Brockholes Brow speed camera van greets drivers as A59 reopens in Preston

The blue and yellow van appeared at the bottom of the hill on the bridge over the River Ribble in time for morning rush hour on Thursday (September 1).

The road – linking the city centre to the M6 – reopened as a busy three lane carriageway earlier that morning after being closed since July 25.

The A59 has been resurfaced and its former 40mph speed limit restored following repairs to the embankment which was at risk of collapsing into the road.

It’s the first time all three lanes have been open since March 2021, when a landslip on a steep wooded embankment next to the road led to one of the lanes being closed for 18 months.

Some drivers questioned the need for a speed enforcement van on a stretch of road which is already monitored by average speed cameras.

It is not known at this stage whether any drivers were caught speeding by the camera van.

What do police say?

A spokesman for Lancashire Road Safety Partnership said: “One aim of the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership is to improve driver behaviour by helping motorists drive at an appropriate and safe speed within designated limits so we operate our safety camera enforcement vehicles across Lancashire 7 days a week.

“Our cameras use highly accurate laser technology to detect speeding motorists but they are also used to identify other offences, including drivers not in proper control or not wearing a seat belt.

“All our mobile sites are risk assessed for safety and we vary how often we attend different locations based on casualty data, known speeding concerns and where a report has been made directly by a member of the public.”

You can find more details on the repairs made to Brockholes Brow here.

We also have the full list of Preston’s mobile speed camera locations for September here.