Durham fatal crashes: Work begins to improve road

Traffic lights are being installed at junctions where two people died in crashes in the past year.

There were seven serious crashes over four years at the West Rainton and Pittington Road junctions on the A690, near Durham, police figures show.

A young mother died in a crash in the area in July and a man in December.

Local resident Nichola Hall said the community were relieved the work was being carried out as they "didn't want to lose any more lives".

Durham County Council said the roadworks - starting on Tuesday - would take up to 14 weeks to complete.

Ms Hall, who lives in West Rainton, said she welcomed the measures but said they had been waiting "more than 20 years" for action.

She started a petition for the safety measures after July's fatal crash.

"When it was somebody from the village with young children - a popular young mum - [died], it reinforced the need to shout from the rooftops and get something done," she said.

As part of the measures, the council will also widen, resurface and repaint the carriageway and a pedestrian island will be installed.

David and Joan Russell, who have lived in the village for 13 years, said traffic lights would "save lives".

Mr Russell said: "There's not a day goes by without you hearing horns beeping, from the garden you can hear all the horns.

"We've seen a number of accidents, unfortunately there's been some deaths as well."

Durham MP Mary Foy said the work had been "long overdue" following a significant campaign for measures.

The Labour MP said: "Everyone who uses the A690 will know how difficult this junction is to navigate, and residents have been fighting for this stretch of road to be made safe for decades.

"It shouldn't take a series of fatal collisions for action to be taken on a well-known accident blackspot".

The council said the work was being partially funded by the developer of new homes nearby.

Mark Jackson, the council's head of transport, said: "We know the A690 is a main route for motorists, so we would like to thank people for their patience while these improvements are carried out."

Michael Wood, who has lived in the village for more than three decades, urged drivers to be sensible once the new measures are in place.

He said: "Everybody is in a hurry, I've seen drivers go up the wrong carriageway to cut corners - there's a lot of horn blasting.

"I've seen quite a lot of accidents and most of them are avoidable".

Durham Police were contacted for a comment.

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