A30 near Launceston: right turns banned as £9.8m works begin

Drivers who use the A30 across the top of Bodmin Moor tend to know the run between Kennards House and Five Lanes for two things: the quick side turnings, and the crashes. From this autumn, that run starts to change.

What is happening on the A30

National Highways has confirmed a £9.8 million package of road safety work along the A30 between the Kennards House and Five Lanes junctions, close to Launceston. Work is due to start in autumn 2026, with the main construction running from September 2026 to March 2027 and the whole scheme finished by spring 2027.

Six junctions are being reworked along the route: Plusha, Trevell, Polyphant, Two Bridges, Blackhill Quarry and the highways maintenance depot. National Highways says it reviewed ten years of safety data, traffic flows, signage, road markings, safety barriers and visibility before drawing up the plans, and that doing nothing was not an option.

The right turns and U-turns that are going

The heart of the scheme is closing off the crossing movements where drivers cut across fast-moving traffic. At Plusha, the right turn from the B3257 onto the eastbound A30 will be banned. National Highways says fatalities and collisions have happened at exactly that movement. Drivers heading east will instead turn left and turn around at the Five Lanes junction, and the slip roads at Plusha are being improved to help traffic join and leave.

At the Trevell junction, next to Plusha, the central reserve gap is being closed completely to stop drivers making a U-turn there once the Plusha changes are in. The Polyphant northern junction gets a full gap closure too, with better slip roads and a historic milestone marker moved slightly as part of the work. At Blackhill Quarry and the maintenance depot, the crossovers are only partly closed: the right turn onto the westbound A30 is banned, but drivers can still turn right off the westbound carriageway so blue light services can reach Polyphant and larger vehicles stay on the main road.

📷Credit: National Highways

What drivers can expect during the works

The building work will not be quiet. A 50mph limit will be in place through the roadworks, with one lane kept open in each direction around the clock. There will also be a run of overnight full closures between September 2026 and March 2027, with a free 24-hour recovery service for anyone who breaks down inside the works and changes to some bus routes while the closures are on.

Some of the groundwork is already done. Back in March 2025, National Highways replaced temporary safety barriers with a stronger system, added kerbing and improved signs, and put in a temporary 50mph limit while that early work took place.

How the plans changed after local feedback

The proposals were shaped by a public engagement event held at Lewannick Village Hall in September 2024. More than 400 people responded to the survey that followed. National Highways says 93 per cent of them felt something needed to be done on the route, and 80 per cent were concerned about safety.

That feedback moved the plans. A proposed closure of the Two Bridges junction was dropped, and the junction will be monitored instead. Plusha was pushed up the priority list because of its worse safety record, and National Highways committed to funding improvements on the local road network to soften the effect of traffic being diverted to other junctions. The team also worked with Cornwall Council, parish councils, the local MP and the emergency services while developing the scheme.

What was ruled out

National Highways says it looked at a wide range of options. A grade separated junction, in other words a flyover, was considered the ideal fix, but the time needed to deliver one would have left the current risks in place for years. Lower speed limits were also looked at and are not being brought in with this scheme for now, on the basis that the junction changes are expected to be more effective and would not necessarily need speed cameras.

Where to find more information

National Highways is posting updates on its A30 road safety package webpage. Questions can go to its customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000, which is open 24 hours, or by email to [email protected]. The overnight closures are the part most drivers will notice, and those are set to keep coming right through to March.

📷Credit: National Highways