could begin in the summer of 2012.

Coun Gerald Smith, Rotherham Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and environment, said that despite the “lengthy and often frustrating” process, he now hoped the “much-needed” scheme will finally go ahead.

He added: “This is an important highway in the borough, carrying high levels of traffic, and it needs to be as safe as possible.

“It is also vital for continued local regeneration. So it is good to see that the present Government agrees with our intended improvements because the A57 is the only so-called major road scheme to be given the go-ahead in the whole of South Yorkshire.

“The authority obviously has to go through the necessary processes, such as planning and a public enquiry, but if these are successful work should start next year.”

The road has a bad crash record, including an incident where six people died in a head-on smash at the crossroads in July 2000, in an incident where a Toyota Land Cruiser packed with nine friends collided head-on with a Daewoo car, killing three members of the same family.

The Daewoo driver, 79-year-old Roy Holmes, along with his wife Audrey Holmes and their daughter-in-law Diane Holmes, all from Crookes in Sheffield, were killed in the smash.

The drink-driver who was at the wheel of the Landcruiser, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars although that term was later cut to 10 years on appeal.

The court heard he had drunk 13 pints of beer on a Bank Holiday pub crawl before driving the Toyota, which was owned by a friend.

Another head-on crash happened at the crossroads last November. Then, a 47-year-old woman suffered a broken arm when her blue Citroen collided with a silver Vauxhall Astra being driven by a 68-year-old man.

The driver broke his shoulder, while two of his female passengers suffered whiplash.

More roadworks are also due to begin in South Yorkshire next week. Works by Yorkshire Water will start at 9am on Monday to repair a mains sewer on the Taylors roundabout at Parkgate in Rotherham, where the A633 Rotherham Road meets the A6123 Great Eastern Way.

A council spokesman said the works, to repair a partially-collapsed sewer that floods during wet weather, are likely to cause “considerable delays” and drivers are advised to take alternative routes.

On the same day, resurfacing works will begin at the A61 Wakefield Road in Staincross, Barnsley with temporary traffic lights will be in operation.