Start date confirmed for Morpeth road repair scheme 

31 Jul 2025

Major works to tackle the landslip on the B6343 Mitford Road near Morpeth will start on August 18th. 

The work, totalling 55 metres and lasting up to 40 weeks, will stabilise and repair the current damage and safeguard the road against future undermining by the river Wansbeck.   

Engineering teams will be constructing a highly complex engineering solution in a very challenging working environment. The site is next to the River Wansbeck whose flow must not be affected by the works to ensure the scheme has no impact on the flood risk downstream.   

Also, challenging ground conditions including the presence of boulders and tree roots underground, along with artesian waters beneath, have led to the need of a complex solution projected to cost approximately £4.6m.  

As the project gets underway, the B6343 road to the west of High House Junction will be closed while specialist works to high voltage cables take place. These works are needed to ensure that supply from the Wingates windfarm are not interrupted whilst the piling is underway. 

For the first two weeks, access from High House road to the B6343 will remain with traffic lights in place, after which the road will be closed to complete the works. 

A local diversion will be in place for cars and cyclists via St Leonard's Lane. A separate diversion will be implemented for HGV's.  

Pedestrians will also be diverted onto an alternative route past the works that makes use of an existing public footpath. 

The team will be continuously monitoring diversion routes and the traffic management in place to ensure they are working effectively.