A38 junction set for improvement

Major improvement works to a junction on the A38 are planned ahead of a £1m scheme in Ashburton, but could see four months of lane closures on the dual carriageway.

Quarry owners Glendenning say their extension plans would generate a £6million boost to the local economy over the next 40 years and would secure the future of 240 jobs.

Dartmoor National Park planners are still considering the fate of the application, but now plans for improvements to the Caton Cross junction on the A38 have been submitted to Teignbridge District Council planners.

The proposed improvements to the Exeter-bound junction of the A38 seek to widen the existing off-slip lane to provide a dedicated off-slip lane for Caton traffic in advance of the Goodstone off-slip road.

The application says: “The improvements to the off-slip lane at Caton Cross have been developed in response to concerns raised by Highways England in connection with the proposed extension to Linhay Hill Quarry.

“The improvements seek to provide a nearside auxiliary lane, of approximately 120m in length for Caton Cross which will enable left turning traffic to decelerate off the main through carriageway, while separating the turning to Caton Cross from the off slip for Goodstone Cross by the use of hatching on the road surface.

“Separate road marking arrows will be provided on the surface of the A38 for the Caton off-slip and Goodstone off-slip to show the separate junction turnings, supplemented with appropriate signage."

A decision is expected to be made later in 2018 by Dartmoor National Park planners on the main quarry extension application, which would allow considerably more overburden from the extension area to be backfilled into the existing quarry, rather than being used to form further bunding around the quarry extension.

This would also allow the new quarry extension to be opened up more gradually across the extension site, taking some 46 years to complete, instead of about 27 as was originally proposed.