Drivers using one of the busiest roads in Exeter should find the going easier from today.
The good news has come after a set of traffic lights on Topsham Road was removed to make way for a major improvement at its junction with Southbrook Road and Tollards Road.
The work is a major triumph for residents and local councillor Andrew Leadbetter who has been campaigning for some 15 years for the change.
The £180,000 scheme is expected to improve safety, stop rat running on the parallel service road, prevent red light running, and maintain capacity and improve the flow of traffic along Topsham Road.
As part of the work a set of traffic lights on Topsham Road, near the junction, has been removed.
Cllr Leadbetter said: "The removal of the lights is a major benefit as it led to people coming out of the junction being immediately stopped by a red light. This led to traffic building up and frustration for drivers.
"The new junction is much safer for drivers and pedestrians and should lead to the end of people using the service road to try and avoid the hold-ups."
The new junction includes a toucan crossing at the eastbound exit of Southbrook Road and an uncontrolled crossing across the Southbrook Road arm of the junction.
A footpath has been constructed across the entrance to the service road to link to pavements on Topsham Road and Southbrook Road to discourage the use of the service road as a rat run.
