It is endeavoured that as many level crossings as possible should be closed permanently to improve safety and reduce congestion. While many have been successfully closed or replaced with a bridge, there are still many where doing so would be problematic or impractical for one of the following reasons:
I will begin with the level crossing at Brockenhurst. Busy A-road, no suitable alternative route for traffic to divert to and right in the middle of a national park.
- The road passes through a built-up area where building a bridge would require extensive demolition.
- The road passes through a National park or AONB, and hence permission for a new bridge is unlikely to be granted.
- The road sees so little traffic that the case for a bridge would be very weak. Same for crossings with only a small handful of train movements per day.
I will begin with the level crossing at Brockenhurst. Busy A-road, no suitable alternative route for traffic to divert to and right in the middle of a national park.