MP Helen Goodman launched the petition last autumn, calling for Durham County Council and the Department of Transport to build a bypass as soon as possible.
She presented it in parliament last week when she told MPs about a crash in Toft Hill in December 2016.
Ms Goodman said: “The life of my constituent Alex Wright was literally shattered when a van drove into her living room and totally destroyed it. She had to move out for months while the house was rebuilt.
“For years, the residents of Toft Hill have been calling for a bypass, and 950 people have signed this petition. This is not purely a local issue; it raises questions of national road policy. Currently the criteria focus on housing and congestion. We would like to see a rebalancing of the criteria towards northern concerns, such as economic development and quality of life.”
The petition states that the A68 through Toft Hill is “unsuitable and unsafe for the volume and nature of vehicles, especially HGV lorries”.
The need is even greater because the primary school is on the main road, the MP said. Planned developments in the village would make this stretch of road more dangerous, she added.
The petition was available to sign online. One person commented: “My grandson and family live on this road. There have been two accidents within the last six months outside their home. It is a very busy road with lots of commercial vehicles and parked vehicles making it very congested.”
Another said: “It’s blindingly obvious that this nice little village needs a bypass.”
Ms Goodman said she would update residents about the government’s response when it was made.
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