Cornwall’s "worst accident blackspot" to be removed under weekend A30 closure
It's part of National Highways' Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade
The Chiverton Cross roundabout, Cornwall’s notorious "accident blackspot", will become a thing of the past next month.
As part of National Highways’ A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade, work will take place to realign traffic on a gyratory under new structures across the existing roundabout, ahead of work to align and elevate the new A30 dual carriageway across the junction.
The work, which will take place under a weekend closure between Scorrier and Boxheater, will see the A30 realigned to the east and west of the current roundabout, and with a contraflow in place, which will maintain access to the A390, A3075 and B3277 while further work continues during the year.
Traffic flows on the A30 are forecast to rise by up to 29% to 2038, and the removal of the current roundabout will ultimately help to meet two of National Highways’ objectives for the scheme, to remove congestion and improve safety along the route.
Neil Winter, National Highways’ Senior Project Manager for the scheme, said: "We’re not only removing the Chiverton roundabout but also Cornwall’s worst accident hot-spot.
"Safety is our number one priority, the collision data highlighted the issue at the roundabout before we started the scheme and the latest police data shows Chiverton has the highest number of collisions, 14 between the start of 2019 and end of 2021.
"The scheme is progressing this year, the reconfiguration of the A30 at Chiverton represents a real milestone for the project, and with the Chiverton roundabout effectively disappearing, drivers using the A30 will see this taking shape after the weekend and will see a real difference once the scheme’s completed."
The weekend closure will also see at wo-mile section of the A390 closed from the Chiverton roundabout to Langarth Park to allow for works to construct the new westbound slip road configuration at Three Burrows.
During the closure, from 8.00pm on Friday, 16 June to 6.00am on Monday, 19 June, eastbound traffic will be diverted via the A3075 to Goonhavern and the B3285 to re-join the A30 at Boxheater, with the westbound diversion operating in reverse.
For HGVs and Truro access, the diversion will be via the A39, A393 and A3047, while access will be maintained across the A30, via the B3284 at Chybucca for emergency services’ vehicles, and diversion routes have been communicated to bus companies.
Mr Winter added: "We appreciate the closure will have an effect on people’s journeys, and we understand roadworks can be frustrating, but we are carrying out this essential workover one weekend, and working alongside Cornwall Council and the Royal Cornwall Hospital to ensure access is maintained as much as possible.
"We’ve been communicating the closure to local communities and businesses, more information is available on our website, and we thank drivers in advance for their patience while the work takes place."
Connor Donnithorne, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport said: "These largely government funded works will significantly enhance this vitally important and strategic route by alleviating congestion, improving safety, as well as helping to improve journey times for local people, businesses, and visitors by tackling one of Cornwall’s last major bottlenecks.
"It will also help to unlock economic growth in the Duchy, and I hope that residents will feel that the temporary inconvenience caused by these necessary road closures will be far outweighed by the benefits of improving this stretch of the A30."
The new carriageway is scheduled to be opened in winter 2023/2024,.