Highways England has revealed the preferred route for the £1bn upgrade to northern Trans-Pennine route, the A66
The announcement reveals the list of improvements Highways England wants to now take into construction for the A66.
The A66 links the M6 at Penrith in Cumbria with the A1(M) at Scotch Corner in North Yorkshire.
As well as benefiting local people the upgrade aims to support tourism and freight traffic, improving connections between ports in Scotland and Northern Ireland and those in England at Hull and Felixstowe.
Highways England has chosen Amey Consulting and Arup to deliver the £45m A66 design contract.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps, said: “As we gradually reopen our society, we want to ensure communities across the North are able to benefit from smoother, safe, better connected journeys.
“Upgrading this vital national link will not only level up infrastructure in the region but will deliver benefits up and down the country – supporting tourism and movement between our key ports.”
The proposals include five new bypasses, key junction improvements and an underpass at the congested Kemplay Bank roundabout near Penrith.
Highways England’s senior project manager Matt Townsend, commented: “We are delighted more than 92% of people backed the idea of completing the dualling of the A66.
“Since the consultation ended ten months ago, we have carefully considered all the public responses. We have revisited issues such as the environmental impact of each option, how we can re-connect communities currently separated by the existing road and how to improve the route for pedestrians and cyclists.
“The options we have revealed today [23 May] are the ones we want to take forward into construction, but they were also the most popular among people who responded in the consultation.
“We feel the proposals reflect ours and the government’s vision of a Northern Trans-Pennine route fit for the rest of the century. They also reflect the aspirations of the majority of people, including a diverse range of interest groups, who engaged with us in many months of discussion or gave us their views during the consultation.”
As well as choosing the underpass instead of a fly-over at Kemplay Bank, Highways England is proposing the following options:
- A northern bypass of a three-mile section between Penrith and Temple Sowerby
- The northern bypass option for Kirkby Thore
- The most northerly of two options bypassing Crackenthorpe
- Taking forward the single option to dual a five-mile section between Appleby and Brough alongside the existing section of single carriageway
- Similarly, converting a 1.9-mile section of the route north of Bowes – the current, single carriageway Bowes bypass – into a dual carriageway
- A bypass south of the Old Rectory between Cross Lane and Rokeby instead of a conversion which would have required demolishing buildings
- The most northerly of three bypass options linking sections of existing dual carriageway between Stephen Bank and Carkin Moor
The proposals also include significant improvements to the existing junctions between Barnard Castle and the A66 at Bowes and Rokeby. These will improve safety at the two junctions and make for safer, smoother journeys for HGVs.
