Grayling opens £400m improvement to A1 in Yorkshire

Transport secretary Chris Grayling visited Yorkshire to officially open an £400m scheme to upgrade of the A1 between Leeming and Barton. Almost 70,000 drivers each day will use the new stretch of dual carriageway in Darlington.

This is the sixth scheme to be completed as part of the government’s £15bn road investment programme.

The A1 upgrade scheme is one of several on the journey between Newcastle and London, which is being upgraded. Other elements include: the M1 widening at Leeds; the Catthorpe interchange between the M1, M6 and A14 near Rugby; and smart motorway projects at Sheffield, Nottingham, Northampton, and Milton Keynes.

“We are investing record amounts in improving our roads – giving motorists quicker and safer journeys to go to work, see family and friends, or go shopping,” Grayling said. 

“Highways England is making good progress in delivering new road schemes right across the country, providing improved connections and new opportunities for businesses.

“But we’re not just focusing on our major roads. I have announced the funding for schemes in Leicestershire, Devon and East Riding, which will not only save drivers time stuck in traffic, but help support thousands of new jobs and homes.”

Grayling used the Darlington event on 17 May to announce three new schemes. Some £173m of government funding will go towards:

• improving the North Devon Link Road
• creating the Melton Mowbray Eastern Distributor Road
• improving the Jock’s Lodge junction near Beverley

Funding of £83.1m towards the programme to widen the North Devon Link Road, easing traffic and making the road safer for motorists.

A new bypass for Melton Mowbray wil be given £49.5m as part of the government’s programme of Large Local Major schemes. The 4.3-mile road on the east of town will help support 3,000 new jobs and 2,250 homes by 2026.

Drivers will have fewer delays between the Humber Bridge and Beverley as a result of £40.8m being awarded to East Riding Council to turn sections of the A164 into a dual carriageway and for improvements to Jock’s Lodge junction where the road meets the A1079.