The carriageway is set to be lowered in a bid to reduce the number of collisions with a railway bridge
The congested A5 near Dodwells Island in Hinckley
Work to prevent lorries from crashing into a bridge on a busy stretch of the A5 near Hinckley is finally set to begin after years of collisions and incidents.
Developers have confirmed that work to lower the carriageway at the site of the railway bridge on Watling Street, Hinckley, is scheduled to begin on May 5.
The bridge holds the unenviable title of Britain’s most bashed, with Network Rail data revealing it was struck 22 times between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
The road-lowering plan will be part of a number of other highway works, which will take up to a year to complete.
It comes as developer Mountpark is building a 1.46 million sq ft logistics park on land at nearby Padge Hall Farm, which was approved in June 2023, and is funding the road project. Mountpark confirmed that it has signed a building contract and appointed a contractor for the work.
New road rules for the A5 will include a 40mph speed limit between Hammonds Way and Dodwells Road, as well as an overnight closure from 8pm to 4am.
Diversions are also set to be put in place to send traffic down the M6, M42 and M69.
Conservative MP for Hinckley and Bosworth, Dr Luke Evans, said that work would force the road to close “over a short period of a couple of weeks during the summer holidays”.
He added: “This is short-term pain for long-term gain.
“Securing these improvements will make a huge difference for our community, not just to those who use the A5 but to people in Hinckley, Burbage, Higham-on-the-Hill, Wykin and the surrounding areas that get turned into a rat run every time the bridge is hit”.
Developer Mountpark confirmed that the works include the delivery of new signal-controlled site access, upgrades to Dodwells Roundabout, enhanced pedestrian and cycle connectivity, and lowering the A5 carriageway.
Tom Kilmister, senior development director at Mountpark, added: “By addressing this long-standing bottleneck, Mountpark will deliver lasting improvements to safety, reducing disruption and improve reliability for the local community and the wider road network.”
Mountpark also confirmed that supermarket giant Tesco is set to start using a new unit at its new logistics park after moving from its distribution centre near Dodwells Road.
It added: “Its move to Unit 1 represents a relocation of existing operations, critical to serving around 260 stores across the Midlands, the local consumer population and supporting more than 700 local jobs.
“Once Tesco relocates, the existing Dodwells Road facility will become vacant.
“As a result, there will be no material increase in traffic flows on the local road network in the short term.
Low bridge on the A5 near Hinckley is renowned for being hit by lorries(Image: Leicester Mercury)
“Tesco’s existing operations are currently not impacted by the low railway bridge on the A5, meaning there is no increased risk of bridge strikes arising from the phased occupation”.
Lib Dem councillor Ann Pendlebury told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it was “good news” that work was starting, but was concerned about traffic impacts on surrounding roads, such as Nutts Lane.
She also said she would be “closely monitoring” the work to lower the carriageway.
Cllr Pendlebury said: “We welcome any improvements to those sections of road. We’ve been promised so much on that road, and it’s never actually come to fruition.
“Whilst they are going to be shutting the road at night, traffic could probably end up down Nutts Lane. It’s incredibly worrying”.
A National Highways spokesperson said: “National Highways has received notification of some initial preparation works to start this spring. However, we do not yet have any details of when the main works will start.
“This will need to be confirmed by the developer Mountpark.”
