Improvements have been made to a £1.3bn scheme to dual a single carriageway on a major North East road after feedback from the public and other stakeholders.

The work will see a dual-carriageway on the remaining single carriageway along a 50-mile stretch of the A66 at a cost of £1.3bn.

Now after taking on feedback from the public, other stakeholders and delivery partners Balfour Beatty, Costain, Keltbraay and Kier a series of improvements have been made to design plans for the Northern Trans-Pennine project.

The changes are set to be presented at a public consultation starting later this month.

Members of the public are invited to participate in the consultation and attend the public information events to discuss the proposals.

In total, there are 32 changes to the original design resulting int the need for consultation.

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Consultation will begin on Saturday, January 28 and will end on Monday, February 27.

The changes aim to deliver wider benefits, including to the environment and could reduce the amount of land required to deliver the project.

Lee Hillyard, Nation Highways’ A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project director, said: “The communities and public from Penrith all the way to Scotch Corner have been hugely helpful in shaping our project and we have taken a large amount of feedback onboard. 

“We appreciate there have been previous consultations, but we are keen to make sure this project is as beneficial to as many people.

“I’d like to thank the public for their patience and would urge them to have their say on the latest developments.” 

The location and dates of the public information events kind be found below:

  • Gilling West Village Hall, High St, Gilling West, Richmond, DL10 5JJ - Monday 30 January - 3pm - 7pm

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  • Kirkby Thore, Memorial Hall, Kirkby Thore, CA10 1UE - Tuesday 31 January - 3pm - 7pm 
  • Warcop Village Hall, Appleby-in-Westmorland, CA16 6NX - Wednesday 1 February - 3pm - 7pm 
  • Penrith Methodist Church, Wordsworth St, Penrith, CA11 7QY - Monday 6 February - 3pm - 7pm