On what has proved to be a poor day for A-road dualling projects, it has been revealed that plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland have been cancelled by the government due to projections which suggested the scheme would cost upwards of half a billion pounds.
The scheme to upgrade the 13-mile (20km) section of road between Morpeth and Ellingham was cancelled by the Labour government late last year, according to the BBC.
The cancellation comes after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs that the project represented “poor value for money”.Alexander was responding to questions from Scottish Borders MP John Lamont in the House of Commons.
As reported in Highways News last week, DfT spokesperson told the BBC, “Given the challenging financial picture inherited, we have had to make difficult decisions about a number of roads as they were unfunded or unaffordable.”
Campaigners, however, have long argued that congestion on the A1 negatively impacts the region’s economy and have pushed for improvements for decades.
The report notes approximately 42 miles of the A1 in Northumberland remain single carriageway, and local campaigners continue to advocate for widening the road to alleviate traffic and boost economic growth.
Pic: Mapillary
