Sunderland motorists will save more than 2 hours a year stuck in
jams thanks to more than £40.5 million of government funding.
Roads Minister has announced that a stretch
of A1231 road between the new Northern Spire bridge and the city
centre, will be upgraded to a dual carriageway – saving road
users 2.5 minutes a journey.
The £70.2 million project is the third phase of improving
journeys along the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor and
will support regeneration of sites both sides of the river as
well as 1,000 new homes.
Roads Minister said:
The government is investing record amounts to improve travel in
towns and cities across Britain.
Sunderland is a great city with a great future. We hope the
schemes we are funding will help to unleash its potential –
creating jobs and enabling new homes – and turbocharge the
Northern Powerhouse.
The corridor will provide a high quality dual carriageway link
between the Nissan car manufacturing plant, Enterprise Zone,
International Advanced Manufacturing Plant (IAMP) development and
the city and Port of Sunderland.
Today (21 March 2019), Highways England started work on the £125
million Testos roundabout scheme, improving links to the IAMP.
Further up the A19, the Triple Decker Roundabout at the A1058 is
nearing completion. These schemes will all help improve journey
times and safety.
Transport Secretary last week announced £10
million to improve cycleways and bus routes across the
north-east, as part of the government’s Transforming Cities Fund.
More than half of the funding will provide improvements for
cyclists, including new route connections in Sunderland.
This is the first round of the £1.3 billion fund for 12 cities
across England to enhance commuter routes into business centres
to unlock productivity and boost the economy.
This week, the city was also invited to apply to be one of four
new Future of Mobility
Zones. The £90 million competition will see new transport
technologies piloted to see how they improve people’s journeys.
The Nexus Tyne and Wear Metro has also benefited from £337
million to purchase brand new trains and build a new maintenance
facility. This will give passengers more seats on more
comfortable and spacious services.
