Council responds to claim ‘it’s a matter of time’ before vehicle crashes off busy A59 bridge between Preston and Southport

Highways chiefs say they are exploring several “options” for improving safety on a bridge in West Lancashire after a spate of accidents.

Bank Bridge, on the A59 in Tarleton, was struck three times in the space of six weeks over the summer - with the most serious of the collisions leaving a gap in one of its walls which has had to be plugged with concrete blocks.

Lancashire County Council says permanent protective barriers are amongst the measures that could be deployed at the site.

It comes after a warning that an existing crash barrier on the bridge - which sits on a sharp bend on the main route between Preston and Southport - stops short of the part of the structure that seems most prone to being hit.

That disparity was highlighted by the county councillor for the area, Thomas de Freitas, who told the Lancashire Post earlier this week that it was an “absolute miracle” a vehicle had not yet ended up in the water.

Warning that it was “potentially…just a matter of time” before such an outcome, he called on County Hall to make immediate changes to reduce the risk of - and from - drivers losing control on the bridge, which spans the River Douglas and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

He noted that a safety barrier on the westbound side of the road - carrying Southport and Liverpool-bound traffic, near the border between Chorley and West Lancashire - ends just metres from the point of impact of the most recent crashes.

A Lancashire County Council spokesperson has now told the Post that the authority is assessing a range of possible interventions - but no money has yet been ringfenced for any of them.

"We recognise concerns about collisions at Bank Bridge and are analysing the factors associated with the incidents and the site. This work will help inform costed proposals for consideration as part of future highways investment planning.

"As a Grade II-listed structure on a busy transport route, any potential measures require careful assessment.

"We are reviewing options, including road surface condition, signage, road layout and safety barriers. This work is ongoing, no decisions have yet been made, and funding would need to be identified before any proposals could be progressed," the spokesperson said.

Data from the CrashMap website shows that prior to the trio of accidents that occurred on Bank Bridge during July and August, there had been two serious and three slight collisions at the location in the preceding five years - with several more on the immediate approaches from Windgate from the south and Liverpool Road from the north.

County Cllr de Freitas, who represents the West Lancashire North division, said a long-term solution to the problem - such as an entirely new bridge - also needed to be pursued.