OVERNIGHT road closures through the centre of Darlington have been announced as part of work to reconfigure a major route.

The building work on St Cuthbert’s Way and the Stonebridge roundabout, which Darlington Borough Council hopes will cut congestion in the busiest part of town, by replacing the roundabout with traffic lights and widening the road.

Construction work on the inner ringroad has been ongoing since February and is said to be running to the predicted timescales, with the £3.7m project expected to be complete by early next year.

The overnight closures will take place from 9pm on Thursday, July 24, until 6am on Friday, July 25, and again that night from 9pm until 6am on Saturday, July 26 on St Cuthbert’s Way between Freeman Place and Parkgate.

The closure is to allow the road to be rebuilt in places before being resurfaced.

Traffic heading south on St Cuthbert’s Way and Freemans Place towards Parkgate will be redirected via Haughton Road, McMullen Road and Yarm Road.

Below: Graphic showing new layout of St Cuthbert's Way once work has been completed

The Northern Echo:

During the closure traffic will still be able to turn left out of Parkgate on to St Cuthbert’s Way.

From Monday, July 28, work will begin on a new kerb alignment on the section between Stonebridge and East Street, which will result in the footway moving away from the River Skerne.

During this work two lanes will be maintained for traffic on St Cuthbert’s Way.

The improvements to Stonebridge and the inner ring road are considered necessary due to the strain on the network and the expectation of added pressure once a proposed cinema development in Feethams and the Department for Education building are complete.

The council has created a page with updates on the work on St Cuthbert’s and Stonebridge at.darlington.gov.uk/stonebridge