A66 road

The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road (Margary 82) from Scotch Corner to Penrith. 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 Name 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.

From its eastern terminus between Redcar and Middlesbrough, it runs past Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington mainly as four to six lane dual-carriageway, becoming motorway standard as the A66(M) shortly before meeting junction 57 of the A1(M). It continues west across the Pennines from junction 55 of the A1 road at Scotch Corner, past Brough, Appleby, Penrith, Keswick and Cockermouth, and on through the northern reaches of the Lake District, before arriving at the coastal town of Workington.

Gallery

image:A6611.JPG|This statue on the roundabout at the start of the A66 east of Middlesbrough represents steel being pouredimage:A66mids.JPG|A66 elevated section in Middlesbrough with the transporter bridge in the backgroundimage:A6610.JPG|A66 in Stockton-on-Tees, looking eastimage:Scotch99.JPG|A66 just west of Scotch Corner junction with the A1, looking eastimage:Scotch98.JPG|A66 just west of Scotch Corner junction with the A1, Scotch Corner Hotel in backgroundimage:A66bassenthwaite2.JPG|A66 at Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria, looking westimage:A66basenthwaite1.JPG|A66 at Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria, looking east

Transpennine Dualling

The middle section of the A66 between Scotch Corner on the A1 and Penrith on the M6 forms one of the key transpennine trunk routes and has one of the worst road safety records in the UK. Various bypass 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 with the whole route between the A1 and M6 due to be dualled by 2011, by which time the A1 at Scotch Corner is also due to have been upgraded to motorway standard.

	End	Dual-carriageway	Notes
M6-A6	M6 J40	A6	Opened 1971
Penrith Bypass	A6	Brougham	Opened 1971
Penrith-Temple Sowerby	Brougham	Winderwath	Due by 2011	In planning
Temple Sowerby Bypass	Winderwath	Temple Sowerby East	Due 2008	Construction started February 2006
Temple Sowerby-Appleby	Temple Sowerby East	Crackenthorpe	Due by 2011	In planning
Appleby Bypass	Crackenthorpe	Coupland	Opened by 1982
Warcop Bypass	Coupland	Brough West	Due by 2011	In planning
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	Due by 2011	In planning
Boldon Bypass	Bowes East	Cross Lanes	Opened by 1983
Cross Lanes-Greta Bridge	Cross Lanes	Greta Bridge West	Due by 2011	In planning
Greta Bridge Bypass	Greta Bridge West	Greta Bridge East	Opened 1980
Greta Bridge-Stephen Bank	Greta Bridge East	Stephen Bank	Due 2008	Construction started March 2006
Stephen Bank-Carkin Moor	Stephen Bank	Carkin Moor	Due by 2011	In planning
Carkin Moor-Scotch Corner (A1)	Carkin Moor	Scotch Corner (A1)	Due 2008	Construction started March 2006

All dates for openings are estimates based upon information provided by the Highways Agency and are subject to change or delay.

External links

* CBRD Motorway Database - A66(M)
* Pathetic Motorways - A66(M)
* SABRE article on the A66
* A66 will be Fixed - This is the North East
* Highways Agency