Govt signs off Yorkshire transport funding
Expected to cost £1.3bn, the completion of dualling the A66 from Scotch Corner to the M6 has been greenlit, along with a railway station for Haxby.
Known as the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project, the highway improvement scheme will create a continuous dual carriageway between the A1(M) at Scotch Corner and the M6 close to Penrith.
The Department for Transport said the project would increase capacity and trim journey times on a key piece of infrastructure, with 18 miles of road in line to be made into dual carriageway.
The route is particularly pressured due to the volume of freight it takes: according to the DfT, 25% of the current traffic on the road is made up of HGVs, more than twice the national average on equivalent roads.
A development consent order was secured for the project in March 2024, triggering preparatory archaeological works and utilities diversions. Work continues, with a Court of Appeal decision dismissing a legal challenge from Transport Action Network earlier this year.
Aureos, Kier and Balfour Beatty are working on the scheme.
Also confirmed for backing was the £24m two-platform station in Haxby, close to York, for which Network Rail submitted plans in March 2024.
The DfT said this will bring an additional 20,000 people within 3km of a railway. Located off Towthorpe Road, this would be Haxby’s first rail connection in 100 years, giving access to the York-Scarborough line.
Aecom, WSP, Ramboll and Keltbray are all working on the scheme.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Transport is the backbone of our economy, which is why we are giving them the record funding boost they need, putting taxpayer’s money where it matters most and making every day journeys easier.
“With over £92bn investment, including the biggest ever boost for city regions in the North and Midlands, we’re delivering the schemes that fast-track economic growth and jobs, connect communities, and will help us build 1.5m new homes, as we deliver our Plan for Change.
“We’re forging ahead with the vital new transport infrastructure Britain needs, and improving what we’ve already got, to deliver a new era of renewal and opportunity.”
The investment package sits separate from the ongoing £3.5bn Transpennine Route Upgrade programme, which aims to improve connectivity and cut journey times between Manchester and Leeds.
Huddersfield station will be closed for 30 days, starting from late August, as the programme reaches its next phase. Leeds’ station will also undergo an overhaul as part of the TRU.
In addition, said the government, it will continue to support four local road schemes across Yorkshire and the Humber.
This includes the A164/Jock’s Lodge junction improvement scheme in East Riding, where Graham won an £87m contract in late 2023.
Also covered is the Dawson’s Corner and Stanningley bypass scheme, which will see the remodelling of a notorious junction and the structural renewal of Stanningley bypass.
The A1237 York Outer Ring Road (phase 1) will see a section of the A1237 dualled, while the A59 Kex Gill scheme, between Skipton and Harrogate, will involve a new single-carriageway diversion of the existing A59 incorporating a climbing lane and associated junction changes to avoid areas prone to land slips.
Funding confirmation for the Yorkshire schemes comes as the government rubber-stamps 50+ road and rail upgrades across the country, as part of the £92bn of transport investment trailed in June’s Spending Review.
