MAJOR safety works are to be carried out on a stretch of the Droitwich bypass after separate crashes at the same spot inside two hours which left one man dead and another injured.

The A38 has been the focus of a major road safety investigation since the tragic events of November last year, with one lane between the Kidderminster Road and Copcut islands being coned off to Worcester-bound traffic.

Now it looks as though the temporary and controversial lane closure may become a permanent feature.

Chris Barski, team leader with Worcestershire County Council's highways partnership unit which studied the A38 crash site, said: "We have plans to convert the road to a single lane following a series of incidents and a number of accidents over the past year.

"We have looked into vehicle positioning, the lane situation and the vehicle merger area of the road.

"Currently work is dependent on the weather, but will hopefully begin soon."

An investigation was launched after two separate but almost identical incidents took place within a matter of hours of each other on Wednesday, November 2, 2005. In the first crash, a blue Hyundai coupe crossed the road before striking the barrier and bridge. The driver needed hospital treatment but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.

Just an hour-and-a-half later, a second incident claimed the life of a father-of-three Brian Peckham, of Meadow Place, Westlands, Droitwich.

Mr Peckham was killed after his red Citroen Picasso crossed both the central reservation and also the Bromsgrove-bound carriageway before colliding with the barrier and bridge near the Ombersley roundabout.

The decision to permanently reduce the carriageway to a single lane along much of its route is sure to prove a controversial one.

Motorist Graham Taylor, who regularly uses the route, said: "It's hard to imagine a road with better visibility, and the two lanes should be perfectly safe if people drive responsibly."

No changes are planned to the Bromsgrove-bound carriageway.