A19 Norton to Wynyard

Latest updates

• 10 December 2021

  Online event marks official open to traffic celebration

  Members of the project team 'met' with local stakeholders today to officially mark the A19 Norton to Wynyard scheme being open to traffic.

  In an online presentation, the team shared details of the benefits the scheme has delivered.

  Before this improvement scheme, users of the A19 in this area suffered from congestion, delays and unreliable journey times particularly during peak hours; and noise caused by the concrete surfacing was a major issue for local residents.

  To solve these problems we’ve:

  • widened both carriageways between the Norton and Wynyard junctions
  • reduced congestion leading to more predictable and reliable journey times
  • replaced the concrete carriageway with reduced noise surfacing

  We are delighted to have finished this scheme early!

  If you would like to view the scheme video, please click here

  

• 08 November 2021

  Overnight closures - Monday 8 to Friday 12 November

  We’re pleased to say that work on the main scheme is now complete and that the traffic management and speed restrictions have been removed from both carriageways.

  Although the main work has finished, some finishing work is still required between now and the end of the year.

  As part of those finishing works further overnight closures are needed this week so we can remove the temporary crossover that was installed at the southern end of the scheme near to the A139.

  This activity has the potential to be noisy and we’d like to apologise in advance for any disruption you may experience.

  Overnight closures

  To carry out the above work, we need to close the road overnight (8pm to 6am):

  • Northbound from A139 (Norton) to A689 (Wynyard) - Monday 8 to Friday 12 November

  There will also be two lanes closed on the southbound carriageway.

  You can check the National Highways closure report which is updated daily with the latest information: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/daily-closure-report/.

   

• 01 October 2021

  Progress update - October 2021

  We’ll be finishing the main work this month and removing the traffic management from both carriageways, meaning there will be three lanes open to traffic in both directions. The speed restrictions will need to remain in place for a few weeks until the official safety audit is completed.  

  Although the main work will be completed this month, some minor finishing work, such as planting the verges, clearing the site, and installing street lighting will need to be carried out between now and the end of the year.

  Some of the remaining activities can only be done with the road closed, and so during October there will be further overnight closures on both the north and southbound carriageways. 

  Overnight closures

  To complete the scheme and carry out the finishing work, we need to close the road overnight:

  • Southbound from the A689 (Wynyard) to the A139 (Norton)
    • Monday 4 to Friday 8 October
    • Sunday 17 to Friday 22 October
    • Monday 25 to Friday 29 October

  • Northbound from A139 (Norton) to A689 (Wynyard)
    • Saturday 9 to Wednesday 13 October
    • Saturday 16 October

  • Northbound from A1046 (Portrack) to A689 (Wynyard)
    • Thursday 14 and Friday 15 October

  The road will be closed from 8pm to 6am each night. You can check the National Highways closure report which is updated daily with the latest information: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/travel-updates/daily-closure-report/.

• 02 September 2021

  Overnight closure information - September 2021

  Portrack to A689 northbound full closure overnight 8pm to 6am:

  • 25 September

  A139 to A689 northbound full closure overnight 8pm to 6am:

  • 2, 3, 4 and 5 September 
  • 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 September

  A689 Sealsands  to A139 entry southbound full closure overnight 8pm to 6am:

  • ^{6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 September}
  • 26 September

• 19 August 2021

  Festival and football journey reminders - weekend closure 20-23 August

  We’re reminding drivers who are heading to Sunderland’s Let's Rock The North East festival or Sunderland AFC’s match against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday to plan ahead and make more time for their journeys because of weekend works on the A19.
  
  We’re continuing our essential Downhill Lane junction improvement from 8pm on Friday 20 August until 6am on Monday 23 August.
  
  Closures:

  • A19 northbound full closure between Hylton and Downhill on Friday from 8pm to Monday 6am
  • A19 southbound full closure between Testos and Hylton Friday 8pm to Monday 6am
  • A184 westbound lane closed between BMW garage and Testos Friday 8pm to Monday 6am.

  Plan ahead for your journey and follow the signed diversions.

   

• 23 July 2021

  Progress report and forthcoming weekend closure

  We’re making good progress on the final phase of the A19 Norton to Wynyard scheme and are on course to finish in the autumn.

  Some of the remaining work can only be done with the road closed, so during August there will be one whole weekend closure on the northbound carriageway and overnight closures during the week.

  We won’t be working over the August bank holiday.

  Weekend closure

  To solve a problem with the surface of the northbound A19 carriageway, we need to close it for the whole weekend:

  • 8pm, Friday 6 August, to 6am Monday 9 August

  On the Friday and Sunday nights, the road will be closed from 8pm to 6am between the A139 and the A689. From 6am on Saturday till 8pm on Sunday it will only be closed between the A1027 and the A689.

  The westbound A1027 will also be closed where it crosses the A19 to allow the traffic leaving the northbound A19 at this junction to flow freely.

  VMS signs and hard signs have been put up warning about the closures and the expected delays.

  The main diversion for the weekend closure is:

  • Exit the A19 northbound at the A1027 exit slip
  • Turn eastbound to Wolviston Road
  • Then northbound to Newton Bewley roundabout
  • Then finally westbound on the A689 to the Wolviston A689/A19 Wynyard interchange.

  We are also providing early warnings for people travelling north on the A19, which are designed to take diverted traffic by a different route that is away from the immediate Norton to Wynyard area:

  • Exit the A19 northbound at the A66 westbound slip road
  • Travel west on the A66 till the A135 Boathouse interchange
  • Exit the A66 onto the A135
  • Continue onto the A1305 through to the A177 Durham road until the A689
  • Then turn left for the A1(M) northbound or turn right to return to the A19 northbound.

  Other closures

  To complete the road resurfacing and other work we also need to close the road overnight:

  • Southbound from the A689 to the A139
    • Monday 2 to Thursday 5 August

  • Northbound from A139 to A689
    • Monday 9 to Friday 13 August
    • Monday 16 to Friday 20 August
    • Monday 23 to Friday 27 August
    • Tues 31 August to Friday September 3

  The road will be closed from 8pm to 6am each night. You can check the Highways England closure report which is updated daily with the latest information: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/travel-updates/daily-closure-report/.

• 14 May 2021

  Advance notice of A19 northbound weekend closures - 4 to 7 June and 11 to 14 June

  Northbound carriageway closures for two full weekends – 4 to 7 June and 11 to 14 June

  On both weekends, on the Friday and Sunday nights, the road will be closed from 8pm to 6am between the A139 and the A689. The rest of the time it will only be closed between the A1027 and the A689.

  VMS signs and hard signs have been put up warning about the closures and the expected delays.

  We have worked with both Middlesbrough and Stockton Councils to plan and signpost diversion routes.

  The main diversion for the full weekend closures is:

  • exit the A19 northbound at the A1027 exit slip
  • turn eastbound to Wolviston Road
  • then northbound to Newton Bewley roundabout
  • then finally westbound on the A689 to the Wolviston A689/A19 Wynyard interchange.

  We are also providing early warnings for people travelling north on the A19, which are designed to take diverted traffic by a different route that is away from the immediate Norton to Wynyard area:

  • exit the A19 northbound at the A66 westbound slip road
  • travel west on the A66 till the A135 Boathouse interchange
  • exit the A66 onto the A135
  • continue onto the A1305 through to the A177 Durham road until the A689
  • then turn left for the A1(M) northbound or turn right to return to the A19 northbound.

  We will also need to work overnight during the working week with the road closed southbound between the A139 and A689 junctions:

  • 1 to 3 and 14 to 18 June
  • 19 to 23 and 26 to 30 July

  Northbound between the A139 and A689 we will need to work overnight during the working week with the road closed:

  • 9, 10 and 28 to 30 June
  • 1, 2, 5 to 9 and 12 to16 July

  We always try to stick to our published closures but sometimes weather and other factors mean that dates can change.

  We will be regularly updating our social media channels - @HighwaysNEAST and https://www.facebook.com/HighwaysNEast/

   

• 25 March 2021

  Work progressing well - revised open to traffic date

  The A19 Norton to Wynyard improvement scheme is progressing well and we are delighted to announce that we now expect to open to traffic before the end of this year 2021.

  We are working towards an opening date in Autumn and will send another update as soon as a more exact date has been confirmed.

  Keith Bradley, project manager for the scheme said: "Our construction team have pulled out all the stops and have been able to accelerate progress over recent months. This now means that we can reduce the length of time needed to get the road fully open to traffic. We were programmed to finish next spring/summer so we're excited to announce that we will now be opening before the end of 2021."

  Changing the traffic management

  Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be changing the traffic management so we can work on the central reserve. To keep everyone safe, this work needs to be done overnight, with the road closed in both directions. But there will be no road closures over the Easter weekend.

  When the switch is finished there will be no contraflow. The two inside lanes of the road will be open in both directions.

  What’s happening next?

  Once we have changed the traffic management we will be starting work on phase 4 of the scheme:

  • Installing a new concrete central barrier
  • Drainage
  • road surfacing
  • street lighting

  We’ll also be finishing off some work from earlier phases.

  Overnight working and road closures

  This means we will need to work overnight with the road closed southbound between the A139 and A689 junctions, Monday to Friday, from completion of the traffic management switch, until the end of May.

  Overnight working and closures are from 8pm to 6am.

  You can check the Highways England closure report which is updated daily with the latest information: https://highwaysengland.co.uk/travel-updates/daily-closure-report/.

• 25 February 2021

  Progress update: February and March 2021

  We’d like to thank you for your patience while we deliver this important scheme. We’re very sorry for any disturbance or inconvenience our work causes you and are doing everything we can to make sure the impact on the local community and travelling public is kept to an absolute minimum.

  Sheet piling

  We’ve finished the sheet piling which has created permanent retaining walls on either side of the road by pushing sheets of metal into the ground. This has made the extra space we need for the scheme at the same time as holding the ground back safely.

  Overhead signs (gantries)

  We’ve also installed most of the large metal frames (gantries) that will carry overhead signs on the northbound carriageway. We’ll be installing the final gantry as soon as the weather allows us to do so safely. This will be overnight with both carriageways of the road closed. The actual signs won’t be fitted till near the end of the scheme.

  Overnight working and road closures

  Overnight working and closures are from 8pm to 6am. It isn’t possible at this point for us to say exactly which days they will be needed but you can check the Highways England closure report which is updated daily with the latest information.

  There will be no road closures over the Easter weekend.

  Current work southbound and northbound

  We’ll be carrying on with phase three of our work on the southbound carriageway until around Easter. This will include excavations, improving existing culverts, road surfacing, drainage and safety barriers. We’ll also be completing similar work on the northbound carriageway. We’ll need to work overnight and there will be road closures on both the north and southbound carriageways.

  Changing the traffic management

  After we finish the current work on the southbound and northbound carriageways we’ll begin changing the traffic management so we can work on the central reserve. The change will take about two weeks and once again needs to be done overnight, with the road closed in both directions.

  You can find all the latest information on our Twitter feed @HighwaysNEAST, our Facebook page and the traffic information pages of our website.

  Forthcoming overnight closures (8pm to 6am)

  • A19 northbound full closure between A139 and A689 from 22 February to 26 February and from 20 March to 31 March
  • A19 southbound A1027 entry slip road from 22 February to 26 February
  • A19 southbound full closure between the A689 and the A139 from 8 March to 12 March and from 15 March to 31 March

• 04 January 2021

  Construction update: January 2021

  Work has now started again on the A19 Norton to Wynyard scheme after the Christmas and New Year break.

  We are picking up where we left off, completing phase three. During January our work will include:

  • Completing the sheet piling on the southbound carriageway where we are pushing sheets of metal into the ground to provide support for the road improvements we’re making.
  • Installing gantries on the northbound carriageway.

  We’re very sorry for any disruption or disturbance this essential work causes you. We are doing everything we can to keep it to a minimum.

  Overnight road closures

  We’ll be installing the gantries overnight as some of them span the northbound lanes plus the southbound contraflow and we will also be using cranes. So, we need to close the road to keep everyone safe.

  Overnight, between Monday and Friday the A19 will be closed to traffic in both directions between the A139 junction and the A689 junction:

  • 25 January to 29 January 2021
  • 1 February to 5 February 2021

  For more information you can check out our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/HighwaysNEast/ or follow us on Twitter - @HighwaysNEAST

   

   

   

• 18 December 2020

  Construction update: 18 December 2020 to 4 January 2021

  Work has now stopped on the A19 Norton to Wynyard scheme until 4 January 2021.

  The traffic management will remain in place during this time, along with the 50mph speed limit.

  You can still contact the team via our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 or info@highwaysengland.co.uk as always.

  From 4 January onwards

  On 4 January we will be picking up our work on phase three of the scheme where we left off, including:

  • Finishing the sheet piling on the southbound carriageway
  • Installing gantries on the northbound carriageway

  We’ll be doing some of this work overnight and we will need to close sections of the road to keep everyone safe:

  • 4 January 2021 - the A1027 southbound exit and entry slip roads

  There will also be closures at the end of January and we will provide more information about them closer to the time.

  In the meantime, you can check out our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/HighwaysNEast/ or follow us on Twitter - @HighwaysNEAST

   

   

   

• 29 October 2020

  Construction update: Our work - October to Christmas

  Between now and Christmas we’ll be:

  - Finishing phase two of our work
  - Switching the traffic management from north to south
  - Starting phase three of our project

  Switching the traffic management from north to south will mean we can move traffic off the inside lane of the southbound carriageway. The switch will mean we can start working on this section of road during phase three of our project.

  After the switch is complete, you will notice that vehicles won’t be using the usual lanes. You’ll still be able to travel both north and south – just follow signs and lines on the road which will direct you through the changes.

  We will not be working for the two weeks over Christmas and New Year.

  Overnight road closures

  We’ll be doing a lot of our work overnight and we need to close sections of the road to keep everyone safe. 

  Overnight, between Monday and Friday the A19 northbound will be closed to traffic from the A139 junction to the A689 junction. The closures will take place in the following weeks:

  • 16 November – 20 November
  • 7 December - 11 December
  • 14 December - 18 December

  There will also be several more nights with road closures between 7 and 15 November. This is for the traffic management switch.

  Looking further ahead – phase three

   

  Once the traffic management switch is complete, the inside lane of the southbound carriageway will be clear for us to start work on phase three. This phase will take until spring 2021. We’ll be doing similar work to what we’ve been doing on the northbound carriageway, including some sheet piling. 

  The sheet piling work will take around eight weeks. It’ll start in late November 2020 and will finish by the end of January 2021.

  Sheet piling is where we push sheets of metal into the ground. These metal sheets are important as they provide support in the ground for the road improvements we’re making.

  We’re using modern equipment for the sheet piling. This has already cut the amount of time it took us to do similar work in phase two and means it was less noisy. We’ll be using this equipment again which means we hope to reduce disturbance and complete the work quickly.

  It is not possible at this stage to be specific about exact dates for particular work during phase three. Check out our Twitter feed, Facebook page and traffic information pages for the latest information.

• 14 October 2020

  Construction update – phase 2 progressing well

  During October we will be completing phase two of our work. This includes a range of construction activities on the northbound carriageway, such as:

  • street lighting
  • removing and putting up message signs
  • new gantry work
  • improving existing culverts which are underground pipes
  • road surfacing
  • drainage
  • traffic signs and road markings

  To complete this work safely, the A19 northbound will be closed to traffic from the A139 junction to the A689 junction. This closure will be in place between 8pm and 6am Monday to Friday, for three weeks.

  During phase two we were able to cut the amount of time the sheet piling took by nearly half – from our expected 12 weeks to seven. The modern equipment used also reduced noise. In phase three we hope to reduce disturbance from, and time spent on sheet piling work in the same way.

  Traffic Management Switch

  Towards the end of October and the beginning of November further overnight working and road closures will be needed while we switch the traffic management contraflow.

  We will be temporarily widening Wynyard junction, completing surfacing and drainage work and also re-aligning traffic lanes, painting road markings and installing temporary barriers.

  The change will take place over several nights and drivers should follow the signage and lining which will direct them through the changes.

  Phase three

  When the switch is complete there will be two lanes running north on the northbound carriageway, while southbound traffic will run on the outside lane of the southbound carriageway and also on the outside lane of the northbound carriageway. This will leave the inside lane of the southbound carriageway clear for us to start work on phase three.

  The work will take until March 2021 and be similar to what we have been doing on the northbound carriageway. Sheet piling is expected to start in late November 2020 and take around eight weeks. We will not be working for the two weeks over Christmas and New Year, so we expect the sheet piling to be finished by the end of January 2021.

  We will also be completing some tasks on the northbound carriageway.

  It is not possible at this stage to be specific about exact dates for particular work during phase three but our Twitter feed, Facebook page and traffic information pages all provide the latest information.

• 07 October 2020

  Construction update - completing phase 2

  During October we will be completing phase two of our work. This includes a range of construction activities on the northbound carriageway, such as:

  • street lighting
  • removing and putting up message signs
  • new gantry work
  • improving existing culverts which are underground pipes
  • road surfacing
  • drainage
  • traffic signs and road markings

  To complete this work safely, from Monday 5 October, the A19 northbound will be closed to traffic from the A139 junction to the A689 junction. This closure will be in place between 8pm and 6am Monday to Friday, for three weeks.

  Moving into phase three

  We will need to work overnight and put in place road closures as we move into phase three of our work. During phase three we will change the southbound contraflow to a northbound contraflow as we start work on the southbound carriageway.

  The overnight work at closures will allow us to temporarily widen Wynyard junction. We need to widen the junction to change the contraflow and to complete surfacing and drainage work. We will also re-align traffic lanes, paint road markings and put in place temporary barriers.

  Phase three of our work will start at the end of October and early November.

  It is not possible at this stage to be specific about which nights during this period there will be road closures but our Twitter feed, Facebook page and the traffic information pages of the website all provide the latest information.