Press release: Road schemes to help create jobs and homes in Yorkshire and North East

Communities in Yorkshire and the North East are set to benefit from three major road improvements which will help create hundreds of new jobs and homes

A better access from the A19 to the proposed new International Advanced Manufacturing Park and Nissan plant in Sunderland is among the upgrades which are worth around £82 million.

A second scheme in Sunderland will tackle a bottleneck at the A19 and A690 Doxford Park junction, unlocking the potential for 1,345 new homes.

The third upgrade will improve junction 47 of the A1(M) at Harrogate, helping to increase capacity, reduce queuing, improve journey times and create new jobs at the planned Flaxby Green Business Park.

Highways England, Regional Director, Operations, Yorkshire & North East, Richard Marshall, said

Our roads are vital for the country and its economic success; they connect businesses and communities and support employment and new homes. All of our improvements will ultimately ensure our roads continue to improve journeys and unlock the potential for new jobs and homes.

After the Government gave Highways England the green light to start construction, work on the major upgrade to improve access from the A19 at Testos to the proposed Manufacturing Park and Nissan plant, is due to start in the New Year.

At the Doxford Park junction the company will work with Sunderland City Council to increase capacity, significantly reducing journey times and congestion at peak hour, as well as paving the way for new homes in the future.

And in Harrogate, subject to finalising agreements with local developers, it plans to work with North Yorkshire County Council to improve junction 47 of the A1(M), helping to increase capacity, reduce queuing, improve journey times as well as supporting the planned business park.

The improvements in Sunderland and Harrogate, totalling £2 million, are being paid for as part of Highways England’s dedicated £100 million fund to help local growth and housing schemes get off the ground.

The award-winning fund has already provided over £77 million to communities across the country, improving junctions and creating access to commercial land and new homes.

This includes a £1 million boost to a scheme in Darlington, improving the A68 Rotary Way roundabout. This roundabout links Darlington with the A1M and has unlocked 1 million square feet of business land in Faverdale.

The completed scheme has created a new slip road on the A68 approaching Rotary Way roundabout from the motorway, a new link road from West Park onto Newton Lane, and the roundabouts at Cockerton have also been improved.

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