What’s next

On Thursday 7 March 2024, the Secretary of State for Transport approved the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project.

This means we now have planning permission to dual 18 miles of single carriageway between Penrith and Scotch Corner.

We are continuing to develop our plans, with archaeological work and preparatory utilities diversions currently taking place along the A66.

Once the DCO decision challenge period has concluded, we will be in a position to provide an update on when construction work will start.

You can find out more about the Secretary of State’s decision on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

This short video gives more information about the process behind the DCO and how we build roads.