The road project to widen the A19 between Wynyard and Norton could be further delayed or even cancelled as the Government are stalling on planned road improvements for fear of overspending, says the Member of Parliament for Stockton North, Alex Cunningham.
The Road Investment Strategy is a long-term programme to improve the quality of the roads, and one of the actions within the strategy is to widen the A19 Norton to Wynyard Billingham bypass to three lanes between the A139 and the A689, and replace the existing concrete surfacing with a low-noise surface.
The National Audit Office have recently said that 16 routes within the strategy were on hold and being reconsidered to ensure affordability. In response to this, Alex has today written to the Department for Transport to secure assurance that the changes affecting people in Stockton will still be going ahead.
Alex says:
“These necessary changes would have been completed by now under the timescale planned by the last Labour Government, and I think it’s unacceptable that this Conservative Government are inflaming anxieties of local people by holding up and reviewing projects.
“My constituents need this work to be done in order to improve the connectivity in the area and end the incessant noise that plagues residents in the Billingham area. It’s disappointing that once again the North East is treated as a second thought whilst London sees continued investment above and beyond the rest of the country.”
