Minor Schemes Priority List

One of the budgets within the 5-year programme, New Infrastructure – Minor Schemes, is intended to fund minor schemes designed to improve the capacity and/or safety of the highway network.

A highway improvement scheme is classed as Minor if the estimated cost is less than the £5 million threshold for Major Schemes.

Following a review of the standing list of known minor scheme proposals carried over from LTP1, using a methodology based on the national means of assessment, the top 10 priorities are listed in the table below.

LTP2 has made funding provision for the first two schemes only on the list in Years 4 and 5 (2009/10 and 2010/11).

Some of these named schemes may be developed and proceed without LTP assistance as a result of planning requirements arising from development that necessitates improvements to the highway.

It should be noted that this prioritised list is still subject to Cabinet decision and therefore should be looked upon as provisional until such time as approval (or otherwise) is granted.

Priority	Location of Scheme	Nature of improvement	Estimated Cost £000s	Additional comments
1	A167/A688 Thinford Roundabout	Junction improvement - provision of traffic signals (operating at peak times) with new roundabout layout	Not yet available	LTP2 funding provision in Year 4
2	A690/C12a Rainton Gate	Junction improvement - provision of traffic signals at existing major/minor priority junctions	Not yet available	LTP2 funding provision in Year 5
3	A691/ Unclassified 19.12 Trouts Lane	Junction improvements - provision of new roundabout to replace existing T-junction and protected right-turn lane into Earls House Hospital	Not yet available
4	A688 Bowburn Services	Junction improvement - provision of new roundabout to replace existing T-junction	Not yet available	Related to proposals for potential development on adjoining Tursdale site.
5	A692/A693 Junction, east of Leadgate (Brooms Lane)	Junction improvement - provision of new roundabout to replace existing T-junction	£1.1 million	Scheme could potentially be delivered as part of adjacent opencast coal proposals, subject to planning approval and funding being resolved.
6	A693 Drum Industrial Estate	Junction improvement - provision of new roundabout to replace existing T-junction	£1.15 million	Compulsory Purchase Order confirmed. Land needs to be acquired for scheme to commence.
7	Coxhoe Northern Relief Road	New route - provision of road link to remove some through traffic from Coxhoe	Not yet available
8	A181/B6291/Unclassified 19.12 Trouts Lane & Potterhouse Lane	Individual junction improvements or roundabout	Not yet available
9	B6532/Unclassified 19.12 Trouts Lane & Potterhouse Lane	Junction improvement including realignment of side roads	Not yet available
10	A167/B6300 Sunderland Bridge	Junction improvement - provision of new roundabout to replace existing T-junction	Not yet available	Provision of traffic signals instead of roundabout layout currently under consideration