Sections of one of the busiest roads in Milton Keynes to be closed for 12 weeks following spate of collisions and two deaths

An accident hotspot stretch of the V8 Marlborough Street is to close for three months for safety improvements to be made.

On the section between Milton Keynes hospital and Peartree Bridge, there have been 35 collisions over the past five years, Sadly, these include two fatalities.

As the local highway authority for Milton Keynes, MK Council has a duty of care to keep the public highway safe for all users.

A council spokesman said: "We are obliged to act if collision data is above average at any section of the network."

He added: "The majority of these collisions involved vehicles turning right into or out of the junctions here. Therefore, we have decided to close the gaps along the dual carriageway."

The right turns that will be closed are at Harrier Drive on Eaglestone and Chadds Lane on Peartree Bridge. The roadworks started this week and should take around 12 weeks to complete, weather permitting.

Work will take place between 9:30am and 4:30pm to minimise disruption to peak traffic periods.

Full road closure will be required for up to three days on the V8 (northbound) between the Harrier Drive and Chadds Lane junction, while one lane either side of the road will be closed for 24 hours.

During late February and early March, access junctions for the hospital, Chadds Lane and Harrier Drive will be closed. But access to MK University Hospital, businesses and properties will be maintained at all times, say MK Council.

You can view all the collision report, consultation report and the notice of works in the Documents section of this page

The improvements have been supported by Thames Valley Police and similar treatments have been carried out previously on the H3 Monks Way at Bradville, the H6 Childs Way at Knowl Gate and Ashpole Furlong and the V6 Grafton Street at Winterhill.