MOTORISTS are being warned of impending overnight closures of the Great North Road as part of its £380m upgrade to motorway status.

The 12 miles of the A1 between Leeming and Barton are being upgraded and this month’s closures will affect the section between the Catterick North and South junction.

From April 4 to 6 there will be full closure northbound; from April 7 to 11 full closure southbound; from April 14 to 16 full closure southbound; from April 22 to 25 full closure southbound; and April 28 to May 2 full closure southbound.

All closures will be from 8pm to 6am and local diversions via Catterick will be signposted.

Senior project manager Sandie Forte-Gill said: “These works are needed to allow us to prepare for bridge construction works which will form part of the forthcoming £380m scheme.”

When the scheme opens to traffic in March 2017, journey times between Leeming and Barton are ex-ected to reduce by about 20 per cent, and over 60 years the improvements are predicted to save around 20 lives and prevent around 450 serious casualties.

Work on the remaining sections of the A1 is due to start after Easter, and more details will be available nearer the time. For more information on the scheme, visit highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a1-leeming-to-barton-improvement