Thursday November 5th 2026
The A706 between Linlithgow and Whitburn is one of the major routes which will see improvements.
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Five main roads through West Lothian will see improvements in the next few months as part of a £250,000 safety programme tackling accident black spots.
The A-roads will see upgrades including improved road surface including anti-skid section and new warning signs.
Work will also be undertaken on B roads in the county and on busy community streets, councillors heard.
A total of 11 sites have been chosen for funding in this year’s spending under the Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIP) programme.
The council’s Environment and Sustainability Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) have agreed the list of prioritised casualty reduction schemes for 2026/27. These will now be taken to Council Executive for approval.
The programme takes an evidence-led approach to identify road safety issues, assessment of sites for concern, undertake detailed investigations and scheme prioritisation.
For the 2026/27, AIP programme, officers identified sites for concern using five data-led assessment methods covering the whole road network, using data supplied by Police Scotland for the five-year period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2025.
These methods were used to find 30 locations for detailed investigations, where routes and areas where the frequency, severity or characteristics of recorded injury collisions showed a potential road safety concern.
This aims to make sure the £250,000 budget is invested in local safety schemes, which tackle proven casualty problems and make a significant contribution to casualty reduction.
Officers have now recommended that 11 new schemes are taken forward this year to make the best use of the limited budget.
A report to the committee by Fraser Keast, the council’s Senior Engineer – Road Safety & Traffic Management said: “The AIP casualty reduction programme is the council’s main opportunity to make a significant impact in meeting casualty reduction targets and this is backed up by national research and local results.
“The schemes prioritised for this financial year maximise the council’s investment through first year rate of return prioritisation and will deliver improvements across West Lothian.”
The investigation / analysis work undertaken involved using the recorded injury accident data collected by the Police to identify sites for concern and analyse crash patterns to develop remedial measures.
The process is used nationally and is endorsed by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) through its Road Safety Engineering Manual.
The sites are:
B9080 Threemiletown
B8028, From Westfield to A801
A904, Junction with B8046 near Philpstoun
A706, From Linlithgow to A801
Whitburn Road, Bathgate
B8046, From Uphall to B9080
B8046, Junction with C19 near Ecclesmachan
A801, from Falkirk boundary to A705 near East Whitburn
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