I don’t think it’s an April fool,but if it is,then the newspaper concerned,won’t be popular,but if it’s true,then that’s an awful lot of cash,and I can’t see Broons government spending that sum of money.
Taken from todays Northern Echo:
THE Government gave the go-ahead last night for a long-awaited £340m scheme that will complete the motorway link between the North-East and London.
Work to upgrade 24 miles of the A1, from Dishforth to Barton, in North Yorkshire, from dual carriageway to three-lane motorway will start in the autumn.
Once completed, motorists will be able to drive from Newcastle to the M25 along an unbroken stretch of motorway.
The scheme has been years in the making. It was announced and then cancelled before ministers restored it to the national road building programme.
Making the announcement in Durham City yesterday, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said the scheme would reduce congestion, improve journey times and cut accidents.
She said: "The A1 is a vital route for the North-East.
"The improvement I’m announcing will provide drivers with a seamless motorway link all the way from Newcastle to London.
“This scheme will relieve congestion, reduce accidents, improve accessibility and make journey times more predictable and reliable - providing a boost for the region’s economy as well as benefiting local residents.”
The scheme will be delivered in two phases.
Construction of the southern section from Dishforth to Leeming will start in late autumn.
Work on the northern section from Leeming to Barton is expected to follow in 2011.
The delay will allow the Highways Agency to work on new plans for access roads between Leeming and Catterick, and Scotch Corner and Barton.
This work was recommended by planning inspector Christopher Tipping in his report, which followed a three-week inquiry at the Scotch Corner Hotel, in 2006.
Earlier this month, Mrs Kelly was asked to explain why no decision had been made on the project 13 months after Mr Tipping’s report was submitted.
Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh tried to use the Freedom of Information Act to force the Government into explaining the delay.
Last night, Miss McIntosh welcomed the announcement, but added: "While I am delighted the Dishforth to Leeming section will commence construction in autumn 2008, I nevertheless regret the six-month delay in construction.
“It begs the question why the Department for Transport have sat on the inspector’s report since February 2007?”
The announcement was also welcomed by North Yorkshire county councillor John Fort, executive member for highways.
He said: "A lot of people have waited a long time for this news.
“It will now be interesting to see how long it will take to put things into place and get on with the project.”
Northern Way transport director John Jarvis said: "This announcement will contribute to meeting the growing demand for business and other travel between the North-East, Yorkshire and the Midlands and London, helping to maximise growth in the productivity of the North’s economy.
“Investors can look ahead with confidence to the benefits that a continuous motorway standard route will bring.”
The cost of the scheme, first shelved in 1996 but resurrected six years later, was put at £340m
during the planning inquiry. An updated cost for the project is expected later this year. Junctions are planned at Dishforth, Baldersby, Leeming, Catterick Central, Scotch Corner and Barton.
Access roads for local and nonmotorway traffic will be provided between Baldersby and Leeming, Low Street and Catterick, Catterick North and Scotch Corner, and now Leeming and Catterick and Scotch Corner and Barton.
Highway bosses predict that upgrading the road to motorway could save 13 lives and prevent more than 200 serious injuries in the next 60 years.
Work started on upgrading the region’s only other stretch of A1 that is not motorway, between Bramham and Wetherby, near Leeds, last May.
