PROJECTS to improve road safety in South Lanarkshire are set to cost more than £1.5 million in 2020-21.

Across the region, 15 accident prone roads are being targeted for improvements while six sets of traffic signals are in the process of being replaced or upgraded.

In total, £1.53 million will be spent on roads infrastructure in a bid to improve safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

Following a route action improvement assessment of all A and B roads in the region, 33 were found to have a higher rate of accidents than the national average.

Of those, seven are set to have improvement works done this year.

New high-grip road surfaces are set to be laid on five of the seven routes including the A723 Hamilton to Strathaven, the B743 Strathaven to council boundary, the B7016 Carnwath to Biggar, the A706 Harelaw roundabout to Forth and the A71 Strathaven to council boundary.

Additionally, new road markings, signs and verge marker posts will be installed where needed.

Other improvements will see new road markings painted on the A721 Harelaw roundabout to B7056 Yieldshields Road while signage and road markings encouraging drivers to slow down will be installed on the A726 Torrance roundabout to Strathaven.

A second assessment of “single sites” – individual locations on the road network rather than a stretch of the road – found 43 places where there have been at least three injury accidents in the past three years.

Of those, eight are set to see improvement works undertaken in 2020-21.

The mini roundabout at Calderwood Road and Dukes Road in Cambuslang is to be removed in favour of new traffic signals.

In Carluke, new road markings and junction warning signs are to be installed on the A73 Airdrie Road at Castle Road while road markings will be repainted on the A721 Carnwath Road at Goremire Road.

Larkhall will see alterations to the traffic signals on the B7078 Church Street at Wellbrae Street while a new 20mph speed limit will be introduced on the B7078 Union Street.

Traffic signals on the A71 Ayr Road at Burnhead Road in Shawsburn will be altered with new road markings painted.

In Hamilton, new high-grip surfacing as well as new signage and road markings will be installed on Muttonhole Road at Meikle Earnock Road but the council will only continue to monitor the A724 Burnbank Road at Clydesdale Street after the road was resurfaced and markings repainted.

Accident reduction measures as a result of single sites and route action improvement assessments are set to cost £500,000.

Traffic signals at Blantyre Farm Road in Uddingston and Glasgow Road at Bertram Street in Burnbank have already been replaced or upgraded while work on the signals on Main Street at Queen Street and at Burnside Terminus in Rutherglen are currently ongoing.

The lights on Caird Street at Douglas Street in Hamilton and on Cambuslang Road at Main Street in Rutherglen are due to be replaced or upgraded by the end of financial year.

In total, works on traffic signals is set to cost £875,000.

Other road safety measures and speed limit initiatives will cost £135,000 with £50,000 reserved for engineering measures at schools.