A DECISION is set to be made on funding for the A38 in South East Cornwall – and local people are being asked to help make it happen.

In March last year, the Trerulefoot to Carkeel safety package was named as a “pipeline project” for the Government’s next Road Investment Strategy (RIS3).

Highways England is now looking for information and views from all users of this section of the trunk road, so as to work up a convincing case to see this part of the A38 included in the next round of funding.

Virtual engagement meetings will be held over the course of the coming two months, so that by the end of the year, a shortlist of options for work to be carried out can be taken forward.

Pressure group Safe38 has been lobbying for improvements to the trunk road since 2018. Its chairman James Millidge said: “In order to ensure we will get the green light, it’s imperative that we all participate actively in this period of consultation with Highways England. We all need to take this opportunity to feed back on proposals, get involved and demand for the Government to invest in South East Cornwall.

“This is a once in a generation opportunity to shape our shared future for the generations that follow us.”

In a letter to stakeholders, Highways England said that it was “looking to understand the safety concerns in this area in more detail”.

“We’re looking at a long list of possible solutions, which we will need to narrow down to create a shortlist of realistic, achievable solutions that could be delivered within the budget that the Government could make available to us,” the letter states.

Highways England says it’s looking to understand the needs and concerns of road users whether from a motorist, walking, cycling, or horseriding perspective.

There are 32 schemes in different areas of the country in the pipeline for RIS3, but not all of them will be successful in receiving investment.

Work on RIS3 projects will start from 2025.

It had been hoped that the A38 would feature in RIS2. A scheme to upgrade the A30 further west in Cornwall is now underway, having received £330million.

In 2018, a “Case for Action” for the A38 was presented to the then transport secretary Chris Grayling.

This document, making a case for improvements on the entire section of the trunk road between Saltash and Bodmin, was prepared by Cornwall and Plymouth City Councils, with wide local input. It set out not only the compelling safety reasons for attention to the A38, but described the economic case, and claimed upgrading the road could bring £900 million in increased productivity, growth and investment.

At the time, the Transport Secretary expressed a particular interest in improvements to the junction at Menheniot, which could pave the way for a park and ride scheme, and indicated the project should be brought forward as soon as possible.

The A38 in South East Cornwall is among the country’s most dangerous roads, and the stretch between Carkeel and Trerulefoot the worst in terms of the number of collisions resulting in fatalities or serious injury. The collision rate on this section is 140% of the national average for this type of road, and the death or serious injury rate is 250%.

MP for South East Cornwall Sheryll Murray said last month that she had carried out a survey of road users of the road between Carkeel and Trerulefoot, and that responses had shown that access from busy junctions, speeding and pollution were concerns.

A separate, short-term safety improvement scheme to the A38 between Saltash and Bodmin has already begun.

Cornwall Council has worked in partnership with the Highways England Operations team to bring in measures such as average speed cameras, mobile camera vans and vegetation clearance.

Further possible small-scale engineering works are being developed; a report had been set to be published last month.