Work to improve safety at laybys on the A14 started on Monday. The work is being carried out to reduce accidents associated with the laybys between junction 15 at Bythorn and junction 28 at Boxworth, including two on the A14 spur road between Alconbury an

Work to improve safety at laybys on the A14 started on Monday.

The work is being carried out to reduce accidents associated with the laybys between junction 15 at Bythorn and junction 28 at Boxworth, including two on the A14 spur road between Alconbury and Huntingdon.

Eight laybys will be improved by installing posts on the verge at the entry and exits to prevent HGVs causing an obstruction.

Ten laybys will be converted to emergency use only with the installation of signs, road markings and emergency telephones. One - on the westbound carriageway near Fenstanton - will be removed and the verge reinstated.

Work has begun on the lay-bys near Boxworth and will then move westwards. The scheme is expected to be completed in early May.

For safety reasons the inside lane will be closed and temporary speed restrictions will be in place overnight for about half a mile at each location where work is taking place.

John Gardner, project sponsor for the Highways Agency, said: "Large volumes of traffic on the A14, lorries reducing the widths of the laybys by parking on the verges and heavy, slow-moving vehicles entering and leaving the laybys have all contributed to the number of accidents on the A14.

"Converting some of the laybys to emergency-use only means they will be safer for those drivers who do need to use them in an emergency.