Tuesday 09:10
A series of public exhibitions is to be held on plans to upgrade the A66 trans-Pennine route, which will make the road safer, improve journey times and benefit the local and regional economies.
The Government gave the go-ahead for the Highways Agency to develop proposals for the full dualling of the A66 between Penrith in Cumbria and Scotch Corner on the A1 in North Yorkshire after endorsing a safety study recommendation.
The public consultation will cover six schemes planned to improve the road. They are:
* Penrith to Temple Sowerby * Temple Sowerby to Appleby * Appleby to Brough * Bowes Bypass dualling * Cross Lane to Greta Bridge * Stephen Bank to Carkin Moor
The 50-mile stretch of road is a mixture of old single carriageway sections interspersed with lengths of dual carriageway designed to modern day standards. This mixture of standards has contributed to a number of serious accidents in recent years.
The route is a significant link between South West Scotland and Ireland via the Loch Ryan Ports to Eastern England and Europe via the North Sea ports, with over 20 per cent of the traffic being heavy goods vehicles.
Highways Agency Project Manager David Cochrane said:
"These plans will bring benefits not just for users of the cross-Pennine route, but also for local people and the local and regional economies.
"Dualling the whole of the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner will mean a significant improvement in road safety and will be of enormous importance to the road transport industry.
"Environmental considerations are key aspects of the assessment of options and the schemes will be sensitively designed to reduce the impact of the proposals.
"The effect on local communities have also been carefully considered and improved pedestrian facilities and noise reduction measures are included to mitigate the impact.
"The proposed routes have also taken into consideration the importance of the archaeological heritage along this route.
"Public consultation allows local people and road users to see and comment on our proposals before they are taken forward. It is a very significant event in the development of these schemes as the results will be used to inform ministers about the views of those affected.
"I would urge all those who live along the A66 corridor to visit the exhibitions to find out how our proposals might affect them and to let us know their views."
The dates for the exhibition are:
November 19Newsham Village Hall, 6.00pm - 9.00pm November 20Newsham Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm November 19 Warcop Village Hall, 6.00pm - 9.00pm November 20 Warcop Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm November 21Bowes and Gilmonby Village Hall, noon - 8.00pm November 22 Bowes and Gilmonby Village Hall, 10.00am - 2.00pm November 24Temple Sowerby Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm November 25Temple Sowerby Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm November 27Kirkby Thore Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm November 28Kirkby Thore Village Hall, 10.00am - 8.00pm
NOTE TO EDITORS
1 Three other schemes are already included in the Government's Targeted Programme of Improvements and are being progressed. They are:
* Temple Sowerby Bypass and improvements at Winderwath * Greta Bridge to Stephen Bank improvements * Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner improvements
2 Schemes under consideration in the Public Consultation. Line drawings of the proposed routes are available on request:
Penrith to Temple Sowerby. There were 10 personal injury accidents between 1998 and 2002 on this 5km length of road, which varies in width and is sub-standard east of Highbarn.
Two options are proposed for the improvements. In both options the route follows the existing A66 with the new carriageway being built to the north of the existing road. Between the Centre Parc junction and Swine Gill the options are:
a. The alignment moves slightly off-line to avoid the hamlet At Lane End and requires some demolition of property..
b. A more extensive off line route avoiding Highbarn Farm.
3 Temple Sowerby to Appleby. There were 42 accidents on this 8.5km stretch of road over the past five years. With 10 junctions to the local road network and properties with direct access onto the road there are serious road safety concerns. There are three options for the improvements
a. Starts near the end of the proposed temple Sowerby bypass sweeping southwest towards the River Eden to follow the line of the disused railway line across Trout Beck to Long Marton. The route then follows the line of the Roman Road and then sweeps south past Crackenthorpe to the north to tie in with Appleby bypass to the west of the existing railway. b. Starts from the end of the existing Temple Sowerby bypass and head east to cross the A66 ands then sweeps south west, back across the A66 to the south of Kirkby Thore where it follows the disused railway line and as above c. This options follows the tie in to the existing A66 and the continues in an easterly direction to bypass Kirby Thore to the north, the route sweeps south to cross Trout Beck and meet the disused railway line and as above.
4 Appleby to Brough. There were 48 accidents between 1998 and 2002 on this 8.25km length of road, which has six junctions with the local road network, varies in width and is winding. The proposed road follows the existing road between Appleby Bypass and Wildboar Hill. After Wildboar Hill the route crosses the MoD sports field and then runs south of the existing road before rejoining the dual carriageway at Brough bypass. Access to the proposed route will be limited to junctions at Sandford and WarcopThe existing A66 will be de-trunked between Moor House and Turks Head and will form part of the county road network for local access.
5 Bowes bypass. There were 11 personal injury accidents on this three kilometre section of the A66 in the last five years. This section of the A66, which bypasses Bowes and is situated around the junction of the A67 to Barnard Castle, has a daily traffic flow in excess of 14,500 vehicles, with over 28 per cent heavy goods vehicles.
6 This proposed dualling starts west of Clint Lane over bridge with the widening to the north of the existing road to the A67.
To the east of the A67 junction westbound traffic would use the existing carriageway and a new carriageway would be constructed to the north for eastbound traffic. A new slip road is proposed at the A67 junction for eastbound traffic joining the A66. At the eastern end of the scheme the A66 would be widened on both sides to tie into the existing dual carriageway.
7 Cross Lane to Greta Bridge. There have been 14 personal injury accidents on this three kilometre long section of the A66 in the last five years which has junctions at Cross Lane and Rokeby Park and several properties with direct access onto the road. There are two options for the improvements. Both options including widening the road to the south of the existing carriageway between B6277 at Cross Lanes to approximately 1.5km to the east. From this point to the junction at Rokeby, two options are being considered:
a. A new dual carriageway to the south of the St Mary's church group of buildings.
b. Widening the existing A66 with a new westbound carriageway to the south of the existing road
7Stephen Bank to Carkin Moor. There have been 34 personal injury accidents on this seven kilometre length scheme, situated between two existing widening proposals, which are already included in the TPI programme. Three route options are under consideration. They all include a common 1.9km section passing to the south of properties at Foxwell, retuning to the line of the existing A66 at Mainsgill. To the east of this point the options under consideration are:
a. Both carriageways to be constructed off line to the south of Carkin Moor Fort scheduled Ancient Monument.
b. This option splits the carriageway with the eastbound route using the existing A66 with a new westbound carriageway to the south of Carkin Moor Fort, scheduled Ancient Monument.
c. This option is to widen the existing road through the Carkin Moor Fort scheduled Ancient Monument.
8 The Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, which manages, maintains and improves the network of trunk roads and motorways in England on behalf of the Secretary of State. It works closely with other transport operators and with local authorities to integrate the trunk road network with the rest of England's roads and other forms of transport.
Issued on behalf of the Highways Agency by the Government News Network North West Media enquiries to Clive Naish on 0161 952 4517 Email: clive.Naish@gnn.gsi.gov.uk
