A MAJOR road in Darlington is set to be closed for more than a year due to work on a significant new attraction in the town.
Bonomi Way, off North Road, closed yesterday (Tuesday) for 55 weeks while the work takes place.
Read more: How Darlington's 'Disneyworld style' £35m railway heritage attraction is progressing
The closure is because work has started on the construction of the Rail Heritage Quarter in Darlington.
It includes renovating the current Head of Steam Museum, on Station Road, into a visitor centre bristling with latest technology to bring alive the events, and journeys, of 1825.
In time for the 2025 bicentenary, a “national visitor destination” will be created to celebrate Darlington’s railway heritage.
Travelling north along North Road the next turning point for motorists is onto Whessoe Road.
Speaking in February, Councillor Heather Scott, leader of the Darlington Borough Council, told a cabinet meeting: "This is one of the most ambitious and imaginative opportunities to put Darlington on the world map and celebrate our heritage and its culture.
"We're working with others in the region and further afield to make 2025 bicentenary celebrations, both nationally and internationally, a place to visit."
The total cost of the project is £34m to £35m.
The plans include repairing and restoring the goods shed with "an immersive visitor digital media experience and a Hologauze projection of locomotives".
The North Road station building, which houses the Head of Steam Museum, will be "refreshed" to offer a "rich visitor experience".
The "enticing visuals" will include augmented and virtual reality installations and "hands-on interactive exhibits".
Currently under development, this may include a "4D cinema type experience" with moving seats.
People will be charged for this experience, but the museum as a whole will be free.
The attraction will also include the carriage works housing exhibitions of locomotives, an archive store, study centre and reading rooms, a live steam engineering building, a restored 1861 shed and a link to the mainline with the opportunity for steam train rides, and a "must-see play area".
Visitors will be able "experience the sights and sounds of Victorian Darlington".
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