Safety call after tractor accident on Shropshire border
Average speed cameras and strengthened crash barriers could prevent tragedies happening on a road bridge on the Shropshire/Wales border, says a councillor.
A tractor driver was left with his cab hanging more than 100 feet above the Ceiriog Valley after a crash involving two cars on the A4/A483 Chirk Bypass.
Chirk Councillor Terry Evans said it was lucky that none of the vehicles plunged over the viaduct.
"Someone could easily have been killed in the crash," he said. "As well as the injuries and possible loss of life, accidents on this stretch of road mean traffic is diverted through Chirk. It has been chaos in the town this week.
"Chirk Town Council has been calling for improvements to that stretch of road for years. It should have been a dual carriageway from the beginning.
"I really can't see the road becoming a dual carriageway in my lifetime, so we need to look at safety improvements."
Councillor Evans said the bridge section needed strong crash barriers.
"At the moment is is more like fencing. How that tractor did not go over the edge I do not know. What is needed there is a proper crash barrier so vehicles will glance off it."
"Also I believe the entire stretch of the A5/A483, from the Mile End roundabout at Oswestry to the dual carriageway at Ruabon should be controlled by average speed cameras. They work in other areas, they would slow the traffic down here."
