A HORROR junction has been blasted as one of Britain’s worst after a string of serious accidents and near-misses.
Residents living close to the brain-boggling turn-off on the busy A690 in County Durham say it is a “death trap”.
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Cars reportedly hurtle past it at 50mph, while those waiting to cross risk their lives to get to the central reservation.
But fed-up locals say the council is turning a blind eye to the traffic chaos – despite lives being lost.
A mum-of-eight died last July following a horrific two-car smash – and police closed the carriageway last month after another crash left a man with life-changing injuries.
Management consultant Neil Kell, who lives by the nightmare A-road, said: “I said to the council in 2017 ‘you need to act, because there will be a fatality’.
“It was the worst ‘I told you so’ you would want to be involved in.
“I thought that might see the council take action – but still there was nothing. Then we had the air ambulance out here last month.
“It makes you think – does it need somebody really important to be injured or killed before someone sits up and takes notice?
“It just beggars belief. What price does the council put on a human life? It’s not the cost of a set of traffic lights, obviously.”
When The Sun visited West Rainton, cars sped by beyond the 50mph limit as rain pounded the dual carriageway.
Vehicles waiting to turn on to the A690 dodged oncoming traffic to get to a central reservation, before gambling once again as lorries thundered towards them.
And wagons from a nearby timber merchants straddled it as they waited to turn into Pittington Road.
Worryingly, vital road markings appeared to have eroded.
Neil said his own family try to avoid using the junction, despite it being right next to their home.
“My wife works in Sunderland every day and she never turns right across the junction,” he said.
“She’ll turn left, and drive for a mile to the roundabout and then come back up the other side.
“We’re just not prepared to take the risk. We’ll take the long way just to avoid the stress.”
Does it need somebody really important to be injured or killed before someone sits up and takes notice?
Neil Kell
The 54-year-old said motorists commonly put themselves under pressure to cross the junction as those behind them get frustrated.
“Someone in the queue will start beeping their horn and someone will take a risk,” he added.
“You see the high profile stuff – the fatalities, the serious accidents – but what you don’t see are the near misses.
“They happen all the time. It’s just people who are desperate to get across.”
Proposals have been put forward for traffic lights several times since 2015.
But The Sun understands that the scheme has been delayed because Durham County Council believes it is the responsibility of a homebuilder with planning permission to develop a nearby field.
A petition signed by 3,500 locals reads: “It was acknowledged years ago that traffic lights were needed or the layout needed to change.
“This has been delayed because of money.”
Alan Lowery, who lives by the junction, said: “There have been plans to put in lights for years now but still we are waiting.
“It’s all down to cash. I’ve emailed the council lots of times – they get back to me but they just bluff their way through.
“They say they’re in discussion with the developers but that’s about it.”
‘CHAOS ON A DAILY BASIS’
Alan was so desperate for action to be taken he suggested the junction be closed completely until something could be done.
But his plea fell on deaf ears, with the local authority not even re-doing the road markings.
“It’s just chaos and it’s on a daily basis,” he added.
Retired professor Peter Tymms estimated that there is an accident at the junction every month.
The 73-year-old, who has lived there for 10 years, said: “It has always been a problem.
“It’s a difficult junction and there have been incidents here regularly, probably about one per month.
“We’ve got friends who come to see us who will travel several miles just to avoid the junction, knowing how unpleasant it is.
“The last I heard was that the council had agreed doing something about this junction was a priority – but that it’s tenth in the list.
“So it looks like something will be done, but it’s not before time.”
Residents want to see the council install traffic lights, along with clear road markings for the central reservation.
Durham MP Mary Foy wrote to council chief executive John Hewitt in July, telling him: “The Rainton Gate junction is well recognised locally as a very hazardous stretch of road.
“The level of traffic along the A690, the narrow exit from Pittington Road, and the use of the central reservation to join the A690 are extremely challenging.
“It is widely known as an accident blackspot, with many people simply avoiding this junction altogether.
“The solution to this problem has been known for some time – this junction must have traffic lights installed.”
Mark Jackson, Durham County Council’s head of transport and contract services, said: “We understand people’s concerns and have been working to develop a scheme to install traffic lights at both the West Rainton and the Pittington Road junctions.
“We are currently developing a programme for these works.”
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