Member Article

£12.5m Darlington transport link takes a step forward

A £12.5m project representing one of Darlington Council’s biggest ever efforts to tackle traffic congestion could take a step forward next week. The Government has conditionally approved £12.04m towards the cost of the project to provide a link between Haughton Road and the A66, reducing the volume of traffic on some of the town’s key routes. Darlington Borough Council has agreed to contribute the remaining £460,000. The scheme will help cut congestion on the busy routes of Haughton Road, Yarm Road and McMullen Road, as well as open up potential new development and employment land in the area.

A report to the Council’s Cabinet - which meets next Tuesday (10 October) - is the next step in taking the scheme forward. Cabinet members are being asked to approve the release of £12.04m, subject to final approval being secured from the Department for Transport. Once that approval is gained, the main work on the site is due to start early in 2007.

Nick Wallis, Darlington Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “If approved by Cabinet, this will be yet another important step forward in this exciting project, which will have a significant impact in tackling congestion on some of Darlington’s key routes.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .