THE details of plans to upgrade the A1 between Dishforth and Barton to a three-lane motorway were revealed this week.

The plans may look familiar because they are. We have been here before, in the early 1990s and then just three years ago.

Consultation meetings planned to give local people a the chance to see those plans in more detail take place over the next fortnight, but nobody expects there to be much debate about the route. The key question for those who have watched with dismay the way this scheme has been delayed over the years is whether it will ever really happen.

This scepticism is understood and, indeed, shared. It has been demoralising to see £12m of taxpayers' money wasted since 1989, with land and property bought, sold and many instances blighted by the uncertainty.

The need for the upgrade of the last remaining non-motorway stretch of the A1 in Yorkshire is clearly accepted, and has been since 1990. While many other road schemes have been completed in that time, this one has been set aside time and time again. It cannot be allowed to happen once more, despite the clear difficulties the Government faces with its ambitious public expenditure plans, which are threatened by a slowing national economy.

For the sake of the people who live near to the road and the wider economy of North-East England, the Government has to be pressed to start the work in 2008 as is presently planned.

In the coming months leading up to the Government's spending review, the Darlington & Stockton Times will be making the case for an early start.