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FTA and RHA support calls to upgrade A34 to a motorway
Page 18
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Following a spate of fatal accidents, the RHA and FTA are backing an Oxford MP who wants to see the A34 converted to the M34. Sally Nash reports.
CALLS TO UPGRADE the A34 to motorway status following yet another fatal accident have been supported by the leading industry trade associations.
Oxford East MP Andrew Smith has raised concerns about the A34 again after a family of four were killed on the road this month. So far seven people have died on the Oxfordshire stretch of the A34 this year Smith has promised to approach the Department for Transport about turning the road into a motorway.
Both the Road Haulage and Freight Transport associations share his belief that the road should be upgraded.
Chrys Rampley, the RHA's infrastructure manager, points out that the A34 is a strategic route that is part of the transEuropean road network.
-I'd like to see it upgraded but, if so, we need to put in alternatives to deal with other traffic that use the road such as agricultural vehicles and cyclists.he adds.
A spokesman for the FTA says that the association would be "happy to support" calls to convert the road to motorway standard where practicable.
This is a major route from Southampton to the Midlands. and with the growth in container traffic from the port, it is entirely logical to support these calls,' he explains.
The AA also believes that upgrading the road to motorway status would help to reduce the risk of accidents.
According to the Highways Agency (HA),road improvements such as resurfacing lane one ol both the northbound and southbound carriageways between Didcot and Abingdon are already being carried out.
However, the spokesman warns that there are no plans yet to convert the A34 into a motorway.