Press release

£390,000 improvements for trans-Pennine route at Stainmore, Cumbria

Highways England is delivering £390,000 of overnight repairs and improvements along the A66 around Stainmore in Cumbria over the next few weeks.

Resurfacing, new road markings and new road studs as well a new arrangement to help minimise inconvenience to road users during future maintenance will be delivered in 3 projects which start on Wednesday (10 June).

All the work will be delivered between Brough and Stainmore along a section of the route just west of the border with County Durham. The 3 schemes will be done 1 after the other to avoid future disruption to road users’ journeys.

Highways England Project Manager Peter Gee said:

This work will provide users of this important trans-Pennine route with safer and more reliable journeys as well as allowing us to do repairs in the future without resorting to full carriageway closures and sending drivers on diversions.

We have also carefully timed this work to ensure it does not clash with the popular Appleby Fair event taking place this week and early next.

The first, £215,000, project will see the westbound carriageway between Barras and Bluegrass totally resurfaced with round-the-clock closures of either lane 1 or 2 and with a 40mph speed limit past the road works.

A smaller, £52,000, resurfacing project along the westbound carriageway between Hardhills and Augill will be delivered straight after – again with round-the-clock closures of either lane 1 or lane 2 with a 40mph speed limit past the road works.

Some £123,000 will also be spent on new arrangements – including installing a hard standing - in the central reservation of the dual carriageway just east of Stainmore Café. The new arrangements will enable a contraflow system to operate during future road works – allowing drivers to use one of the opposite lanes instead of facing a full carriageway closure and a diversion away from the A66.

All the work will be completed by mid-July and while construction will be taking place overnight between 8pm and 6am, lane closures will remain in place for safety reasons with excavations in the carriageway. Road users travelling overnight may find they are occasionally held at temporary traffic lights and led past the road works in 10mph convoys.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Published 3 June 2015