A BLUEPRINT to modernise public transport and ease traffic congestion in the North-East - backed by £101m of Government cash - was unveiled yesterday.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced his intention to revamp interchanges and bring computer- ised timetables to bus stops as part of £5.5bn national scheme to ease problems on the roads.

Passengers will be able to stand at a bus stop and a satellite signal to a computer will tell them which buses are due and when they will arrive.

Local authorities will allocate their multi-million pound shares to create more bus and cycle lanes, and improve public transport links to give people a viable alternative to using their cars.

Motorists will benefit from better road surfaces and more safety measures to reduce the number of people who are killed on our highways.

"The Government is listening to motorists and is committed to getting our roads moving again," said Mr Darling. "This announcement reaffirms our commitment to improving public transport, our local environment and giving better quality of life to our communities in the North-East."

Middlesbrough is to receive £2.6m to kick-start their transport overhaul but ministers hope that a further £11m scheme in the north of the town will be approved.

If it is successful, it will ease pressure at the Hartington Interchange on the A66 as well as developing more pedestrian access, cycle paths and more public transport improvements.

Middlesbrough MP Stuart Bell gave the extra cash a warm welcome, adding: "There was an eight-mile tail-back into Middlesbrough from Stockton on Monday, so these improvements are not only welcome, but not before time."

But South Middlesbrough and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar pointed out that the scheme was originally part of failed promise by Teesside Development Corporation.

He said: "This is yet another example of the Government and the taxpayer now having to underwrite a major infrastructure scheme which was once going to be funded by the former TDC."

A total of £30m will be invested in a number of major schemes to improve roads in the region, including the A689 in Durham, between Sedgefield and Wynyard, the South Stockton Link Road, and the Stephenson Link in North Tyneside. Projects will also include central motorway maintenance in Newcastle, Centrelink in Gateshead and the redevelopment of Four Lane Ends Interchange in North Tyneside.

In Northumberland, the A1 north of Newcastle is to be upgraded and the A69 will be safer after a £13.7m bypass at Haydon Bridge is developed.

Transport chiefs are still waiting to hear if their hopes to develop a £16.5 new road link between the A182 Washington Highway at Shiny Row and B1284 at Rainton Bridge will be given the go-ahead

Tory Transport spokesman Tim Collins said plans to widen some roads and go ahead with light rail schemes would be widely welcomed.

But he said that even with the extra funds, the Government would be spending less on roads each year than the average level achieved under the last Tory government.

Recalling Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's claim that the country could not build its way out of congestion, he said: "Today's statement is a U-turn."