WORK will begin within weeks on a badly-needed £12m road scheme designed to cut congestion Darlington.

The Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor was given final approval by the Department for Transport - clearing the way for workers to move in by the end of January.

The 1.8-mile project, to link Haughton Road with the A66, has been delayed for years, during which time costs soared from £5.7m to more than £12m.

Darlington MP Alan Milburn, who has been lobbying for the scheme, said: "The Eastern Transport Corridor will open up more jobs and ease congestion in the town."

The Darlington scheme, which was given initial Government approval in December 2000, is expected to be completed in early 2009.

The department has pledged £12.04m towards the cost of the scheme, with Darlington Borough Council contributing a further £460,000.

The single-carriageway road will stretch from Haughton Road, along the route of the old Stockton-Darlington track bed, to a new junction with the A66.

The stretch of the A66 from the new link to the Great Burdon roundabout will also be improved to widen the junctions.

The project aims to cut congestion on Haughton Road, Yarm Road and McMullen Road, and provide an access route to the Lingfield Point business park, and Central Park.

* There was bad news for Teesport as the department also announced it was not ready to part-fund an upgrade of the rail line between the port and the East Coast main line.

The statement said the scheme was "not sufficiently developed to enable an accurate appraisal to take place".