WORK upgrading and re-shaping a key road junction starts on Monday (September 22).

The £870,000 project will see the introduction of improved lay-out and traffic flow measures at the junction of the A690 Durham to Sunderland road, with the A19.

It will be carried out in phases over the four months to January, although the final re-surfacing will be completed later in the spring, during warmer weather conditions.

The junction, on the south-western outskirts of Sunderland, sees more than 40,000 vehicles pass through it every weekday.

Funding has come jointly from the Department for Transport and Sunderland City Council, as part of a wider £9m package of works along the A19.

City council leader Paul Watson said it was, “part of the bigger picture of A19 improvements.”

The junction forms a strategic link between the dual carriageways, alongside the high-tech Doxford International Business Park.

Coun Watson said the upgrade is part of a wider aim to improve infrastructure, in the hope of expanding the city’s manufacturing base, creating jobs and increasing economic growth.

“The city council and its partners are looking to the long-term and investing in the future of the city and the wider North-East region.”

The A690 work includes renewing traffic signals with more efficient and lower voltage units, improving signal detection and connections to the regional traffic control centre and adding new road markings.

Other works include improvements to Sunderland’s pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.