THE Department for Transport has today announced its preferred route for the dualling of the A66 in County Durham and Cumbria following a major public consultation exercise.

The £1bn scheme will dual the five remaining single carriageway sections of the route.

Here are the details for the County Durham and North Yorkshire sections:

Bowes Bypass

This is a 1.9-mile, single carriageway section which is sandwiched between dual carriageway sections to the east and west. A key feature of this section is the junction with the A67 which is currently only accessible to traffic to and from the west. East-bound traffic approaching may not be aware that one lane at this junction is used for the A67 which reduces capacity and also leads to last minute lane changes and slowing traffic on the A66 which present safety issues. This section carries approximately 16,300 vehicles per day, 24 per cent of which are HGVs.

What was proposed? There was only one option put forward for improving this section of the A66, because Bowes had already been bypassed by a single carriageway route in 1983.

Options were also constrained by existing bridges at Clint Lane and at the A67.

Option J: The DfT is proposing to widen the carriageway to the north of Bowes village and between Clint Lane Bridge and the junction for the A67 where a new eastbound slip road junction would be designed. After the A67 junction the DfT is proposing to use the existing carriageway for westbound traffic and construct a new eastbound carriageway north of the current road. This will require new or extended bridges to be built. Two new eastbound slip roads will be built, providing access to and from the A67 and Bowes. This would require the demolition of some derelict buildings and neighbouring barn structure. The Roman Road known as The Street will be closed and access between Bowes village and the A66 instead provided by the upgraded Bowes junction, making access to the A66 safer for local traffic.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Cross Lanes to Rokeby

There is a 1.8-mile section of single carriageway in this section which is sandwiched between dual carriageway to the east and west. There are two major junctions at each end of this section and a further five farms accessing directly onto the A66 and other private access points. These present considerable safety risks due to mixing fast and slow-moving vehicles, a major cause of road accidents on this section. This section carries approximately 16,900 vehicles per day, 27 per cent of which are HGVs.

What was proposed? A new westbound carriageway to the south of the current A66 between the B6277 junction at Cross Lanes and Rokeby, after which two options exist around the St. Mary’s Church buildings.

Option K: This option would divert both carriageways to the south of The Old Rectory and St Mary’s Church before re-joining the existing road at Rokeby. A new junction would be provided for access to Moorhouse Lane, B6277 for Barnard Castle, Cross Lanes Organic Farm and the listed building Cross Lanes, making access safer and easier. A new junction west of St Mary’s Church is proposed to allow access to the original A66 and Rokeby. Two new culverts would be constructed to accommodate Tutta Beck.

Option L: This option is similar to option K but the new westbound carriageway would be constructed next to the current carriageway. This would mean that some buildings to the south of the current A66 would need to be demolished. This option would retain local access at Rokeby junction for eastbound traffic. Westbound traffic would be required to utilise Cross Lanes junction and the B6277 for access to Barnard Castle.

The preferred option: For this section of the A66, the DfT has selected option K, the southern bypass because it does not impact on the setting of St Mary’s church or require the demolition of the Old Rectory. The section of the A66 would also allow HGVs to easily travel in both directions on the A66 via the new all movement junction. Option K was the most popular with respondents at consultation.

Stephen Bank to Carkin Moor

Darlington and Stockton Times:

There are four miles of single carriageway in this section of the A66 and, while the road is relatively straight, it rises and falls in areas, causing visibility issues and forcing HGVs to accelerate to navigate steep inclines. Multiple access points present safety issues where vehicles are attempting to join a single lane at high speeds. Drivers can also find themselves in a vulnerable position when attempting to slow and leave the A66, especially when turning right. This section carries approximately 17,100 vehicles per day, 27 per cent of which are HGVs.

What was proposed? A new dual carriageway at Stephen Bank, followed by three different options that consider the impact on Fox Hall Inn, Mainsgill Farm and the Carkin Moor scheduled monument. All the options would incorporate the dualling of the current A66 between Stephen Bank and West Layton broadly following the line of the existing road.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Rishi Sunak at the Ravensworth turn-off

Option M: After West Layton, we proposed a new dual carriageway to the south of the existing A66 and the properties at Fox Hall and Mainsgill Farm. It would re-join with the A66 at Carkin Moor Farm beyond the scheduled monument. A new junction and bridge at New Lane would also be required to provide access to the new A66 for several properties and the villages of East and West Layton and Ravensworth. Several underpasses would be created to maintain land access and public rights of way.

Option N: After West Layton, we proposed a new dual carriageway to the north of the existing A66 and the properties at Fox Hall and Mainsgill Farm. This would re- join the current alignment of the A66 at Carkin Moor Farm. A new junction and bridge on Moor Lane would provide safe and easy access to the old A66, the villages of East and West Layton and Ravensworth and the Mainsgill Farm Shop. The new dual carriageway is expected to re-join the A66 just after Mainsgill Farm and therefore requires the widening of the road through the scheduled monument.

Option O: This option follows the same route as option M as far as New Lane where it diverts north to avoid Mainsgill Farm shop. A new eastbound junction at Fox Hall would provide local access to the old A66 and West Layton. New Lane would be realigned to connect with the new A66 to provide access for Ravensworth. This proposed route would continue in a northerly direction to a new junction at Moor Lane to provide access from Mainsgill Farm and the former A66. The new dual carriageway would re-join the A66 just after Mainsgill Farm therefore requiring the widening of the road through the scheduled monument.

The preferred option: The DfT has chosen option N, the northern bypass, because this route maintained the line of the A66 through the scheduled monument at Carkin Moor. The DfT also felt Option N also presented better options for utilising the detrunked section of the A66 to allow safe and easy access to local villages and facilities. Officials sought advice from Historic England around the options in this area due to the importance of the scheduled monument. Their view was that the known impact of carefully widening the road through the monument was preferable to the impacts on potentially unknown archaeological assets of constructing a new road to the south. The northern bypass option N was the most popular at consultation.

What happens next? The DfT says: "Now we have announced our preferred route, we will carry out further surveys and investigations to help us design the project in more detail. These surveys and investigations will also be vital in providing information for our assessments which will underpin our future consultations and our subsequent Development Consent Order application (see below animation).

"As part of this work, you may notice some activity in the area. We plan to consult on the design of the road and the junctions at a later date giving you a further opportunity to share your views with us. In the meantime, we will continue to engage with our stakeholders and the local community to help us refine the design before inviting the public to submit further feedback.

"Throughout the process we will keep listening and talking to everyone with an interest in the project."