A MULTI-million pound dual carriageway has led to a 97 per cent drop in traffic through two South Lakeland villages in the five years since it opened, a new report has found.

Highways England has published its Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) on the two-and-a-half mile, £35 million A590 High Newton and Low Newton bypass, near Grange-over-Sands, which opened in April 2008.

The study – a requirement after a project has been running for five years – shows that the amount of traffic using the old A590 through the villages has fallen substantially from 17,900 to 550 each day, with 16,950 vehicles now using the new bypass every day.

It also found that average collision numbers in the area reduced down to one a year from five.

Three minutes have been shaved off journey times between the roundabouts with the B5277 and Newby Bridge during the morning and evening peak travel periods, with a two-minute saving outside peak travel times.

The study said that in the residents’ survey at One Year After stage, 83 per cent of respondents found an improvement in the ease and safety of crossing the road, and 49 per cent stated that they make more journeys on foot.

Graham Dakin, construction programme manager at Highways England, said: “We are delighted at the performance of the new bypass since it opened in 2008. There has been a massive drop in accidents and commuters and other road users have benefitted from faster and more reliable journey times.

“The landscaping of the route is also considered by many people to be an asset to the area, and people living in the villages of High Newton and Low Newton have seen a massive drop in the number of vehicles travelling past their homes.”

The full report for the A590 High Newtown and Low Newton bypass has now been published at www.gov.uk/government/publications/pope-of-major-schemes-a590-high-and-low-newton-bypass.