Call to put brakes on A1 carnage with safety upgrade

Pontefract MP Yvette Cooper is backing calls for the section of dual carriageway between Barnsdale Bar and Darrington in West Yorkshire to be upgraded to motorway status.

Statistics from Leeds City Council’s accident studies section reveal that 520 people have been injured – 40 of them seriously – and nine killed between the two junctions in the last 11 years.

The five-mile stretch runs between two sections of the A1 motorway and includes a series of bends and dips along with laybys, driveways to people’s homes and farm tracks.

Ms Cooper said: “The road has sharp high-speed bends around Wentbridge, making it harder for drivers and higher risk. It’s tragic that there have been so many serious accidents, deaths and injuries and that’s why it’s so important the road is improved.

“I’ve already written to the Transport Secretary to urge him to look again at upgrading this stretch of the A1.

“It was important we got the upgrade north of Darrington ten years ago, but this is the next stretch that needs doing. It would also be a boost for the economy, creating jobs and making it easier for businesses and freight too.”

A 58-year-old lorry driver from Middlesbrough died in an early- hours horror crash on the A1 at Darrington in October.

And Thomas Burrow, 19, of Pear Tree Farm, Wentbridge, was killed after losing control of his Land Rover in heavy rain on the A1 at Wentbridge on May 11. He suffered fatal injuries after his 4X4 struck an HGV parked in a layby and rolled into a field.

Thomas’s father Simon Burrow, 48, said: “On this section of the A1 there is traffic volume, laybys and speed. The three don’t go together. It needs bringing up to motorway standard.

“Every week we get serious accidents. It’s mainly due to the fact it is a dual carriageway used as a motorway.”

Thomas’s mother Elizabeth, 47, said: “I don’t want any other families to lose loved ones on this horrendously dangerous road.”

A spokeswoman for the Highways Agency said: “There are currently no plans to upgrade this section of the A1 to motorway standard. However, the Highways Agency continues to carry out safety improvements and routine maintenance on this section – and elsewhere on the A1 and our wider network – wherever required.

“Recent improvement work on this stretch of the A1 has included resurfacing, lighting and bridge works.”