Businesses, commuters and tourists are to get smoother, safer journeys along the A66 through Eden Valley in Cumbria – thanks to a £5 million package of repairs.
Major road reconstruction between Kirkby Thore and Low Moor east of Penrith, will start on Friday 7 September. It involves 7 successive weekend closures of the road – overnight between each Friday and the following Monday. Highways England is also using the opportunity to do other repairs and maintenance during the 17 days of work.
Highways England project manager Stephen Mason said:
The A66 between Kirkby Thore and Low Moor is on very old foundations and the carriageway needs total reconstruction and resurfacing to bring it up to modern standards.
This will provide a long-term fix to road surface issues we have had here over the last few years but we cannot do the work safely on this single carriageway section of the A66 without fully closing the road. We appreciate this will inconvenience some road users but we’ll be taking advantage of the closures to do as much work as possible here and at other locations which will spare drivers future inconvenience.
Highways England has been carefully planning the work for months, including speaking to local councils, businesses and other key stakeholders.
As well as the work along a ½ mile section of the route between Kirkby Thore and Low Moor, other resurfacing work will be taking place at:
- M6 junction 40, Skirsgill roundabout
- Kemplay roundabout and spurs
- Temple Sowerby Bypass eastbound and westbound carriageways
- Sandford to Walkmill bends
- Kirkby Thore to Long Marton junction
- Brougham to Kemplay roundabout (westbound)
Highways England is reassuring drivers that diversions for different types of vehicles are being carefully planned and will be publicised in advance.
Mr Mason said:
Closing the road sounds daunting but many of the lorries and other commercial traffic will be re-routed along the A69 and can also use the M62 further south. Diversions for other traffic, including for people on local journeys, will be available from the A66 itself.
To explain the work, Highways England engineers are attending Brough, Temple Sowerby, Morland and Bolton parish council meetings over the next fortnight. Staff will also be staging several public drop-in sessions including:
- Kirkby Thore Village Hall Wednesdays 18 and 25 July and 1 August between 5pm and 7pm
- Appleby Public Hall, Boroughgate, Thursdays 12 and 19 July between 5pm and 7pm
- Highways England’s New Squares, Penrith, office, every Friday evening until 31 August between 5pm and 7pm
