Council leaders in the Tees Valley are set to unveil a 30-year plan to improve transport links in the region.
Transport for the North’s draft strategic transport plan is expected to outline seven rail and road corridors where improvements are needed and call for investment to upgrade them.
It will include upgrades to Darlington and Middlesbrough stations, improvements to the A19 and A66 and expansion of freight routes from the River Tees to markets throughout the UK.
Tees Valley Combined Authority, a partnership of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees councils, said full details will be released early in the new year and will be subject to a 13-week public consultation before being submitted to the Government.
The combined authority's mayor Ben Houchen said: 'The residents of Tees Valley deserve the best transport links possible, whether commuting to work, for daily life or exploring all that the area has to offer.
'Working with Transport for the North, I have fought to ensure the voices of local people have been heard and their concerns met, to allow the Tees Valley to flourish both for those that live and work in the region and as a tourist destination to be proud of.'
