How Shropshire Council will spend £650k of Government funding to improve 'dangerous' Shrewsbury road

On Friday, the Department for Transport revealed Shropshire Council was to receive a share of a £38.3 million government investment to improve road safety on 17 of the country’s "most high-risk roads".

£650,000 will be given to improve safety on the A5191 in Shrewsbury – between the junction with the A5112 at Heathgates island to the north, and the junction with the A458 at Wyle Cop to the south.

Between 2018 and 2023 there were 70 recorded casualties along the A5191, including 15 serious injuries, of which 10 were pedestrian and 16 were cyclists.

The project will include a range of traffic management measures that aim to reduce the number of casualties on the road, and align with planned work to improve the railway station gyratory area, and the redevelopment of the Flaxmill Maltings site.

Work will include a new pedestrian crossing at Mount Pleasant road junction, vehicle activated signs and central hatching to reduce speeds.

Changes will also be made on access to commercial premises near Long Row and Wingfield Gardens, as access is currently gained across the footway.

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said: “All external funding to help improve road safety in Shropshire is to be welcomed so this is great news.

“We welcomed the recent announcement that the A5191 Shrewsbury Safer Road Scheme had been selected as one of the infrastructure projects set to receive funding under the Government’s new Growth Plan – and we’re now delighted that our subsequent funding bid has been successful and that work can soon begin to improve safety on this busy stretch of road.”