COUNCIL chiefs are coming under serious pressure to dramatically halt the entire A4440 Southern Link Road upgrade - with the Ketch island saga sparking fresh criticism.

After the uproar from drivers which led to one exit being partly coned off, an official safety probe was launched today by Worcestershire County Council.

Amid today's developments:

  • Councillor Richard Udall, one of its longest serving politicians, accused the authority of having "no idea how to design junctions", saying the entire £41 million revamp should be "stopped, reviewed and re-examined" before it goes any further
  • A Facebook video showing the new-look island has been viewed 81,000 times and 1,250 people have signed a petition calling for the layout to be change 
  • Your Worcester News has been bombarded with correspondence from motorists, with many saying it is embarrassing for the city
  •  The council said no "further decisions" will be made until the safety review is complete, and revealed the probe is being done independently

The council says it is aiming to "reduce safety concerns" after the Facebook video led to a deluge of criticism, and is open to making changes if the safety audit confirms that the island has been botched.

But Councillor Udall now says the whole A4440 revamp should be halted until the outcome is known, accusing the council of a "chaotic" approach, especially as the Ketch has taken 12 months to enlarge at a cost of £8 million.

"The decision to cone off part of the Ketch Island, so soon after its construction is just another example of bad road planning and mistakes which have caused so much anger and stress for motorists," he said.

"It follows the earlier chaos at the Whittington island which has still not been resolved.

"We have to stop now, look again at what's being proposed and get it right before we make even more mistakes and put more people at risk.

"The project involves even more work on traffic islands and junctions which could be yet another total disaster.

"It beggars belief that we appear to have a council with no idea how to design safe junctions."

Driver Paul Wheatley, 41, of Powick, one of many motorists to contact your Worcester News, called it a "fiasco".

"The very idea you can squeeze people from two lanes into one restricted space just as you enter the bridge is crazy," he said.

"Unless some serious changes are made we'll see a very bad accident here."

Your Worcester News today recorded two videos of the Ketch island, one driving up Bath Road and exiting for the Carrington Bridge, and the other going around the roundabout once before heading towards junction 7 of the M5.

A council spokesman said: "As outlined at the end of last week, temporary traffic management arrangements were put in place on Friday afternoon to remove safety concerns.

"A safety audit is currently underway - we will await the findings before making any further decisions regarding the Ketch roundabout. "The current traffic management arrangements will remain in place until we have completed the audit.

"The Ketch scheme forms part of the A4440 Worcester Southern Link Road improvements - this is one of the largest projects of this type for decades which will improve infrastructure in and out of the city."

The cones are covering up one half of the Ketch island's exit for Carrington Bridge after the Facebook video showed drivers braking harshly and shaking their heads in frustration because two lanes quickly merge into one.

Cones have also sectioned off the right hand approach to the Ketch island from Norton roundabout, as these images show.

The link road revamp is due to carry on until 2018, with the entire stretch apart from Carrington Bridge being dual-tracked.

This afternoon the council was unable to say how long the audit will last, because it is being done externally.