A £4.7 million scheme to improve safety on the A629 around the Cononley and Farnhill crossroads will be unveiled today (Friday).

The plan includes a new stretch of carriageway on the busy route which links Snaygill and Kildwick roundabouts and priority staggered junctions to Cononley and Farnhill.

The new road would smooth out the bad bends between the Rafters and Craven Forge and would run to the west of the existing A629.

The Highway Agency says the scheme would enhance safety at the notorious Cononley Bends, which have seen one fatal and eight serious accidents in recent years, along with other more minor injury crashes.

Highways Agency project manager Steve Sexton said: "The section of the A629 under review has a poor safety record, due to the existing position of the carriageway and crossroad junction.

"Realigning this section of the road would significantly improve safety and bring it in line with modern standards.

"We hope that local people will visit our exhibition to see what is being proposed and to give us their views."

The plans will be on display at Cononley Village Institute between 10am and 8pm today and 10am and 2pm tomorrow (Saturday).

Visitors will get the opportunity to comment on the plans, discuss them with consultants and officers from the Highway Agency, and fill in questionnaires.

The proposals are a scaled-down version of plans from the 1990s, and were drawn up with safety, environmental concerns, engineering and value for money in mind.

Cononley crossroads, with its single carriageway road and its junction, fails to meet modern alignment standards and has a combined accident record 1.7 times the national average.

The average daily flow along the route is approximately 21,000 vehicles, of which 8.5 per cent are lorries.

Under the scheme the crossroads would be replaced by two separate T-junctions to Cononley and Farnhill.

Cononley Lane junction would remain on the line of the existing side road, while Farnhill Lane would be realigned to follow the redundant A629 and form a new T-junction approximately 500 metres to the north.

The proposed route would run on the embankment above and to the east of the River Aire floodplain.

Where necessary, flood relief culverts and flood storage areas would be provided to ensure that the flood plain capacity was not compromised.

A 7.3 metre wide carriageway with one metre hardstrips would be provided with grass verges on either side.

Along the redundant sections of the existing A629, a part carriageway width would be retained for use by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders and provide access for the maintenance of utilities running along the route. The remainder would be landscaped and planted.

Mark Wheeler, Craven district councillor for the Aire Valley, welcomed the plans.

He told the Herald: "I am pleased that something is being done. Anything that reduces accidents in that area is a bonus. It is an accident blackspot."

But he added: "Unfortunately North Yorkshire County Council has failed to address the main issue of speed through the village of Cononley itself.

"I would have liked this to have been dealt with at the same time."

Leaflets detailing the proposals are currently being distributed to households in the area. The views of the public will be considered in the further development of the scheme.

Completed questionnaires should be returned to the Highways Agency by August 8.