Road users, residents and businesses are being reminded about the next closure of Kirkstone Pass to carry out improvement works as part of a Department for Transport (DfT) ‘Safer Roads Project’.
The project, which is being managed by Westmorland and Furness Council, focuses on a 6.8km section of the A592 between Brothers Water on the northern end and Hird Wood on the southern end of Kirkstone Pass.
The next road closure as part of the scheme will start on Monday 5 June 2023 to install the first sections of new safety crash barriers, and will continue until Friday 30 June, weather permitting.
This will be a 24-hour, seven days a week closure, between Brothers Water and the Kirkstone Inn.
The Kirkstone Inn will remain accessible throughout this closure period via Windermere and Ambleside. Sykeside Camping Park and Brotherswater Inn will remain accessible throughout the closures via Glenridding and businesses in Glenridding, Patterdale and Pooley Bridge will be open as usual and access to these will be via the Penrith end of the A592.
Traffic Marshalls will be at either end of the closure and there will be a fully-signed diversion route in place throughout, which will be reviewed regularly.
Please note the road is completely closed off to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists during this closure. People are requested to not to try to access the works site during the closure and barriers are in place for your safety.
Following the full road closure between 5 June and 30 June, temporary traffic signals will then be installed for two weeks starting on Monday, 3 July. This will also include night-time closures during these two weeks from 7pm to 6am.
Additional road closures will then take place on the following dates, weather permitting.
More information on road diversions will be available nearer the time of each closure:
- 11 September 2023 – for two weeks to carry out full width reconstruction on certain areas, which means excavating the full width of the carriageway.
- 1 March 2024 – a three week closure to finalise the resurfacing.
The latest planned works follow on from extensive drainage and associated works completed by contractor Metcalfe Plant Hire Ltd earlier this year.
This included 22 new drainage crossings, new culverts, drainage pipes, gullies and ‘catchpits’ to catch any scree washed off the fells. They have also created more than 200 metres of stone walling and installed new sign bases and three new laybys.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet member for Highways and Assets, said: “I want to thank the local community and businesses for their support and patience, while we make these necessary road safety improvements.
“We recognise that these works will cause some disruption in the short-term and we apologise for any inconvenience caused, but they are necessary to improve the long-term safety of the A592 route.
“The work we are carrying out at Kirkstone Pass will not only improve the condition of the road but it will help to protect the road from the effects of flooding and adverse weather and increase the safety and resilience of the route, especially during winter, resulting in fewer enforced closures in the future.”
