Explore the history and ongoing safety concerns surrounding the A34, focusing on East Ilsley’s accident-prone areas.
A roads minister said they studied the A34 and improved the East Ilsley slip road in 2019 by widening it, resurfacing it, and adding markings. Bailey said something still needs doing and that she’ll talk about her survey results with National Highways, a survey that included 400 people.
Many people before her wanted changes. Councillors, MPs, and others also voiced concerns. The A34 started as a road in 1922, linking Winchester to Oxford in those days. It now stretches 151 miles, connecting Winchester and Greater Manchester.
The A34 helps freight travel and is useful for getting goods to places. But accidents happen frequently, and East Ilsley is a particularly bad spot. These accidents cost people time, money, and life.
East Ilsley once had one main street where traffic went both ways through the High Street. Crashes led to calls for a bypass which would divert traffic from the village, a bypass promised before World War II.
Lorries speeding down Star Hill were a problem, and houses were damaged in 1964. Villagers feared for their homes, and an MP wanted a 20mph speed limit. A bypass started construction in 1965 and was completed in 1966. The road problems, however, did not end there.
In 1980, many people died on UK roads, and in 1981, an MP said the A34 near East Ilsley was very dangerous. Part of the A34 had become a dual carriageway, but some sections remained single. It was the last single section between Oxford and Newbury.
The MP called it a narrow, twisting road. He questioned why it remained unsafe, saying the road was like a cattle track. The accident rate was very high, and an official agreed that the road was dangerous.
Gore Hill was the worst spot on the A34, where the road narrowed sharply. Cars crashed into farmland, sometimes killing people. Someone suggested bombing Gore Hill to fix it.
A plan to dual the road began in 1971, but work finally started in 1984. It cost £3.8 million and improved the road. The project finished in 1986, and barriers went up in 1990. People later wanted an underpass because barriers blocked an old route between villages.
The M40 extension added more traffic to the A34. In 1992, an MP wanted noise screens built, but these screens never appeared. A group formed in 2016 after a bad crash and wanted safety upgrades and lower speeds.
In five years, the A34 saw many accidents that caused deaths and injuries. The road closed often, and MPs wanted more investment for safety.
Speeding, traffic, and potholes cause crashes. The slip roads are too short and have low visibility. Drivers risk collisions when entering traffic, and when the A34 is blocked, cars use smaller roads.
People suggested fixes like crawler lanes. Others wanted more rail freight. Better signs and lower speeds were also suggested. Bailey is thankful for the public stories and will work with the government to improve road safety.