Westmorland and Furness Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement of funding approval for a major project to dual the A66.
The project to widen the road, which runs between Penrith and Scotch Corner, was originally approved under the previous Government, but following its election win last year the new Government put the plan on hold to review the scheme.
The Department for Transport has now confirmed the project will be delivered, as part of a £92bn investment in national road and rail infrastructure announced overnight.
Government says the National Highways project to dual the important trans-pennine route will cut journey times across the north, support over 10,000 new homes and connect millions across the region as a key national and international economic route.
Leader of Westmorland and Furness Council, Councillor Jonathan Brook, welcomed the announcement.
He said: “Westmorland and Furness Council welcomes the Government announcement of funding for the A66 Northern Trans Pennine project, which will provide a continuous dual carriageway between the M6 at Penrith and the A1(M) at Scotch Corner.
“We have been working closely with National Highways and its contractors to support the design and development of the National Highways project and are looking forward to seeing a start on building the road.
“This vital piece of infrastructure will bring benefits to the area, facilitating growth, improving connectivity and increasing resilience, reliability and capacity on the national road network between Cumbria and the North-East.”
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT, commented: “This nationally significant infrastructure project will deliver help to resolve traffic congestion, particularly around Penrith, improve journey times, reliability and save lives by upgrading the single carriageway parts of the A66.
“The council will continue to play an active part in the project by supporting National Highways in the delivery of this scheme.’’