IMPROVEMENTS to the A605 in Whittlesey have been given a royal seal of approval after they won prestigious Prince Michael International Safety Award.

Safety work along the 13-mile stretch of road between Hobbs Loy Bridge and Peterborough was carried out between 2005 and 2010 after a high number of crashes at junctions, accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists and vehicles running off the road.

But since improvements such as traffic lights at the Goosetree junction and the realignment of sections of the road were made, the number of fatal and serious crashes has fallen by 74 per cent.

Fixed and mobile speed cameras, new speed and accident blackspot warning signs and work to keep the surface and markings in good condition, particularly at junctions and bends, also helped to reduce the number of incidents.

As a result, the road has now been recognised as the most improved section of rural highway in the country.

Councillor Tony Orgee, Cambridgeshire County Council’s cabinet member for community infrastructure, said: “Improving road safety is all about cutting the number of people who are killed and injured on the roads.

“I’m delighted that our very successful efforts to do just that on the busy A605, which is a major commuter route that is also extensively used by local traffic and commercial vehicles, has been recognised.

“Winning this award is a worthy recognition of the hard work of the community which called for safety improvements, the county councillors who supported their campaign and the road safety and highways teams who designed and implemented the improvements.”

The council will receive the award during the launch of the 2012 British European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) at the House of Lords on October 16.

Adrian Walsh, director of the awards scheme said: “Many of our rural ‘A’ roads remain high risk – here is an outstanding example of a county taking this seriously and making a difference, other authorities should follow and do the same.”