Transport secretary Grant Shapps has granted development consent for the A1 Birtley to Coal House Improvement Scheme.
The project covers four miles between junctions 65 and 67, close to the Angel of the North, and will see the widening of the A1 south of Gateshead to four lanes on the southbound carriageway and three lanes on the northbound carriageway.
The scheme also includes replacing Allerdene Railway Bridge immediately south of the existing structure.
Highways England project manager Nicola Wilkes said: ‘The A1 is an extremely important route for the region and this major upgrade will add to the regional investment already taking place in the North East, such as the nearby improvement work between A1 Junction 74 at Scotswood and Junction 79 at North Brunton, where we’re adding an extra lane on both carriageways.’
As a nationally significant infrastructure project, the scheme was assessed by the Planning Inspectorate, which considered concerns raised by the Angel of the North's creator, sculptor Antony Gormley, that views of the statue would be affected by new gantries.
The inspectorate found that the proposed gantries on the northbound approach to Junction 66, along with a replacement footbridge would be likely to result in a moderate adverse effect on the setting and views of the Angel for experienced people in vehicles on that carriageway.
Highways England said its approach had been 'to minimise the effect on the landscape and to mitigate any impact, particularly around the Angel of the North'.
Costain has been appointed as Highways England’s Delivery Integration Partner under the Regional Delivery Partnership framework to design and build the Birtley to Coal House Improvement Scheme with strategic partner Jacobs.
Highways England said it is currently assessing timescales to start the programme of work, ‘expected to be no later than this summer’.
The company said improvement work to add an additional lane in both directions on the five-mile stretch between junctions 74 and 79 has reached its next milestone.
A new 3.75 km concrete safety barrier – described by Highways England as a key part of the scheme – has been installed, so preparation work can start in the verges for the construction of the additional lane.
Junction 79 at North Brunton
