One of Norfolk's crash blackspots could be made safer if a bid to build a £4.2m roundabout at a notorious junction finds favour with the government.
The crossroads where the A1122 and A134 meet at Stradsett has been the scene of a number of crashes in which people have been hurt. In January last year a motorcyclist died in a crash close to the blackspot.
Nigel Reynolds, 53, from Dereham, died after his motorcycle was in a crash with a van not far from the junction, near to the Foldgate Inn.
Officers at Norfolk County Council are keen to improve safety there.
They are proposing a new road and roundabout, which would effectively bypass the staggered junction where crashes have happened.
The roundabout has been designed, but the council wants to try to get a share of £150m available from the Department for Transport (DfT) through a fund to cut congestion 'pinch-points'.
The council has asked the DfT for a share of that pot, saying that, as well as being a cluster for crashes, the staggered junction causes congestion on both approaches of the A134 to the A1122.
Officers said: "This is particularly evident during the significant seasonal flow of HGVs during September to May, which represent British Sugar's seasonal campaign of haulage of the sugar beet to the nearby processing plant at Wissington."
If the roundabout, which would be to the west of the existing junction, is to be built, then the council would have to obtain land to allow that to happen.
Officers stated: "Land will be required. Preliminary discussions with the landowner have been positive and lead to confidence that land will be able to be secured to deliver the scheme."
The scheme would mean a number of trees would have to be chopped down, although the council says replanting would mean an increase in the number of trees at the site.
Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure at Norfolk County Council used delegated powers to submit an expression of interest to the DfT last month. The council would contribute 11pc of the cost, if the government provides the cash.
Brian Long, county councillor for Fincham division and leader of West Norfolk Council, is also supporting the scheme.
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