‘Crack on with dualling of A66 – it’s already taken you 50 years’

THE dualling of the A66 trans-Pennine route, which is part of the government’s wider plan to “keep Britain moving,” has been welcomed in the dale.
THE news of the upgrade was announced as Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the Autumn Statement last week. Some £1.1billion will be invested into transport infrastructure to reduce congestion and upgrade local roads and public transport.
This will include the long-awaited upgrade on the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith which will help to “ensure the UK’s transport networks are fit for the future”.
When the A66 was upgraded in 2007, a 4km stretch of single carriageway near Ravensworth remained. There is also another stretch near Rokeby and Greta Bridge – the scene of several accidents in recent years.
Delivering his speech to the House of Commons, Mr Hammond said: “Reliable transport networks are essential to growth and productivity. So this Autumn Statement commits significant additional funding to help keep Britain moving now and to invest in the transport networks and vehicles of the future.”
Teesdale MP Helen Goodman welcomed the announcement. She said: “I am delighted that the chancellor has conceded the need to dual the remainder of the A66 and I will be pressing the government to ensure that there is no further delay.
“I will also be recommending that the government uses Hulands Quarry in Teesdale which is providing local materials for the current A66 upgrade.”
For years, campaigners have been calling to have the full stretch of the road made into a dual carriageway having been dubbed as one of the most dangerous roads in the dale. Charles Hall, the owner of the Rokeby Inn, off the A66, said: “When my mother and father, Sonia and Malcolm Hall, moved in here 50 years ago there were rumours it was going to be done then.
“I was over the moon when I found out It will make the A66 more used because I think a lot of people try not to use it because it is single carriageway.
“With the dual carriageway and the single carriageway and the amount of traffic, it bottlenecks and causes accidents. It is long overdue.”
Gordon Vassell lives in Hull but regularly drives across the A66 to visit Keswick. He said: “It’s manna from heaven. I have been using the A66 for 20 odd years.
“When I first started using it I could not believe that it was not dual carriageway. All the years we have been coming over we have been very close to accidents.”
The A66 goes from dual carriage way to single carriage way at Greta Bridge.
Locals say motorists heading east are often left confused for a split second by the layout.
It has been claimed that some A66 drivers think they are on a dual carriageway when they are on the slip road and end up going over on to the traffic island and then on into the Rokeby Park boundary wall. A £500,000 study to improve the A66 was part of the government’s Northern Powerhouse initiative. The upgrade is now part of England’s second Roads Investment Strategy to 2025.
County councillor Ted Henderson said: “It is not before its time. There are a lot of heavy goods vehicles now. If there is anything wrong on the M62 they come up to Scotch Corner and come across the A66.
“It could help to relieve any diversions at any time going through Barnard Castle itself. If you dual the carriageway right across it would mean that if there was an accident on one side you could go on the other side. The sooner the workmen get started the better.”
County Cllr Richard Bell added: “It’s not just about convenience and speed. There are safety issues like the Ravensworth junction that this will sort. Given that a few years ago they did the plans, archeological surveys and public inquiry, I hope they can crack on quickly now.”