Townhead Junction works to begin during Easter holidays

Police attend one of a dozen recent collisions at the notorious Townhead Junction

Work is to begin at Townhead junction during the Easter school holiday period. The proposed start date is Monday 4 April and is expected to take a week to finish.

The junction became notorious following a long string of accidents since its re-opening in October 2015, and calls were made for a new right filter to be installed.

Despite council officers saying that the accidents were due to drivers “ignoring” traffic signals, accidents continued to take place and eventually the council leader, Councillor Richard Farnell ordered changes for safety reasons.

Steve Reay, highways services manager at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Rochdale Highways Service has been instructed to install a right turn traffic signal arrow for vehicles using the Townhead junction wishing to turn right from Yorkshire Street into Whitworth Road.

"To minimise disruption to road users it is intended to undertake the works during the Easter school holiday period when traffic flows are usually lighter. The proposed start date for the works on site is Monday 4 April 2016. The works are expected to take a week to complete and will require some off-peak lane closures between 9:30am and 3pm, Monday to Friday.”

The most recent accident took place at the junction last Thursday. Rochdale Online has reported on 12 collisions since October.