A woman in her 50s has become the sixth person to die on the A1 in Northumberland in a month, after a BMW collided with a HGV near Causey Park on Monday. Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson has pledged to do "all he can" to secure the dualling of the road, calling the situation "appalling".
Latest fatal crash
Police are investigating the collision between a grey BMW 5 Series travelling southbound and a white Mercedes HGV travelling northbound. The passenger in the BMW was pronounced dead at the scene. Northumbria Police are appealing for information and have urged anyone with footage or details to contact them quoting reference NP-20260622-0711.
This incident follows two crashes in May that killed five people within nine days, reigniting calls for the A1 north of Morpeth to be upgraded to a dual carriageway. Much of the road remains single carriageway despite decades of campaigning.
Council leader's response
Councillor Sanderson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It is another tragedy for relatives and friends. It must be a hellish thing to have to go through. Our hearts are with everybody involved. It is terrible. I will do all I can to try and prevent this. This may well have been avoided had that road been dualled."
He added: "It is not a safe road. It's absolutely appalling that we still have this ridiculous road, something must be done." The council is now allocating officer time to build a proper business case to the government, arguing that the road cannot handle current traffic levels.
Scrapped dualling scheme
In autumn 2024, the government scrapped a scheme to dual 13 miles of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham after predicted costs exceeded £500 million. The project had faced delays under the previous Conservative administration, with final approval only granted after a general election was called. The government said it had to make "difficult decisions" due to the "challenging financial picture" inherited from the Tories, who it said had "failed to fund" the project.
Safety and economic arguments
Campaigners argue that dualling the road to the Scottish border would boost economic growth. Sanderson said: "Apart from the safety argument, it would be the single biggest, most important growth element that any Government could do for the North East." The government committed to safety improvements after scrapping the dualling, but details and timescales have not been released.
Some residents have called for lower speed limits and average speed cameras, but Sanderson dismissed these as insufficient: "These minor safety schemes would have a value, but they won't stop the frustration and the confusion that is caused by drivers reaching a single carriageway having travelled all the way from London on dual carriageways and motorways." He noted that significant money is spent on roads in the south and on the A9 in Scotland, adding: "The problem is Governments just don't get this."
The safety improvements are being considered as part of the third Road Investment Strategy, covering 2026 to 2031.
