A SIGNIFICANT stage in the ongoing re-design of Darlington’s ring road will take place next week with the installation of a new traffic light junction.

Work will start on installing traffic lights at the A167 St Cuthbert's Way/Stonebridge Junction after the rush-hour traffic has ended on Monday morning (December 1).

It will then take several days to ensure the lights have been fully tested and are working correctly.

The junction will be monitored after the lights have been installed to establish the traffic patterns at various times of the day in order to make sure the traffic lights run as smoothly as possible.

Darlington Borough Council has warned that there may be some delays during this process.

In addition, Parkgate will be closed between 9pm and 6am from Saturday, December 14, to Tuesday, December 16, for resurfacing.

Pedestrian access along Parkgate will stay the same and businesses will be open as normal.

The work to reduce congestion on the ring road has been ongoing since February and is due to be finished by the end of December.

The £3.7m project is aimed to help the ring road cope better with an expected increase in traffic from the planned Feethams Leisure complex and the Department for Education offices in the town centre.