£40m Morpeth bypass plan to clear next stage

Oct 22 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A MAJOR £40m road scheme – which aims to cut traffic congestion and boost economic development in Northumberland – looks set to be submitted for Government funding approval.

If built, the proposed Morpeth northern bypass would complete a £50m investment in creating a new transport link between the A1 trunk road and the former mining communities of south east Northumberland.

The first phase of the route was put in place when the £9m Pegswood bypass was completed last year – and the final stage would involve a link between that bypass and the A1 just north of Morpeth.

The Morpeth northern bypass is estimated to cost £39.8m and is earmarked to be built between 2013 and 2015, with funding coming from the £457m regional roads allocation

Today county councillors will be recommended to submit an application to the Department for Transport for preliminary approval for financial support, and the inclusion of the project in the major schemes programme.

A new road link between the A1 and south east Northumberland has been an aspiration of the county council since the early 1990s. The final phase of the scheme would help tackle serious congestion in Morpeth, by reducing through-traffic by about 18%, and open up employment and housing developments sites at St George’s and Northgate Hospitals.

It would improve the highway network between the A1 and towns such as Ashington and Blyth, and act as a catalyst for stimulating the local economy.

Yesterday David Parker, a Morpeth town and borough councillor, said: “In my view this is a pretty important scheme because it would create a new strategic route and serve a number of purposes. It would help direct traffic out of Morpeth which is not going there, and eventually free up development land at the hospital sites.

“It is a road link which has been needed for quite a while, but has been uncertain because of the Government’s reticence to authorise the expenditure.”

A report to today’s meeting of the county council’s community services scrutiny committee says the Morpeth northern bypass has been selected as part of the regional roads programme from 2005 to 2015.

However, it still has to be evaluated by the Department for Transport and assessed against its criteria for major scheme funding.

This evaluation can take up to six months. If the project goes ahead at the estimated total cost of £39.8m, the county council would be required to make a contribution of £3.98m.