A series of improvements have been made to design plans for the proposed A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project.

National Highways has said it has ‘taken on board’ feedback from the public and other stakeholders as well as suggested improvements from delivery partners Balfour Beatty, Costain, Keltbray and Kier – and will present these changes at a public consultation starting later this month.

The A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project aims to dual the remaining single carriageway along a 50-mile stretch of the A66 at a cost of £1.3bn.

The project is also part of the Department for Transport’s Project Speed initiative, halving the time to build the scheme from 10 years to five.

In total, there are 32 changes to the original design prompting the need for consultation. The consultation will begin on Saturday 28 January 2023 and end on Monday 27 February 2023.

The changes will deliver wider benefits, including to the environment and could reduce the amount of land required to deliver the project.

Lee Hillyard, National Highways’ A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project Diretor, said: “The communities and public from Penrith all the way to Scotch Corner have been hugely helpful in shaping our project and we have taken a large amount of feedback onboard.

“We appreciate there have been previous consultations, but we are keen to make sure this project is as beneficial to as many people. I’d like to thank the public for their patience and would urge them to have their say on the latest developments.”

Members of the public are now invited to participate in the consultation and attend the public information events to discuss the proposals.