Further consultation on A66 dual carriageway plans

Image source, Highways England

Image caption, People have until Monday 27 February to give feedback

People are being invited to give their views on changes to plans to revamp 50 miles of the A66.

The A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project aims to dual the single carriageway from Penrith to Scotch Corner.

Feedback from the public and partners had been taken on board for the 拢1.3bn scheme, National Highways said.

The A66 "plays an essential role" for journeys from England to Scotland, as well as connecting cities such as Edinburgh with Leeds and Sheffield.

National Highways first made recommendations on improving the route, parts of which "aren't up to modern standards", in 2016 with consultations in 2019 and 2021.

More than 30 changes have now been made to the planning application and will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration.

Construction will begin next year if the planning applications are approved, National Highways said.

Image caption, National Highways said it believed the proposed changes would improve the project

The public "had been hugely helpful", National Highways project director Lee Hillyard said.

"We have taken a large amount of feedback onboard," he added.

"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."

The project's time has been halved from 10 years to five as part of the Department for Transport's Project Speed initiative, National Highways said.

Proposed changes could include using less land, it added.

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