A public inquiry may have to be called before a multi-million safety scheme can go ahead on a stretch of dangerous road.

Even if an inquiry is held, the Highways Agency expects construction of a graded, separated junction to begin next year on the A66 outside the village of long Newton, near Stockton.

The £6m plus interchange will replace cross over points across the two way dual carriageway, at the centre of fatal car smashes over the years and dubbed the Death Mile by locals.

The period for technical objections to the scheme came to an end on Christmas Day, last year, and now officials are sifting through the objections that have been received.

A Government spokesman said: "They are going through the objections, to see if what they have and seeing if they can be sorted out. After that it would be a public inquiry, but we don't know what the position is. If there is no public inquiry, work could start sooner than 2004. "I think the feeling is, it could well go to public inquiry.''

There were 35 serious smashes on the A66 outside Long Newton between 1987 and 1992. In 1985, seven people were killed in just seven months on the dual carriageway between Sadberge, Long Newton and Elton.

Coun Mike Cherrett, Stockton district ward councillor for Long Newton says the news sounds "great''.

"It looks like we could have it completed in 2005. I think safety is the important thing here, of course, but once it is the grade separated junction is built, we could have a proper bus service back again.''

Work on the two level interchange will mark the climax of decades of campaigning by villagers, road safety campaigners - and three consecutive constituency MPs.

Residents were thrilled when Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced in April 2001 that the long-awaited improvements would at last go ahead. Buy the announcement was not backed up with the necessary funding.