darlington northern link road · 2020. 12. 22. · developed further as the design progresses 6...

D A R L I N G T O N N O R T H E R N L I N K ROA D N O V

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P U B L I C I N F O R M A T I O N E N G A G E M E N T

2 Darlington Northern Link Road | Tees Valley Combined Authority Tees Valley Combined Authority | Darlington Northern Link Road 3

Ever since I was elected Mayor of the Tees Valley in 2017, I have always been looking at ways to improve the region, making it an even better place for the people who live here and the businesses that call Darlington, Teesside or Hartlepool home. We have ambitious plans to grow our economy and create thousands of local jobs for local people, whether on the former Redcar Steelworks site, now knownas Teesworks, or by investing in and supporting the fantastic small businesses we have. And with my plan for jobs we are making huge progress in creating the good-quality, well paid jobs we all want to see come to our region.

An important part of the plan is ensuring we have the first class transport infrastructure and facilities, whether that be through a thriving Teesside Airport, upgraded Darlington Station or improvements to our road network.

One of these improvements includes better east-west connectivity from the A1(M) to Teesport. The A66 is the main trans-Pennine route north of the M62, connecting the M6, the A1(M) and Teesport. It is a vital part of the Tees Valley road network and connects the key centres

within Tees Valley to other city regions and the rest of the UK.

The Darlington Northern Link Road will improve the route from the A1(M) to Teesport, improving journey times, reliability and resilience. This will support more business, more jobs and more hou sing across the region, and these all-important improvements will help to clear traffic blackspots that, for too long, have blighted our roadways.

This scheme is about improving the lives of local people. It is still in the design stage so it is important that you have your say on the plans and let us know your thoughts. You can find out all about the scheme, visit the online exhibition room and feedback via our online survey by visiting www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/consultations

Foreword

Tees Valley Combined Authority has ambitious plans to grow the local economy.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan (2016-2026) identifies a key strategic transport and infrastructure priority to “improve east-west road connectivity to provide a high quality, resilient corridor along the A66 from the A1(M) to the international gateway at Teesport” as part of facilitating population and job growth.

Transformational improvements to the road network are critical to help us achieve our vision to provide a high quality, quick, affordable, reliable and safe transport network for people and freight to move within, to and from the Tees Valley.

The Darlington Northern Link Road (DNLR) is a proposed new road between the A66/A1150 Little Burdon junction and A1(M) Junction 59. It will link the Tees Valley, including key assets such as Teesport, Teesworks and Teesside International Airport, with the A1(M) and beyond. It will also establish an efficient link between Newton Aycliffe and the expanding port facilities on the River Tees.

Due to the lack of north facing slip roads at Junction 57 of the A1(M), the local roads A167 and A1150 are used by traffic travelling from the A66 to/from the north via the A1(M) and are the signed routes. However, these local roads, with traffic calming features and pedestrian refuges, are unsuitable for high levels of traffic, which includes significant numbers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

The use of the A167 and A1150 by strategic traffic causes stress on the local road network in Darlington, negatively impacts residents along these routes and is considered a constraint on development across the Tees Valley.

The need for improvement

The Darlington Northern Link Road will improve the region's connections onto the Motorway network and support the plans to grow the economy and create jobs

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor

Stockton-on-TeesMiddlesbrough

Teesworks

Teesport

A66A1150

A167Barmpton

Brafferton

Teesside Airport

Morton ParkDarlington

A1 Motorway Junction 59

Business Park

Newton Aycliffe

East Coast Main Line

Symmetry Park

Proposed Darlington Northern Link Road


A66 SOUTH

A167/ A1150

HGV

7.1%4.8%

0:10

TRAFFIC FLOWS ON THE A167/A1150 HAVE A HIGHER PROPORTION OF HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES (HGVS) THAN THE A66 SOUTH OF DARLINGTON

0:10

0:180:180:180:13

PEAK

PE

RIOD

SOF

F-PE

AK

PERI

ODS

JOURNEY FROM LITTLE BURDON TO A1(M) JUNCTION 59

IF NOTHING IS DONE BYCURRENT JOURNEY TIME WITH DELAYS 2020 2043

Accident information indicates there are accident clusters along the:

■ A1150 Whinfield Road ■ A167 through Beaumont Hill and Coatham Mundeville

Current Issues Scheme Benefits

2015 ⊲ A689/A66 East West Study commissioned by Highways England with TVCA to identify opportunities to

improve links between the Tees Valley and the wider road network

2016

⊲ Highways England study completed identifying the DNLR as a high performing option

⊲ Further work funded by TVCA confirmed DNLR should be progressed ahead of improvements to the existing A66

⊲ Six options were originally considered for the northern link road, with the two most viable options taken forward for further detailed consideration, these were Route A and Route B

2017

⊲ Department for Transport funded development of Route A and Route B, and Public Information Events held across Tees Valley region

⊲ Route A announced as TVCA’s preferred route based on feedback from the Public Information events

2018

⊲ Single carriageway alternatives based on Route A developed that would:

O Achieve better value for money

O Address concerns raised during the 2017 Public Information Events

2019

⊲ Technical documentation was completed for the single carriageway options considered to date

2020 ⊲ TVCA funded work to develop and assess the single carriageway options and undertake Public Information

Events which will conclude with the submission of an Outline Business case in early 2021 with supporting technical information

The Story so far

Local Roads are unsuitable for the high levels of traffic and high volumes of HGVs

A five school Academy is next to the A1150 meaning there are challenges for children to walk and cycle to school

High levels of traffic using A167/A1150 creates safety issues with pedestrians

Local amenities in the vicinity creates potential conflicts between pedestrians and traffic

The Darlington Northern Link Road will:

■ Improve the environment for residents along the A167/A1150 as a result of the reduced traffic volumes

■ Improve safety on the local road network

■ Improve journey time reliability

■ Reduce traffic levels and number of Heavy Goods Vehicles on A167/A1150

■ Improve journey times for those using the new Darlington Northern Link Road and the existing A1150/A167

■ Improve the resilience of the road network and reduce the impact of events such as roadworks and road traffic accidents

■ Provide an alternative route for all traffic and HGVS rather than using the local roads through Darlington to join the A1(M)

■ Connect Tees Valley to the A1(M) and beyond. This will support economic growth for the region by improving access to Teesport and Teesside International Airport together with making the Tees Valley more attractive to investors and visitorsA66 SOUTH

HGV

4.8%A167/ A1150 7.1%

Traffic flows on the A167/A1150 have a higher proportion of Heavy Goods Vehicles than the A66 south of Darlington, with around 1,500 per day

■ Traffic volumes on the A167/A1150 are comparable to the A66 south

■ Current journey times unreliable ■ Delays in peaks periods set to increase

if nothing done ■ By 2043, peak period delay will double

Alignment revised since 2017 to move further from Brafferton

New enlarged and signalised roundabout at Little Burdon with a free-flow link road from the DNLR onto the A66 heading east

Brafferton

Coatham Mundeville

Barmpton

Sadberge

A167

A1(M

)

A1(M)

A1150

River Skerne

Area of Proposed Options


KEY

Extract from visualisation of Darlington Northern Link Road. Provision for access across the proposed road has been included - these will be developed further as the design progresses


We are proposing that Darlington Northern Link Road provides a strategic link between A66/A1150 Little Burdon junction and A1(M) Junction 59.

We propose a single carriageway road starting from an enlarged, signalised, roundabout at Little Burdon and extending north approximately 7.5km, passing to the north east of Barmpton and Brafferton, before forming a new junction arrangement with the A1(M) Junction 59. Several options have been considered for the new northern connection of the Darlington Northern Link Road to the existing road network. Following evaluation of the options, 3 have been taken forward for further development and are outlined in this leaflet.

What this public engagement is about

Following the 2017 announcement of Route A as the preferred option, the route has been developed to minimise the impact on the environment where possible and moved further away from Brafferton in response to concerns raised by local residents.

We want to hear your views on the revised Darlington Northern Link Road alignment and the options for the northern tie-in to the A1(M). Your feedback will be analysed and used to inform the scheme’s business case and the next stage of scheme’s design process.

At this stage our options are not decided, and feedback received from the public information events will be fully considered before any decisions are taken. Feedback is welcomed on the options for the northern junction and on aspects to incorporate into future design stages of Route A.

How the scheme will affect our community

The proposed scheme passes through a largely rural environment with a mix of land uses including agricultural, industrial, commercial and large scale residential. There are multiple local access roads and public rights of way along the line of the proposed route which provide commuting links and access for the local community as well as recreational routes across the area. The proposed scheme has the potential to benefit the local community as it reduces congestion on the A167/A1150, as well as potential improvements to road safety.

The potential impacts on farms adjacent to the route as well as pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians will be fully considered as we develop our proposals. Ensuring that access is maintained will be critical to ensure the local community is still connected to the wider area.

During construction we will seek to minimise disruption to non-motorised users and ensure appropriate diversions are in place if required.

What we are proposing

KEY


Listed Buildings


We need to balance the need to build the Darlington Northern Link Road against its potential impact on the environment. Environmental issues are very important to us, and environmental specialists are working with the design team to assess the effect that any proposed route options will have on the environment. We are committed to minimising any negative effects the scheme may have on the environment and communities. Where such effects are identified we will take measures to avoid, reduce or rectify the impacts of the scheme.

A Construction Environment Management Plan would be developed in subsequent stages to mitigate any construction impacts by ensuring best practice techniques are used by the Contractor.

Environmental features plan:

The image below shows some of the environmental features considered when identifying the route alignments; with the revised Route A alignment located to minimise the impact on the environment where possible. These and other environmental features will be considered by the environmental specialists when they assess the potential environmental impacts of the scheme.

Air Quality:

Our team is looking at the potential effect of the scheme on local air quality during the operation of the road. Whilst the volume of traffic using the A66 and A1(M) is forecast to increase in future years, the proposed scheme will reduce congestion levels and, therefore, the level of vehicular emissions, easing the strain on the local road network in and around Darlington.

EnvironmentalConsiderations

Climate:

Alongside air quality, we will assess the carbon footprint and greenhouse gases associated with the scheme and consider the potential impact of climate change on the design, construction and operation of the proposed scheme.

Noise and Vibration:

The scheme will generally pass through a rural area where the A1(M), A167, A66, local roads, local farm working, and the East Coast Main Line contribute to the overall noise climate. Our team is looking at the potential effect of the scheme on noise during the construction and operation of the road.

Biodiversity:

We will assess the potential effects of the scheme on designated sites, protected species and habitats. We know there are ecological features nearby that may be affected by the proposals, including several local and nationally designated sites. There are also important habitats within the scheme corridor such as watercourses including the River Skerne and Carcut Beck and priority habitats including lowland meadows and deciduous woodland, and the potential for protected species, such as bats.

As part of the current process and to accord with best practice, preliminary non-invasive (walk-over) ecology surveys have been undertaken to enhance our understanding of the ecological issues associated with the proposed options and to help inform the mitigation required. More detailed surveys including protected species surveys will be carried out at later design stages.

Landscape and Visual Effects:

We will fully assess the potential effects of the new road on the character of the local landscape and on important viewpoints. The scheme is located in a largely rural area where there are a number of residential communities (including Brafferton and Barmpton) and public recreational facilities (such as Public Rights of Way) which will potentially experience changes to their views. Our team will seek to design the scheme to take account of important landscape features and minimise overall impact on the landscape and views.

Cultural heritage:

Our initial design work has enabled us to directly avoid sensitive heritage assets including the scheduled monuments at Coatham Mundeville, Ketton Bridge, and the World War II bombing decoy control shelter near Great Burdon Farm, as well as avoiding direct impacts to listed buildings. Listed buildings, scheduled monuments and other aspects of the historic landscape, including setting impacts on Conservation Areas, will be assessed in detail as the design evolves.

Geology and Soils:

There are historic ground instability features, foundered ground, documented in the Darlington area where depressions have formed at the surface. The proposed route has been designed to avoid these historic ground features. Further assessment and ground investigation work will be carried out as part of the design process.

Road drainage and our water environment:

There are several watercourses in the area surrounding the proposed scheme, including the River Skerne and Carcut Beck and it is important that these watercourses are protected from pollution during construction.

The drainage for the proposed scheme will be designed to store water in a series of drainage basins along the route to ensure that surface water run-off does not adversely affect the local watercourses or contribute to additional flooding.

East Coast Main Line

River Skerne

Carcut Beck

Foundered Ground

Woodland

Public FootpathsConservation Area

Area of Proposed Options


KEY


Purple option

■ Provides direct connection to Darlington Northern Link Road for traffic travelling from/to north of Darlington on the A1(M)

■ Existing Junction 59 would remain as per current arrangement

■ Meets design standards however, it will be subject to further review by Highways England to ensure operational safety and policy concerns can be addressed

The project team will be working with Highways England to provide supplementary information to inform their review

Alignment revised since 2017 to move further from Brafferton

Northern Connection Options

In 2017 a direct connection into A1 (M) Junction 59 was shown. This has now been discounted following outputs from the latest traffic modelling which showed that the traffic levels in the future will create congestion resulting in safety issues on the A1. 11 options were developed to overcome this issue and these were evaluated with stakeholder input. The three options identified to be progressed further were: purple, red & brown.

New crossing of River Skerne to join an enlarged roundabout on the A167

New crossing of the railway line

New North Facing slip roads

Reuse existing Lime Lane bridge over the A1(M)

Darlington Northern Link Road continuing south to Little Burdon roundabout

No change to Juntion 59

Junction 59 Brafferton

Coatham Mundeville

A167

A1(M

)

A1(M)

3 options (Purple, Red & Brown) are being considered for the Northern Connection

Existing Lime Lane junction retained for access to property and for Network Rail

KEY

Access from A1(M) North to DNLR

Access from DNLR TO A1(M) North

Railway Line

River Skerne


■ Would provide direct connection onto the A1(M) for the Darlington Northern Link Road

■ Existing north facing slip roads at Junction 59 are closed. All Darlington and Newton Aycliffe bound traffic would use new north facing slip roads

■ Connection from A167 onto Lime Lane would need to be restricted

■ Potential requirements for measures to prevent rat-run through Brafferton onto the A167

■ Does not have direct connection onto the A1(M) which means access to/from the Darlington Northern Link Road would require to be signed from Junction 59

■ Existing Junction 59 would remain as per current arrangement

New north facing slip roads



New crossing of River Skerne to join an enlarged roundabout on the A167

New crossing of the railway line

No direct connection to the A1(M)



New connector road northbound; with bridges over the River Skerne and the railway line


New connector road southbound; with bridges over the River Skerne and the railway line


Brown optionRed option

Existing Lime Lane junction retained for access to property and for Network Rail Connection from A167 to Lime

Lane would need to be restricted

KEY



KEY




ObjectiveOptions

Purple Red Brown

Environmental Impacts

While not assessed land take is less than Brown and therefore likely to be lower impact than Brown

While not assessed least land take and therefore likely to be least impact

While not assessed greatest land take and therefore likely to be greatest impact

Operational safety ✔Compliant with design standard however, further review needed with Highways England.

✔ ✔

Improvements for Cyclists and Pedestrians

✔ ✔ ✔

Area of Land Take Required

Cost to Construct ££ £ ££££Time to Construct (whole route) (Following on from further design & approval processes)

Approx 3 years Approx 3 years Approx 3–4years

Disruption during construction Moderate Moderate Significant

Benefit to Cost ratio; work ongoing on this aspect

Benefits likely to be in range of £1 to £1.50 for every £1 spent

Benefits likely to be in range of £1 to £1.50 for every £1 spent

Benefits likely to be less than £1 for every £1 spent

We want to hear your views

This is your opportunity to give your views on our proposals. There are various ways that you can respond:

Online: visit our online exhibition room and attend one of our online events. A questionnaire is also available to provide your feedback at www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/consultations

By post: you can request information materials and return your questionnaire, and any other feedback, by writing to Tees Valley Combined Authority, Cavendish House, Teesdale Business Park, Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6QY.

Email: you can email your feedback to the project team at [email protected]. using ‘Darlington Northern Link Road’ as your subject title.

Phone: call 01642 524400 to arrange a call back or to request materials and a member of our team will arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

This information booklet provides details of the proposals to help you provide your feedback to this information event. Further material is available online at www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/consultations

Please ensure your feedback reaches us by Sunday 27th December 2020.

What happens next

Your views are important to us. Following the public information events, we will analyse the feedback received. Comments will be used to inform the next stages of development of the scheme and the business case that is being produced.

This stage of work will conclude with the submission of an Outline Business Case to Government in early 2021.

The scheme is still at the early stage of development and projects of this nature do take a long time to develop. There would be future consultation, specific discussions, agreements and permission process to be followed should the scheme move to the next stages of design.

Due to the changing guidance around COVID-19 events will be online. We urge Tees Valley residents to visit our online exhibition room and attend one of our online events to hear about the proposals in more detail.

We’re hosting three online question and answer events. At these events we will give a short presentation to camera and then take questions from attendees. You can submit your questions using the chat function, which can be used anonymously.

■ 7th December 18.30-19.30 Whinfield Road/A1150 area

■ 8th December 12.30-13.30 General

■ 9th December 18.30-19.30 Brafferton area

Where possible, in order to help us answer all queries on the day, please attend the session which is proposed for your local area (if applicable). If you are unable to attend an event, we will be providing a recording on the Tees Valley

Combined Authority website and encourage feedback on the scheme via the questionnaire.

Information to register for the event* is available at www.teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/consultations

(*) Please note these live sessions may be recorded and published on Tees Valley Combined Authority’s website after the event.

The three options provide journey time savings of approximately 3 to 6 minutes and around 130,000 to 250,000 hours of delay saved per year. The assessment work for the options is ongoing and the table below provides a comparison based on the current information.

All three options have the same proposed single carriageway alignment, developed from Route A, starting from Little Burdon and extending north before forming a new junction arrangement with the A1(M) Junction 59. The three options each have a different junction arrangement with the existing A1(M) Junction 59.

How to find our informationComparison of Options

Project scheme and contact detailsTees Valley Combined AuthorityCavendish House | Teesdale Business ParkStockton on Tees | TS17 6QYEmail: [email protected]

darlington northern link road · 2020. 12. 22. · developed further as the design progresses 6...

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