A34 collision near East Ilsley cost millions, claims Road Haulage Association
The incident happened at 2.30am near the turn off for East Ilsey and West Ilsley, a patch blighted by frequent accidents which has been the focus of a concerted safety campaign by local residents in recent weeks.
Diesel gushed across the road following the crash, which caused police to close the carriageway for six hours, resulting in tailbacks approaching eight miles during rush hour.
A spokeswoman for the Road Haulage Association, Kate Gibbs, claimed the constant blight would hit the UK economy hard.
“It would not be particularly optimistic to say a delay like that during rush hour could cost between £2m and £3m an hour,” she said.
“When an accident of this size causes this much of a problem, during rush hour, it’s a nightmare for everyone.
“It doesn’t just affect hauliers it affects everyone on their way to work. The office staff who process orders, they are all delayed too so it throws everything out.”
The accident was another notch on the list for campaigners calling for the Highways Agency to take action and either reduce the speed limit or introduce other measures to cut down on accidents.
The East Ilsley/ West Ilsley turn-off has been labelled “the most dangerous stretch of road in the country” by residents, with the chairmen of both parish councils, Gordon Allsop and Sean Ryan, respectively, both calling for the Government road authority to act.
Mr Allsop had uncovered Highways Agency statistics which showed the stretch of road averaged over one serious accident per month, and was the scene of another collision just a day later, when a three-car collision blocked the road at East Ilsley again.
The Highways Agency has said it does not see the stretch of road as problematic.
Road safety campaigner Adrian Hollister, from Brightwalton, said the incident further highlighted the problems with the road, and repeated his calls for West Berkshire Council to look into ways of reducing accidents.
“All southbound traffic diverted through the Downlands via the A338 or via Newbury,” he said.
“The traffic until late morning on these roads received a constant flow of HGV's and cars and, in the view of the residents that I have spoken to, very few respected the communities or speed limits of our Downland villages.
“The cost of this closure to our economy is likely to be measured in the millions, but who has counted the number of minor accidents due to the sheer volume and recklessness of the traffic through our Downland villages? Great Shefford took the brunt of the traffic this time with Wantage a major sticking point.”
“For the Highways Agency to find no problem with accident rates on this route exposes the narrowness of their vision.”
The Highways Agency denied that it had handled the collision on February 15 badly.
Agency spokesman Alex Barnett thanked drivers for their patience and said it had done all it could to alert motorists to avoid the area.