THE public is to be given a chance to help shape the final design of a light-controlled crossing at the junction of the A141 where teenager Warren Hay was killed last year. Engineers are currently working on designing the £400,000 scheme, which will impro

THE public is to be given a chance to help shape the final design of a light-controlled crossing at the junction of the A141 where teenager Warren Hay was killed last year.

Engineers are currently working on designing the £400,000 scheme, which will improve the junction of Huntingdon northern bypass and Kings Ripton Road.

Work is expected to start next year after being fast-tracked by Cambridgeshire County Council following the death of 16-year-old Warren in May 2007.

The county council had originally proposed a £160,000 project to ban right turns at the junction, but Huntingdonshire District Council and Huntingdon Town Council agreed to chip in £75,000 each to fund the light-controlled crossing.

Campaigners wanted a bridge over the A141 for pedestrians and cyclists using the playing fields at Jubilee Park on Kings Ripton Road, but the cost - estimated at well over £1million - put the idea beyond the highway authority's reach.

The light-controlled crossing was a compromise put forward by The Hunts Post to deal simultaneously with the pedestrian issue and a number of vehicle collisions involving traffic turning right into and out of Kings Ripton Road.

A county council spokesman said work was also progressing on a possible path to take pedestrians and cyclists to the sports ground. Lord de Ramsey, through whose estate Kings Ripton Road runs, has offered to provide the land for the path.

Eighteen months ago, football fan Warren was struck by a car as he walked across the junction on his way to Jubilee Park. His mother, Maxine, who has been campaigning for safety improvements since her son's death, was overjoyed when she heard the new crossing could be in place for the start of the next football season.

Mrs Hay, who lives in Alconbury, told The Hunts Post: "It's really fantastic news. It is a very emotional time for us all, and we are grateful to everyone who supported us by signing the petition or purchasing a wristband or a t-shirt.

"We are also thankful to The Hunts Post for being our voice and to the county council for all the hard work they have put into this project. We have all worked so hard to make this happen and the fact that our efforts are finally coming to fruition is just amazing."

She added that she had been told that work would start in March and last for between six and eight weeks.