Traffic & Highways

The A1175 road serves as a vital transportation artery for our community, connecting West Deeping to surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the establishment of Breedon's proposed SG17 and the anticipated subsequent SG11 quarry sites will significantly impact the functionality and safety of this crucial road.

The proposed SG17 and SG11 quarry sites combined will bring in the region of 900 lorry movements each week. This amounts to 22 every hour during the typical working day. This will have a catastrophic impact on the road network. Congestion on the crossroads of King Street and the A1175 is already difficult to navigate, especially during peak times, with Tallington Rail crossing letting huge numbers of traffic through at once. The wait time to cross or turn on to the A1175 is often excessive and can regularly lead to driver’s takings unnecessary risks.

Currently all lorries turn right on to King Street when travelling from Market Deeping to the West Deeping quarry sites. When leaving the quarry sites they turn left out of King Street on to the A1175.

If SG17 is approved a processing plant will be included and quarry traffic, which will require access to and from the new quarry from the south side of the A1175, will turn right onto the A1175. The proposed quarry site entrance sits only 0.20 miles from the dangerous A1175 / King St crossroads. With the Quarry vehicles being obligated to turn right to access the wider transport system, they will have to cross the 60mph westbound lane of traffic. This winding road has multiple blind corners with westbound cars only viewing the site entrance around 8 seconds before they reach it. If a slow accelerating, fully loaded quarry vehicle exiting the site is crossing the lane at this point the resulting accidents will be undoubtably be numerous and potentially fatal. In addition, often agitated and speeding traffic travelling from Tallington crossing will very quickly reach this point, leading to sudden breaking which can cause further congestion and collisions. Delays and accidents caused by an additional junction on the A1175 will cause traffic to back up at both Tallington crossing and the proximity of the roundabout at Market Deeping, which has seen multiple serious accidents recent years. Source CrashMap link

The addition of SG17 will not mean that traffic ceases from King Street on to the A1175 as remedial work to restore the land will continue for many years to come. Therefore lorries will continue to enter & exit King street onto the A1175 plus additional vehicles will enter and exit further along the road to service the new quarries. An already dangerous and over loaded road with one of the busiest level crossings on the British railway network will be made even more treacherous.

The noise and dust generated by quarry activities are additional factors that adversely affect the A1175 and surrounding area. Dust particles and gravel settling on the road surface can impair visibility and compromise safety for drivers by increasing the skid risk. Current mitigations for the existing Cemex and Breedon sites in West Deeping stipulate the roads are swept regularly, this is clearly inadequate as the area around the crossroads of the A1175 and King Street is littered with debris from the quarry vehicles and remains dangerous throughout the year.

The potential consequences for public transportation should also be considered. The increased traffic congestion resulting from the quarry sites will disrupt bus schedules and reliability, leading to delays and frustration for commuters who rely on the A1175 road for their daily travel. This would have a direct impact on the overall efficiency of the public transportation system in our community. West Deeping village has no shops or school so many people rely on the public transport for their essential daily travel. 

The issues do not however stop with the additional traffic.

We can see from the current operating sites on King Street that the surrounding verges are desolate from the ongoing build up of sand, gravel and dust. Further along the road these verges are packed with a vast range of wild flora. These are very conspicuous in their absence around the quarry sites. The road around these sites is also the worst stretch for potholes with the entrance to the site being littered with deep holes and uneven surfaces causing expensive damage to domestic vehicles. The hazard cyclists face will become even greater and what was once an enjoyable and healthy past time will become treacherous.

We need to protect this vital road artery by improving the safety and quality of the A1175. We can not allow quarry traffic to continue to cause danger for our community and commuters alike.