Work on a transport link to ease Darlington's congestion will start next month. Laren Pyrah looks at the ten-year campaign for funding and politiacl support for the scheme - and the benefits it will bring.

IN less than three years time, Darlington is set to have a much-needed major link road designed to ease the town's congestion problems.

Last night, Darlington's MP Alan Milburn and Darlington Borough Council welcomed the news that plans for Darlington's long-awaited Eastern Transport Corridor have been given the final go-ahead after nearly ten years of planning and lobbying to secure Government funding.

Although the plans for the Eastern Transport Corridor were drawn up about a decade ago, when Darlington became a unitary authority, the origins of the road date from the late Seventies, when the idea for the highway was conceived as part of a more ambitious cross-town route.

The plans for the road were drawn up by Durham County Council, which was responsible for Darlington's roads before it became a standalone authority in the mid-Nineties.

At the time, the road was competing for funding with other major routes in Darlington and the North-East, including the A66 bypass, and was seen as unfeasible because of environmental problems, so the plans never came to fruition.

In 1997, after Darlington became a unitary authority, proposals for a section of the cross-town route linking Haughton Road to the A66, along the old Darlington to Stockton railway route, were looked at again.

Darlington council incorporated the road into its local transport plan and put in a bid for Government funding.

However, the process stalled because of a dispute with a land owner and the funding bid failed.

Refusing to be beaten, the council continued work to secure the funding, this time securing agreements with landowners and carrying out environmental assessments, while Mr Milburn lobbied transport ministers at Westminister in preparation for a new bid.

After two years of lobbying, planning permission was granted and the £12.04m bid was secured earlier this year, with the council contributing a further £460,000.

Now work will start on January 28, with the long-awaited road expected to be completed by the beginning of 2009.

Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for highways and transport, said Mr Milburn had been instrumental in the process.

"This is an example of how he has battled hard for Darlington and come up with a result," he said.

He said the road would cut congestion on major routes in Darlington, including Yarm Road, Haughton Road and McMullen Road, and open up a large chunk of the town for businesses.

Mr Milburn said: "The Eastern Transport Corridor will open up more jobs and ease congestion in the town. I am pleased ministers listened to the representations that I made and that the Government has made substantial investment in Darlington's future."