WORK will begin within weeks on a badly-needed £12m road scheme designed to cut congestion in Darlington.

The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor (DETC) was given final approval yesterday by the department for transport (Dft) - clearing the way for workers to move in by the end of January.

The 1.8-mile project, to link Haughton Road with the A66, has been delayed for years, during which time costs soared from £5.7m to more than £12m.

Conditional approval was granted in May, but it was only today that the Dft confirmed that all boxes had been ticked.

The scheme, which was given initial government Approval as long ago as December 2000, is now expected to be completed in early 2009.

The Dft has pledged £12.04m towards the cost of the scheme, with Darlington Borough Council will contribute a further £460,000.

Gillian Merron, a transport minister, said: "The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor scheme will bring considerable traffic reduction and environmental benefits to residential communities in the east of the town.

"It will also help people travel to work, carry out business in Darlington and have better access to leisure and recreational facilities."

The single-carriageway road will stretch from Haughton Road, along the route of the old Stockton-Darlington track bed, to a new junction with the A66.

The stretch of the A66 from the DETC link to the Great Burdon roundabout will also be improved to give more width at the junctions.

The project aims to cut congestion on Haughton Road, Yarm Road and McMullen Road, and provide an access route to the Lingfield Point business park, and the £170m Central Park.

A cycleway, bridleway and footpath will run along the same route. The cycleway will continue to Middleton St George and link into the national cycle network.