Teesside Mayor commits £24m funding to new River Tees crossing

The Tees Valley mayor has today announced that he is committing £24m to a new crossing over one of the region’s rivers.

Mayor Ben Houchen has invested the money in the River Tees crossing, which will include a new two-lane northern viaduct, an extra southbound lane and a widening of the A66 between Teesside Park and the viaduct.

The funding commitment comes after the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his last budget a £4.2bn, five-year transport funding settlements for the eight Mayoral Combined Authorities. As part of this Houchen is aiming to secure extra transport cash totalling £344.5m.

Ben Houchen commented: “The coronavirus has had an unprecedented impact on all our lives and while I remain focused on making sure the health and wellbeing of everyone in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool is protected, we need to make sure we deliver on my plan to make sure our region gets the cash we deserve so we can create more local jobs.

“A new crossing is vital so that the hard-working people of our region can quickly and easily get from A to B.

“It will mean our amazing businesses can focus more on doing what they do so well without having to worry about delays and congestion and it will attract more investment and create more jobs if we have better connectivity throughout our region.

“More investment and more businesses in our region means more good quality, well paid local jobs.

“That’s why I’m backing this truly transformational project with the cash it needs.

“Government has rightly provided unprecedented levels of support in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“This support means that when we come through this crisis Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool will be able to move forward once again from a good position.

“The government has been very supportive of a new Tees Crossing, recognising the important role a new crossing over the River Tees would play in boosting our economy.

“Now more than ever government needs to remain committed to levelling up our region by improving key infrastructure, which is now going to be even more important once we have defeated this virus.”