A19 motorists warned to expect weeks of delays and diversions as resurfacing work begins

The northbound carriageway is to be resurfaced between the A181 Wellfield Interchange, where drivers would turn off for Durham and Castle Eden, and the A182 Easington Interchange.

Work will also be carried out on the A1086 Little Thorpe northbound entry slip road at Easington.

The programme will start on Tuesday, May 2, and is expected to be carried out over the next eight weeks.

National Highways has said it will close the A19 northbound overnight between the A181 and the A182 for safety reasons.

The closures will be in place from Sundays to Fridays between 8pm-6am but will exclude Saturday nights.

Traffic will be diverted via the A181, B1280 Salters Lane and the B1283 Durham Lane to re-join the A19 at the A19-A182 Easington Interchange.

Drivers from Peterlee wishing to travel north on the A19 should follow the signed diversion via the A19 southbound to the A19-A181 Wellfield Interchange before following the main diversion route.

A local diversion will also be in place from Easington via the B1432 Thorpe Road and B1283 Hall Walks to re-join the A19 at the A19-A182 Easington interchange.

As well as the overnight closures, a 50mph daytime speed limit will also be in place for traffic running on temporary surfaces during the day.

The resurfacing may be rescheduled if poor weather prevents work from being carried out.

Updates will be shared on the National Highways website www.nationalhighways.co.uk/ and on the regional Twitter feed @HighwaysNEAST.

More information will be also shared on the regional Facebook National Highways North-East page.