Rishi has said the Government's plans for a phased upgrade of the A66 is bad news for North Yorkshire.
Details of how the upgrading of the important Trans-Peninne route would be carried out over a period of nine years were revealed in the Budget documents.
Construction work to dual the remining single-carriageway stretches will begin this year at the Penrith end of the road but work on the eastern-most section near Ravensworth will not start until 2030s.
Rishi said the timescale works revealed in the small print of the Budget was disappointing news.
He said: “With the Government having already delayed starting the works, which were previously due to begin in 2024, it is frustrating that it is going to take another nine years to complete. Upgrading these 18 miles of dual carriageway as soon as possible is vital to improve journey times and, most importantly, safety.
“The last Government expected this upgrade to be completed over a five-year period. If this Government had kept to our schedule and not delayed making a decision on whether to go ahead with the scheme, the work could have been at the halfway stage by now.”
Rishi has campaigned for the upgrade since 2016 primarily on safety grounds after he worked with residents in Ravensworth who were concerned about the dangerous New Lane junction. The junction on a single carriageway stretch of the A66 has been the scene of many serious accidents - a number of them fatal.
Picture: National Highways
