A1 Birtley to Coal House improvements

Overview

We are consulting on our proposed improvements for the A1 between junction 65 Birtley and junction 67 Coal House.

Following feedback from the consultation held in autumn 2016 and further design development, a Preferred Route Announcement was made on 24 July 2017. You can find out more details about the preferred route on the scheme webpage.

We are now progressing our initial (preliminary) design of the preferred route and we aim to complete submission of our Development Consent Order (DCO) application by winter 2018/19. Before we can submit our application, we would like to consult further on our proposals and hear any further views people may have.

About the scheme

The A1 is a critical part of both the national and local road network and the A1 Birtley to Coal House improvement scheme forms part of a wider strategy to upgrade the A1 Newcastle Gateshead Western Bypass as it is one of the most congested sections of highway in the North East.

The proposed scheme is 4.2km in length and will include the replacement of Allerdene Railway Bridge to the immediate south of the existing structure which will tie in to the existing junction 67 Coal House roundabout.

It will provide additional capacity by widening from three to four lanes between junction 65 and 67 on the southbound carriageway and three lanes with an additional lane to help manage traffic joining and leaving the A1 between junctions on the northbound carriageway

The scheme will also look to install electronic signage to provide driver information along the road.

Visit the 'Media and Documents' section of the scheme webpage to view a fly through video of the scheme.

How to get involved

Share your views at our consultation events to be held on the dates below:

Public information points

You can find further information during the consultation period at the following venues during normal opening hours:

• Gateshead Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HH
• Birtley Library, Durham Road, Birtley, Chester-le-Street, DH3 1LE
• The Hub Resource Centre, Birtley Community Partnership, 16 Harraton Terrace, Durham Road Birtley, DH3 2QG
• Kibblesworth Milennium Centre, Grange Terrace, Kibblesworth, Gateshead, NE11 0XN
• Highways England, Lateral, 8 City Walk, Leeds, LS11 9AT

Please view the consultation documents below and use the online survey to give us your views.