Major junction improvements set to cut traffic congestion

The roundabout connecting Yarm Road with McMullen Road is to be reconfigured by providing two lane approaches on all arms. The roundabout will also be widened to provide two full lanes around the circulatory.

The new junction layout will reduce delays along the key commuter routes by increasing the capacity of the roundabout.

It will also allow access to be opened up to land off Salters Lane North, which has been earmarked for development.

Additional works will also be carried out on the Yarm Road junction with Lingfield Way to create a signalised junction, easing a known pinchpoint for access to and from the Yarm Road Industrial Estate.

The council successfully secured £2.3 million funding for both projects from the Department for Transport’s National Productivity Investment Fund.

Councillor Nick Wallis, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Our success in securing millions of pounds in funding to support these road improvements means that we can make changes that will have a real positive impact for all transport users.

“As Darlington continues to thrive economically and opportunities for new jobs and housing continue to emerge, we need to update our infrastructure to manage the traffic they will create, as well as providing more options to walk, cycle or use public transport to get about.

 “These works will be disruptive but I hope residents will see the clear benefits that improvements to this area will bring for the whole town.”

The Yarm Road works have been planned following comprehensive reviews of the traffic network across Darlington to identify congestion hotspots and pinchpoints that require improvements to support the town’s expanding economy and enable the delivery of the Local Plan. 

The improvements will also link to planned investment announced by Highways England, which will reduce congestion at the A66 Morton Palms roundabout. That scheme involves providing additional traffic lanes on the approach to the roundabout and should reduce the excessive queuing that currently occurs.

Work on the Yarm Road/McMullen Road roundabout improvements is underway, with electricity, gas and telecommunications infrastructure companies moving cables and pipes out of the construction area. 

The initial phase of service diversions will take a further two months with the main construction works starting towards the end of April and lasting until February 2019.

This will be followed by the works to the Lingfield Way junction, which are expected to be complete by autumn 2019. 

There will inevitably be delays while the works are on-going and the site team will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum throughout.

A dedicated webpage is being prepared which will provide updates on the progress of the scheme and alert residents to road closures and traffic management changes.