| A66 road | |
|---|---|
| Major junctions | |
| From: | Workington |
| A595 road A596 road A5271 road A591 road A592 road M6 motorway A6 road A686 road A685 road A67 road A6108 road A1(M) motorway A1 road A167 road A1150 road A135 road A1130 road A19 road A1032 road A178 road A172 road A171 road A1085 road A1053 road |
|
| To: | Grangetown |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
Keswick, Penrith, Brough, Scotch Corner, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough |
| Road network | |
The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith.[1] It runs from east of Middlesbrough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria. It is anomalously numbered since west of Penrith it trespasses into numbering zone 5; this is because it originally terminated at the A6 in Penrith, but was extended further west in order to create one continuous east–west route. Most of what is now the A66 west of Penrith was originally A594 – only a small stub of this road remains, from Maryport to Cockermouth.
From its eastern terminus between Redcar and Middlesbrough, it runs past Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington mainly as two to three lane dual-carriageway and single carriageway past Darlington, becoming motorway standard as the A66(M) shortly before meeting junction 57 of the A1(M). It follows the A1(M) south to Scotch Corner from where it continues west across the Pennines, past Brough, Appleby, Kirkby Thore, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, Keswick and Cockermouth, and on through the northern reaches of the Lake District, before arriving at the coastal town of Workington. There is a short stretch of two lane dual carriageway alongside the northern part of Bassenthwaite Lake between Keswick and Cockermouth. Whilst the eastbound section follows the straight line of the disused Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway, the westbound section has numerous bends with climbs and dips. The western end of the Bassenthwaite stretch has been permanently reduced to a single lane with a 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) limit patrolled by average speed cameras.[2]
Contents |
When road numbers were first designated in the 1920s, the A66 was assigned to the route between Penrith and Hull via Scotch Corner and York, mainly along former Roman roads. Its original route and today's route are largely congruous between Penrith and Scotch Corner. The historic route between Scotch Corner and Hull follows what is now today's A1, A168, B6265, A59 and A1079.
The middle section of the A66 between Scotch Corner on the A1 and Penrith on the M6 forms one of the key Trans-Pennine trunk routes and has one of the worst road safety records in the UK. Various bypasses and upgrades have been constructed since the early 1970s giving the current mix of single and dual carriageway sections. In 2002, after many years of local campaigning, the Transport Minister John Spellar gave support for the upgrading of the remaining single carriageway sections by the Highways Agency. The first three projects began construction in early 2006 and opened in 2007 and 2008. The whole route between the A1 and M6 was due to be dualled by 2011, by which time the A1 at Scotch Corner was also due to have been upgraded to motorway standard.
After the construction of several sections was commenced, it was announced that those schemes currently in the planning phase will not go ahead to construction until 2016 at the earliest. The Highways Agency website states "Other than those already committed, the Regions did not identify any other major schemes for the A66 as high priorities to receive funding. This means that there is currently no likelihood of any additional major schemes on this route being funded within the next ten year period. However, the Regional Funding Allocation process will be reviewed in due course and this will give an opportunity for the Regions to revise their priorities."
| Section | Start | End | Dual-carriageway | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M6-A6 | M6 J40 | A6 | Opened 1971 | |
| Penrith Bypass | A6 | Brougham | Opened 1971 | |
| Penrith-Temple Sowerby | Brougham | Winderwath | - | On hold |
| Temple Sowerby Bypass | Winderwath | Temple Sowerby East | Opened 2007 | |
| Temple Sowerby-Appleby | Temple Sowerby East | Crackenthorpe | - | On hold |
| Appleby Bypass | Crackenthorpe | Coupland | Opened by 1982 | |
| Warcop Bypass | Coupland | Brough West | - | On hold |
| Brough Bypass | Brough West | Brough East | Opened 1977 | |
| Brough-Stainmore | Brough East | Stainmore | Opened 1994 | |
| Stainmore Bypass | Stainmore | Banks Gate | Opened 1992 | |
| Bowes Moor | Banks Gate | Bowes West | Opened 1993 | |
| Bowes Bypass | Bowes West | Bowes East | - | On hold |
| Boldron Bypass | Bowes East | Cross Lanes | Opened by 1983 | |
| Cross Lanes-Greta Bridge | Cross Lanes | Greta Bridge West | - | On hold |
| Greta Bridge Bypass | Greta Bridge West | Greta Bridge East | Opened 1980 | |
| Greta Bridge-Stephen Bank | Greta Bridge East | Stephen Bank | Opened 2008 | |
| Stephen Bank-Carkin Moor | Stephen Bank | Carkin Moor | - | On hold |
| Carkin Moor-Scotch Corner (A1) | Carkin Moor | Scotch Corner (A1) | Opened 2008 |
All dates for openings are estimates based upon information provided by the Highways Agency and are subject to change or delay.
| A66(M) motorway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 2.0 mi (3.2 km) |
| Existed: | 1965 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| From: | Cleasby |
A1(M) motorway |
|
| To: | Stapleton |
| Road network | |
The A66(M) is a spur from the A1(M). It was opened in 1965 along with the A1(M) as part of the Darlington by-pass motorway.[4] It can be accessed only by northbound traffic on the A1(M) and has exit to this route southbound only.
| A66(M) motorway | ||
| Eastbound exits | Junction | Westbound exits |
| Darlington A66 Stapleton, Barton |
Start of motorway | |
| Start of motorway | A1(M) J57 | The South, Scotch Corner A1(M) |
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