WORK has started on a £245 million project to turn 33 miles of the A1 in North and West Yorkshire into a three-lane motorway.

The project is part of the largest road improvement scheme in Britain, involving a total investment of £520 million in upgrading the A1 through the whole of the north of England.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said today that the project demonstrated the Government's commitment to upgrading a vital transport artery, connecting the north and north-east to the rest of the motorway network.

"The completion of the project will also help to reunite communities such as Ferrybridge and Fairburn that are divided by the current A1," he said.

"It will create a safer road and assist the regeneration of local economies in the area

The £245 million scheme in North and West Yorkshire is the first stage of the project, involving 33 miles of the A1 between Darrington and Dishforth.

It will involve the construction of more than 15 miles of new motorway, between Ferrybridge and Hook Moor and Wetherby and Walshford.

"I wish all those working on the project every success in the next three years of construction," said Mr Darling.

"Soon, the travelling public in the east of the country will be able to enjoy safer and more reliable journeys."

The Darrington-Dishforth Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract has been awarded to Road Management Services (Darrington) Ltd, wholly owned by AMEC, Alfred McAlpine, Dragados and Kellogg Brown and Root (the Road Management Group).

RMS will be paid using a pioneering payment system that has been developed by the Highways Agency and is based on RMS's ability to minimise congestion, reduce road accidents on the upgraded road and provide a high quality road operating service.

Highways Agency project manager Alec Briggs said: "RMS will be paid on a sliding scale depending on the speed and volume of traffic using the road.

"This will act as an incentive for them to conduct essential activities, such as maintenance works, at off-peak times, and attend to incidents quickly. Traffic speeds and flows will be monitored from measuring equipment in the carriageway linking back to a central processing system. These built-in incentives to the operator have been designed to help us to achieve our three key priorities - reducing congestion, enhancing the reliability of journey times, and improving safety for all road users on this very busy route."

A contract for the 24-mile upgrade to motorway from Dishforth to Barton is likely to be awarded next month, with construction likely to begin in 2007 with completion in 2010.

Updated: 11:35 Monday, August 04, 2003