MAJOR works to secure part of the A67 at Carlbury that was damaged by a landslip is finished - but the road closure has been extended to May 26 to allow additional resurfacing.

The £4.3m project began after the landslip was detected in February 2013 and work has involved stabilising the embankment along a 400m section of the road and diverting main water pipes through farmland.

All the major works are now complete and have come under budget, meaning Darlington Borough Council has extra cash to spend on resurfacing other parts of the A67 covered by the current closure.

Resurfacing has already taken place between Merrybent, High Coniscliffe and west of the Elm Ridge roundabout but the road closure is being extended until May 26 to enable further resurfacing.

Dave Winstanley, Darlington Borough Council’s assistant director of transport and capital projects, explains: “Unfortunately it does mean re-opening a little bit later but obviously on the whole we feel that a fully functioning A67 that has a lot more resurfacing done is a benefit to the community.”

The extra work means that 1.2km of the A67 will be resurfaced instead of the original 600metres planned.

Safety barriers will be installed at Carlbury and there will be a permanent 50mph limit in place.

Once the A67 reopens, resurfacing work will then begin on sections of the diversion route.

Significant lengths of the B6279 Staindrop Road and the B6275 Roman Road will be resurfaced and temporary traffic lights will operate for the duration of the work during June and August.

Mr Winstanley said he was pleased with the success of the project but acknowledged that the road closure has caused inconvenience for many motorists.

“We understand it has caused a lot of people a lot of problems; extra miles on diversion routes, but it is something we were not in control of,” he said.

“We knew we had to manage it the best we could and we have done it in the quickest way possible.”

In addition to all the road resurfacing, work is also underway to plant areas of wildflower at the landslip site to mitigate the loss of woodland during the stabilisation works.

The trees lost by the immediate roadside are not being replaced due to fears their roots could cause future problems.