Can the A38 be made safer amid financial hurdles?

A Devon MP has conceded that his ambition to see major improvements to the vital A38 route through the county may take some time to come to fruition.

Luke Pollard, the Labour member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, has long argued that the 'Devon Expressway' should be upgraded. 

Back in 2018, the Labour party backed a study into extending the M5 to Plymouth.

He said at that time: “Extending the M5 to the Tamar Bridge will improve business links, improve safety on our roads and symbolically it will demonstrate the world does not end at Exeter. This is a really important step in the campaign to get Plymouth the transport links that it deserves. The study into the extension of the M5 will look at the long-term investment needed to reclassify and upgrade the A38.”

However, nothing has come of this plan since.

But this week Mr Pollard told The Moorlander that the cash-strapped government had inherited “a difficult financial position” from the outgoing Conservative administration.

Mr Pollard said: “The A38 is a lifeline for people in Plymouth but far too often it closes due to accidents and poor design. I want to see improvements to our transport links across the South West including the upgrade of this vital stretch of road, but Labour have inherited a difficult financial position from the Conservatives who have left Britain’s finances in their worst state since the Second World War. 

“This means renewing our road network won’t be easy but I will continue working cross-party to develop a long-term vision for the upgrade of the A38 and help deliver Plymouth the transport links it deserves.”

Meanwhile, newly elected Conservative MP for South West Devon, Rebecca Smith, has pledged to discuss road safety with the crime commissioner.

She told The Moorlander: “Recent traffic incidents on the A38 through South West Devon are a cause for concern and I will be raising this with National Highways in due course. I will also be discussing road safety with Cornwall and Devon Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez, who is chair of the South West Road Safety Peninsula Partnership programme and is a champion for safer roads.”

ABOVE: Deep Lane junction off the A38 at Plympton. Image: David Dixon

The Moorlander also contacted National Highways to see if they had any infrastructure planned for future developments to make the A38 safer.

Jack Mason, engineering team manager at National Highways, said: “Safety is our number one priority and our road safety team regularly reviews the Strategic Road Network, implementing interventions where needed. Recent injury data from Stats 19, which are accidents that resulted in injury validated by the Department for Transport, shows that between Exeter and Plymouth, collisions declined between 2018 and 2022. To further improve journeys and safety, we are planning signage improvement works at the Splatford Split, adjacent to Kennford, and we have also been looking at Harcombe Bends.”

The collision data provided by Devon County Council for the A38 between the M5 junction at Exeter and the beginning of the A38 dual carriageway near Deep Lane, Plymouth shows the number of collisions resulting in injuries for each year from 2019 to 2023. 

Here’s what the data reveals:

• 2019: 47 collisions - This year saw the highest number of reported collisions in the given period.
• 2020: 28 collisions - There was a significant drop in collisions compared to 2019. This decrease could be attributed to reduced traffic volumes during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
• 2021: 35 collisions - The number of collisions increased compared to 2020 but did not return to the 2019 levels.
• 2022: 25 collisions - This year saw the lowest number of collisions in the period, indicating a positive trend towards fewer accidents.
• 2023: 33 collisions - The number of collisions increased again compared to 2022 but remained lower than the 2019 figure.

Overall, the data shows a fluctuating trend in the number of collisions, with a notable reduction in 2020 likely due to pandemic-related changes in traffic patterns. 

Despite some improvements, the number of collisions in 2023 suggests that safety concerns on this stretch of the A38 remain, highlighting the need for ongoing efforts to enhance road safety and infrastructure.

Wes Loring, a local commuter on the A38 told The Moorlander: “Whether it’s the driver, or the stretch of concrete itself, the A38 has been notoriously dangerous for several years and it seems to be getting worse. It is poorly lit at night times and there is unnecessary lane merging, instead of sticking to either two or three lanes. Users either drive dangerously slow in the slow lane or ludicrously fast in the outer lane. It feels prehistoric that Plymouth and Cornwall are yet to have a motorway, it’s especially needed during peak times throughout the summer when tourists and campers are travelling down for their holidays.”

Can we make the A38 safer? 

This remains a pressing question as the community, local MPs and National Highways continue to seek solutions to improve safety and infrastructure on this critical route.