COUNCIL chiefs say long-running works to repair a landslip on a major North-East road are reaching completion.

The A67 at Carlbury, between Darlington and Piercebridge, is to be reopened by Tuesday (May 26) at the latest - and possibly earlier if work is completed ahead of schedule.

Drivers have expressed concern that the official diversion route has suffered due to the heavy volumes of traffic and surveys have confirmed this.

Following the re-opening of the A67, attention will shift to a programme of resurfacing works on the diversion route.

Darlington Borough Council leader Bill Dixon said: "The landslip was an unforeseen event that the council had to deal with.

"This has been a major engineering project involving different organisations, local businesses, and securing external funding.

"The absence of this important link road has been keenly felt amongst local residents and businesses and I am sure that everyone will be pleased to see the road reopen.

“I would like to thank all those involved for their hard work and all who have been affected by the road closure for their patience throughout what has been a challenging time.”

The landslip happened in March 2013 and stabilised by August that year to allow a partial re-opening of the road.

By May 2014, £4m in Government funding had been secured to allow for full repairs.

Works to shore up the diversion route will be carried out in a series of sections commencing late May until August, along the B6279 Staindrop Road and B6275 Roman Road.

The work will include resurfacing of the B6275 Roman Road between the junction with A67 up to and including the junction with B6279 Staindrop Road (Summerhouses Junction).

The B6279 Staindrop Road will also be resurfaced from the Roman Road/Summerhouses junction eastwards finishing on the approach into Mowden.

A significant proportion of the preparation work will be carried out under temporary traffic lights. However, the resurfacing work will require the roads to be closed. The B6275 and B6279 will never be closed at the same time except when doing the junction area of both roads and this will be planned at times to try and minimise the impact.

Drivers are advised to keep a look out for information signs which will warn when road closure phases will begin with approximately two weeks’ notice for each phase.

Information and plans will also be available on at darlington.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/a67-landslip/