THE A69 Bridge End roundabout upgrade scheme is still on track for a summer reopening.

The bridges are complete across the new carriageway and the decks are also attached to the walls.

Work is now being completed to fill behind the bridges to connect them to the roundabout, forming the new junction of the £30m improvement scheme.

The next few months will see focus shift to street lighting, signs, kerbs, road surfacing, new fencing, barriers on slip roads, the roundabout and the A69 itself.

And after the summer’s opening to traffic, landscaping and planting (including some wildflowers native to the area) will be carried out, with all traffic management removed by the autumn.

But, the works continue to be a talking point, with Dr Peter Howarth’s letter to the Courant attracting attention online.

The letter blasted the Highways England scheme saying: “Any system in which health and safety are at risk should recognise this and should be designed with the worst drivers in mind, not the best.

“The problem was, and is, that the planners expected drivers to behave as if the roadworks were a real roundabout, when it just looks like roadworks.”

Highways England Project Manager Alek James said: “When planning roadworks, we carry out extensive safety audits and make sure signing and lane markings are as clear as possible.

“These are reviewed regularly and where necessary, changes made. We have already added additional signs due to initial requests from drivers. Some 26,000 vehicles a day use this section of the A69 and the vast majority of drivers are able to navigate the roundabout safely.

“We advise road users to drive carefully through roadworks following signage and the road layout rather than satnavs, especially those who may not be familiar with the area.

“As we go into the next phases of traffic management, we would like to remind people that there is a 30mph speed limit through the works which, with other traffic management, is in place to keep them safe from the works and to also keep the workforce safe in what is essentially their office.”

Opinion: Page 22