The need for the scheme

The need for the scheme

The A66 trunk road is a major east-west route across the Pennines. It links the Teesside conurbation and the A1 in the east to Cumbria and the M6 motorway in the west. The alternative trans-Pennines routes are the M62 motorway, which is approximately 100km to the south, and the A69 trunk road some 60km to the north.

The A66 is an important route for long distance strategic traffic and carries a large number of heavy goods vehicles. It is also an important route for local traffic including slow moving agricultural vehicles. This mix of traffic frequently leads to bunching and queues often form behind slow moving vehicles. This may lead to frustration and to drivers taking unnecessary risks when overtaking.

The overall accident rate on this section of the A66 is close to the national average for similar roads. However, the severity of injuries is more than twice the national average. There have been seven fatal accidents in recent years. The main objective of upgrading the road to dual carriageway is to improve road safety.

In addition to the poor safety record, essential maintenance work is sometimes hampered by the width of the existing single carriageway. Signals are often required to control traffic and this can give rise to lengthy delays.


The need for the scheme

Scheme map

Scheme map

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Scheme map

The proposals

The Proposals

The main elements of the proposals are:

The proposals will include an enforcement weighbridge for the Vehicle Inspectorate.

At the western end of the scheme, Warrener Lane will be closed to motor vehicles on the northern side of the A66 but will remain open for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. Warrener Lane (south) will remain open to all traffic and the junction will be improved including the provision of a wide central reserve to help buses and other large vehicles turn safely. Improved crossing facilities will be provided for pedestrians and cyclists.

The wide central reserve would be continued eastwards so that the existing hedgerow can be retained and a large water main left undisturbed.

At Winston Crossroads, the side roads will be realigned to provide an improved staggered crossroads and the wide central reserve will allow large vehicles to turn safely. Crossing facilities will be provided for pedestrians and cyclists together with a corral for horse riders. Similar facilities will be provided at Jagger Lane which will be closed to motor vehicles.

Between Jagger Lane and Melsonby Crossroads an agricultural vehicle crossing will be provided in the wide central reserve for Rock Castle Farm.

At Melsonby Crossroads, Moor Road would be realigned to provide an improved staggered crossroads. Dedicated crossing facilities similar to those planned at Jagger Lane would also be provided. Between Melsonby Crossroads and Sedbury Home Farm, the new carriageway would closely follow the existing road and the former Kirklands Garage would be demolished. East of Sedbury Home Farm the new carriageway would be built further to the north. This is necessary to achieve the required geometry and also to allow the existing belt of mature trees to be retained within the wide central reserve. A new footpath would be provided between Sedbury Home Farm and Sedbury Lodge and then through to Sedbury Layby.

Typical cross section

Access to Sedbury Home Farm, Sedbury Lodge and the Vintage Hotel would be retained. However, access to Sedbury Layby would be for westbound traffic only. A new layby, lengthened to accommodate the expected number of large goods vehicles, would be provided for eastbound traffic near to the former Kirklands Garage site. All other existing laybys on this length of the A66 would be closed.

The new carriageway will be surfaced with the latest materials which have low noise properties.

Balancing ponds to control surface water drainage will be provided on land at Carkin Moor, Kirklands and Scotch Corner. The proposals will include planting and landscaping to mitigate the effect of the dualling on the local environment. The road will remain unlit apart from the approach to Scotch Corner roundabout.


The proposals

Benefits of the proposals

Benefits of the Proposals

The main benefit of upgrading the road to dual carriageway will be improved road safety.

The proposals will:

In addition to the important safety benefits, the proposals will provide valuable savings in journey times and reduce delays when essential maintenance is being carried out.


Benefits of the proposals

Environmental effects

Environmental Effects

LANDSCAPE

The proposals would have a slight adverse impact on the character and quality of the existing landscape. Wherever possible, existing trees and hedgerows would be retained but there will be some loss of mature vegetation. In order to offset the impact, new trees, shrubs and hedgerows would be planted to restore field boundaries, to provide links with the wider landscape and to help screen views of the road from properties and from local paths and bridleways. New planting would be located to ensure that long range views are retained.

WATER QUALITY AND DRAINAGE

Existing water abstraction from springs or boreholes would not be affected by the proposals. Two minor watercourses could be affected but these would be protected during construction. The drainage of the existing road would continue broadly as at present. Surface water from the new carriageway would discharge into existing watercourses at three locations via balancing ponds. These ponds would ensure that the rate of discharge would be the same as that from agricultural land.

ECOLOGY AND NATURE CONSERVATION

The proposals would mostly affect habitats of low conservation value and any impacts would be minor. These impacts would be offset by measures including tree and shrub planting and the creation of new habitats in verges and around balancing ponds.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Fifteen sites of archaeological interest have been identified along the route of the scheme. These include the Scheduled Ancient Monuments at Scots Dike and the Roman Fort at Carkin Moor. The proposals would have a major impact on one site, a significant impact on three sites and a small scale impact on seven sites, including the two ancient monuments. Where it is not possible to avoid disturbing a site, suitable measures would be used to mitigate the impact.

LAND USE AND AGRICULTURE

Most of the new construction will take place outside the existing highway. Approximately six hectares of Grade 3a and fourteen hectares of Grade 3b agricultural land will be required. Eleven farms would be affected but the maximum landtake at any farm would not exceed 4% of the total farm area. Landtake may therefore have an effect on the business of the farm but should not affect its viability. Where existing field accesses are affected, new accommodation tracks and access points will be provided.

AIR QUALITY

The proposals will result in improved air quality at six locations. However, some properties would experience a small detrimental effect. Overall the effects on air quality would not be significant.

TRAFFIC NOISE AND VIBRATION

The proposals would not result in any significant change to traffic noise or vibration. The new carriageway would be surfaced with new 'low noise' materials. It is likely that one property would qualify for noise insulation.

LOCAL COMMUNITY EFFECTS

There would be no overall change to the local severance effects of the A66. Pedestrians and cyclists would benefit from being able to cross the road in two stages using the wide central reserve as a refuge. Improved crossing facilities would be provided at the Warrener Lane junction. New crossings at Winston Crossroads, Jagger Lane and Melsonby Crossroads would include dedicated equestrian crossings. These would incorporate corrals to help riders or people leading horses to cross the road more safely.

DISRUPTION DURING CONSTRUCTION

The new carriageway would be parallel to the existing road and most construction would take place 'off-line' with little disruption to A66 traffic. However, some delays would occur at the points where the new construction would tie in to the existing road and at the junctions where alterations would be required to the side roads. Temporary traffic management measures will be designed to ensure that the works operate safely and delays are kept to a minimum.


Environmental effects

What happens next?

What Happens Next?

A public exhibition of the plans and other material illustrating the proposals will be held at:

At the exhibition, staff from the Highways Agency and the Agency' designers, Mouchel North Yorkshire, will be available to answer your questions. The publication of this draft Order marks the beginning of the statutory procedures for this scheme. This allows the proposals to be publicly scrutinised and for formal comments to be received in the form of support, objection, or other representations. The end of the period for comment, known as the objection period, will be on 31st January 2003.

If at the end of this period there remain unresolved objections to the proposals then a Public Inquiry into the draft Order may be held before an independent Inspector appointed by the Lord Chancellor. If a Public Inquiry is held, everyone who has supported the proposals, objected to or made other representations about the draft Order will be notified of the date and the venue at least 6 weeks beforehand. Notices will also appear in the local press.


What happens next?

Locations to inspect the orders and plans

Locations to Inspect the Orders and Plans

Copies of the draft Order, Plans and Enviromental Statement may be inspected during normal office hours from 27th September 2002 at the following locations:


Locations to inspect the orders and plans

Your comments

Your Comments

Letters of support for the draft Order, objections to the draft Order, and other representations should be sent to:

Highways Agency,
Room 611,
Sunley Tower,
Piccadilly Plaza,
Manchester,
M1 4BE

To arrive no later than 31st January 2003


Your comments