A CONTROVERSIAL traffic island has been reopened after a public outcry over a new road layout which cost the taxpayer £1.3 million prompted a re-think.

Worcestershire County Council engineers last week started alterations to the troublesome lefthand ‘slip-road’ – which is in fact a road junction – taking traffic from the M5 roundabout, heading towards the A4440 towards Malvern.

There were dozens of complaints from drivers saying the left-hand turn lane was a safety hazard, allowing little visiblity, leaving little time for drivers to safely pull out.

The county council then decided to make some alterations to the lane.

These works have included moving the junction back towards the M5 roundabout by about 30 yards, so it now lines up with the junction with the roundabout, and new repeater signs warning drivers when they need to ‘give way’.