Road to Hell 'will cost more lives'

MORE people are bound to die on the A14 before work begins on revamping it, a business boss has warned following the latest carnage there.

The crash on the Road to Hell, during evening rush-hour traffic on Thursday, claimed the lives of two people.

Police redirect traffic off the A14 at Milton following the accident on ThursdayJohn Bridge, chief executive of Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce, told the News: "The road is Cambridgeshire's Heathrow Terminal 5 - every day.

"It is not fit for purpose, and regrettably more people will surely be killed while we wait, and wait, for it to be made safer."

Two lorries and two cars were involved in a pile-up on the westbound carriageway at Girton.

The drivers of both cars - a man and a woman - were killed. The woman is thought to be local.

Massive disruption was caused not only on the A14, but on roads nearby. Jams built up in Cambridge, and many lorries tried to avoid the mayhem by rat-running through villages.

The A14 was shut for more than 13 hours, only re-opening at 7am yesterday.

The fire service scrambled five crews to the scene. Two crews from Cambridge and one from Cottenham were joined by a water foam unit from Newmarket and a rescue unit from Cambridge.

They put out a fire in one of the lorries before cutting a motorist free from the wreckage. Crews were at the scene for four hours, leaving just after 9.30pm.

Just a few days ago the Department for Transport confirmed to the News that the cost of widening the A14 between Ellington and Fen Ditton was currently running at £944 million.

Contractors have been chosen to draw up plans for the rebuilding scheme, but work is not due to start until 2010. The contractors will only build the middle section, between Fen Drayton and Histon.

The contractors for the other two stretches, Ellington to Fen Drayton and Histon to Fen Ditton, have not yet been finalised.

Mr Bridge said: "The chaos at Terminal 5 has affected people for only a few days. We have chaos on the A14 every day, and until the road is properly sorted out, it is going to keep happening.

"My great concern, apart from the fact that we still have to wait two years or more before any sort of work starts on the A14, is that the contract for only the middle part of it has been finalised. What about the other two stretches?
When will the Government finalise them?
"While they dither, people will continue to die."

The rat-running by lorries that followed the latest crash will reignite the debate about allowing bigger lorries on the UK's roads - some could be twice as large as those now allowed.

Mr Bridge said: "Larger lorries operate safely on the continent, and there is no reason why we should not have them here. But they can only run on roads that are suitable for them - and the present state of the A14 means it is just not fit for that purpose."

A 48-year-old man from the Cambridge area, who was driving one of the lorries in the latest crash, a Volvo, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and bailed to appear at Parkside police station in July.

The other lorry involved, a Renault, was driven by a 39-year-old man from West Yorkshire. He escaped with minor injuries.

Police have only confirmed details of one of the cars involved - a grey Fiat Punto.

Pc Dave Paul, who is investigating, said: "The road was extremely busy at the time of the collision and I would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident."

Road safety organisation Brake told the News the continuing toll of accidents was "completely unacceptable".

Spokeswoman Rachel Burr said: "The latest crash is an absolute tragedy that perhaps could have been avoided.

"The A14 is clearly not a safe road, and on those grounds, it is completely unacceptable that the rebuilding of it is taking so long. We call for safety measure to be brought forward now - waiting until 2010 is surely simply not an option."

Martin Dane, area manager for the Road Haulage Association, said: "We have been lobbying for years for the A14 to be upgraded and widened - we'd like to see it done next week, never mind in 2010."

He acknowledged it was a big project.
"But the situation as it is at present needs to be addressed somehow."

He added: "The Government and Highways Agency have a duty of care to all those who use the A14 - safety is a basic human right."

James Paice, MP for South East Cambridgeshire, said: "Obviously this is a tragedy. The sooner the A14 is made safer the better. This latest incident makes the case for urgent improvements to this dangerous road."

Andrew Lansley, South Cambridgeshire's MP, said: "A crash like this really brings home the human cost of the failure to upgrade the A14.
"It's not just a question of all the thousands of people who are stuck in jams because of what happened. It's about the families who lost loved ones.

"It is approaching an absolute scandal that, a decade on from the Government recognising that the A14 must be improved, nothing has happened."

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "We are committed to delivering the A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme and are progressing with it as quickly as possible. We appointed the contractor Costain Skanska Joint Venture in January to design the whole scheme. Their contract also includes the construction of the Fen Drayton to Histon section of the road.

"As already announced the other two sections (Ellington to Fen Drayton and Histon to Fen Ditton) will be tendered separately."

Completion was still on target for 2015 at the earliest, he said.

Anyone with information about the fatal accident is asked to ring Pc Dave Paul on 0845 456 4564.

Source - Cambridge News

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