Latest updates

Our Development Consent Order (DCO) has been approved and we can now look ahead to the construction phase. Preparatory archaeological works and utilities diversions are currently taking place along the A66.

Once the Development Consent Order (DCO) decision challenge period has concluded in April 2024, the next step will be for Government to review and approve the Full Business Case.

This project – the biggest single investment in the North’s road network in a generation – will help transform the remaining single carriageway sections along the 50-mile stretch of the A66 between Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire, offering a better experience for drivers.  

The route carries high levels of freight, with 25% of the traffic being heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), more than twice the national average for a road of this nature. Any delays to journeys can have an extremely negative effect on business, including lost working time and missed shipment slots.

While we aim to reduce congestion and improve journey times, the biggest priority remains the safety of those who use and live near the road.

The improvements will also reduce delays and queues during busy periods and improve the performance of key junctions such as the A66/A1 and the M6 junction 40. This will mean local communities and businesses will benefit from the investment for decades to come.  

Thousands of holidaymakers use the A66 to get to holiday destinations and hundreds of businesses rely on tourism. By making the route more reliable, it will not only improve access to hotspots such as the Lake District, County Durham and the Yorkshire Dales, but will also support the regional and local economy.  

More information about our DCO and the decision can be found on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

The decision has been made to extend the DCO deadline until 7 March 2024.

We remain confident in our proposals and we stand ready to deliver these improvements, subject to receiving a positive decision on the DCO and authorisation to proceed to construction.

More about the Secretary of State’s decision will be available on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

Proposals for the biggest generational investment on the north’s road network have taken a step forward following the Planning Inspectorate’s acceptance of our Development Consent Order (DCO) application.

The £1bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project will lead to dualling the remaining single carriageway sections of the dualled and key junctions between M6 Junction 40 (Penrith) and the A1 at Scotch Corner improved.

We submitted our DCO application on Tuesday 21 June and the Planning Inspectorate has today (Tuesday 19 July) confirmed we can now move onto the pre-examination stage.

The submission came following a series of consultations with local communities which began last autumn.

More than 1,200 people and organisations provided feedback on our designs. We also held a number of public information events along the route where more than 1,500 people attended.

Find out more information about the DCO process.

From now until 6 November, you can see our latest designs and have the opportunity to let us know what you think of them.

There will be a number of ways you can get involved:

• Our Citizen Space page
• Online virtual consultation
• Public information events
• Webinars
• Telephone surgery

We’ll also keep you up-to-date on our web page, and we’ve launched our new @A66NTP Twitter feed and A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project Facebook page

You can also contact the team if you have any questions by emailing A66NTP@highwaysengland.co.uk. Alternatively, if you would prefer to speak to someone you can phone 0333 090 1192 between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.

Our face-to-face information events will be held at a number of locations along the route and we are looking forward to showing you our latest plans.

If you can’t meet us in person, we will be launching a series of online Question & Answer sessions.

 We will be hosting the following sessions, so please sign up using the details below if you would like to attend:

• Q&A session for M6 junction 40 to Kemplay Bank, Penrith to Temple Sowerby, and Temple Sowerby to Appleby – Kirkby Thore: Wednesday 13 October, 6pm – 7:30pm
• Q&A session for Temple Sowerby to Appleby – Crackenthorpe, Appleby to Brough: Wednesday 20 October, 11:30am – 1pm
• Q&A session for Bowes Bypass, Cross Lanes to Rokeby, Stephen Bank to Carkin Moor, A1(M) junction 53 Scotch Corner: Wednesday 27 October, 11:30am – 1pm
• General Q&A session: Wednesday 3 November, 6pm – 7:30pm

To book onto one of the online sessions, please send the following details to the Highways England inbox at A66NTP@highwaysengland.co.uk 24 hours in advance of each session:

• Your full name
• Your email address
• Which session you’d like to book

 A link will be sent to you 24 hours in advance of your session.

The A66 £1 billion dualling consultation has reached the halfway point in its six-week run to gain the views of the communities, drivers and businesses who use this important Trans-Pennine route.

A series of drop-in events giving the public a chance to have a say on plans to transform the A66 have come to an end – but we're still urging people to voice their opinions through other channels over the next three weeks.

We're proposing the biggest investment on the north’s road network for a generation and are midway through the consultation on the latest designs for the project.

You have until 6 November to feed back on the plans to improve the A66 between M6 junction 40 and A1 at Scotch Corner, by dualling the remaining sections of the route and improving a number of key junctions.

Members of the project team ran 24 drop-in sessions to answer any questions on the proposals and encourage attendees to provide their feedback. In a world-first, some of the events included the use of SoundLab, a pioneering piece of equipment provided by Arup, creating the unique opportunity to listen to the expected noise levels and understand the improvements which mitigation methods such as special road surfaces and sound barriers will provide.