Calls for roundabout to end 'heartbreaking accidents'

Tim Farron and councillors Steve Bavin and Janet Battye on the A590 at the Gilpin Bridge Junction.

An MP has called for a new roundabout to be built to avoid serious crashes.

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, wants National Highways to make safety improvements to a section of the A590.

Crashes at the junction have led to a number of serious incidents including the death of an 80-year-old cyclist.

National Highways said it was carrying out a £900,000 project to improve safety on the A590 between Greenodd and Newby Bridge.

Mr Farron said the A590 was "such an important road for South Cumbria but too often we see tragic and heartbreaking accidents".

"I am determined to work with local councillors and residents to secure a roundabout at Gilpin Bridge so we can make this vital road safer for everyone," he added.

'Everything stops'

Westmorland and Furness councillor Janet Battye called for a roundabout to be built where the A5074, the Lyth Valley road, joins the A590.

She said the A590 was "the only way to Barrow, but with the combination of business traffic, holidaymakers and local traffic, if anything happens on that road, everything stops".

She added that there were crashes on the road every year.

In 2021, four people were seriously injured in a crash involving a car and a cement lorry, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

National Highways said it was committed to "improving safety along the route".

It said its £10m Cross-a-Moor project had already replaced a staggered junction with a roundabout and a £900,000 package of safety improvements between Greenodd and Newby Bridge was "ongoing".

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “We will continue to listen and review the safety of the A590 and look for opportunities to make improvements in the next 2025 to 2030 Road Investment Strategy (RIS) period.”