A quarter of a million is set to be spent on upgrading the A595 from next month.

Cumbria County Council is spending £250,000 on the works, which will involve replacing worn-out sections of road with a new surface on the A595 between High Cross and Duddon Bridge.

Resurfacing works are scheduled to start on Monday, May 10 and should take up to six nights to complete, subject to suitable weather conditions.

Works will take place overnight during off-peak hours when less traffic is on the roads to minimise disruption to road users and local residents and businesses.

The roadworks have been welcomed by Councillor Matt Brereton, who represents High Furness on the county council.

He said: "I have been asking the county area highways team to resurface this stretch for some time now, so it’s great it is finally going ahead.

"I am very grateful to officers for moving things around in the schedule to ensure this work is completed quickly, as we have had a number of road users complain about the terrible state of the road and drivers have been concerned about the prospect of damage to their vehicles.

“I have been made aware that a number of people are concerned that the closure times of 7pm are not convenient for shift workers returning from Barrow towards Millom, with a long and narrow diversion route in place, so I have asked if the work teams can move the evening closure time back by an hour or so to allow people to return from work without placing extra burden on the route via Broughton Mills and Ulpha.

“We have had a significant number of single-vehicle road traffic incidents in this area across the past 18 months, so there is a concern that the condition of the road surface may have been a factor in some of these.

“Thankfully, no-one has been seriously injured and I trust that once this stretch has been properly resurfaced it will be safe to drive on for years to come.”

To protect the public and allow the council’s contractor to safely carry out the work, the section of the A595 will be closed from 7pm until 5am each night during the work.

A signed diversion route will be in place during the road closure and road users are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys.

Councillor Keith Little, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “This essential resurfacing work will replace worn-out sections of road with a new, hard-wearing surface, making journeys smoother and safer for drivers.”