West Dorset MP Chris Loder has challenged Highways England about the dangers of the A35 at a meeting of the Transport Select Committee in Westminster.

The MP said to the strategy and planning executive director at Highways England: "Five years ago, Highways England had an external consultant tell them that safety [on the A35] was a considerable issue, but the plan to finish work is at least another four years away."

Chris Loder considers this amount of time to wait for safety measures to be unacceptable.

He told Highways England: "I don't know how many people have got to die on that road before you sort yourselves out, and to be told that safety inspections are carried out weekly on the A35 when the cats eyes and white lines are so bad, is utter nonsense. Highways England are either lying or are incompetent."

The statement comes after Highways England is embroiled in controversy over its safety management of smart motorways and after it has been given £27.4 billion pounds of taxpayers money for roadworks.

Chris Loder demanded that Highways England commit to a complete overhaul.

This intervention from the MP comes just days after he established his A-Road taskforce to improve the safety and condition of A Roads in West Dorset.

Andrew Page-Dove, Highways England South West regional director, said: "As standard, we carry out routine safety inspections on all our trunk roads and in addition to this, our road surfaces and the reflectivity of lines and studs are regularly inspected to identify and defects.

"The safety records of all Highways England roads, including the A35, are actively monitored and we liaise with partner authorities and agencies to understand any issues requiring intervention.

"We're working closely with Devon County Council, Dorset Council, our police partners and other interested parties to identify a programme of measures that will help to reduce road traffic collisions on the A35. As part of this work, we're also undertaking a number of joint road safety campaigns aimed at influencing driver behaviour.

"We have also initiated two route safety studies covering 39 miles - Honiton to Charmouth roundabout and Charmouth roundabout to Yellowham Hill. The latest route safety study started in October 2019, a number of measures are being identified and these will be delivered no later than 2024/25."

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