More than 10 big road and rail upgrade schemes across England have been given the green light by the Government today.

Top of the list over a wave of 50 projects is the long-delayed £1.3bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine dualling, which will finally go ahead, and the Midlands Rail Hub which has got full funding.

A66 delivery partners Balfour Beatty, Kier and Aureos can now begin to upgrade the remaining 18 miles of single-carriageway sections and key junctions on the route between M6 Junction 40 (Penrith) and the A1 at Scotch Corner.

On the complex Midlands Rail Hub scheme work will focus on the West Chord link, which was at the most advanced stage of development

Backed by the funding confirmed in last month’s Spending Review, the plans are designed to accelerate job creation, housing delivery and business growth.

In the north and Midlands, five major road projects are now fully funded – including the £200m M54 to M6 link road in Staffordshire and Costain’s £138m M60/M62/M66 Simister Island junction upgrade in Greater Manchester.

The latter could support 20,000 jobs and up to 7,000 homes, if local planning is approved.

Other greenlit big road schemes include the £250m A38 Derby Junctions, backing 15,400 homes and Skanska’s A46 Newark Bypass in Nottinghamshire.

To support local journeys, the government is also committing support to continue 28 local road schemes vital to connecting and growing communities. These include the Middlewich Eastern Bypass and A382 Drumbridges to Newton Abbot schemes

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the investment is aimed squarely at “fast-tracking economic growth and jobs” and backing plans to build 1.5m new homes over the next five years.

On the rail side the long-awaited reopening of the Portishead rail line – closed since the 1960s – will deliver three new stations and hourly services into Bristol, connecting 50,000 more people to the rail network and unlocking new housing zones.

Other rail network schemes given funding backing are:

• Two new Devon stations at Wellington and Cullompton get go-ahead

• Haxby station near York to serve 20,000 residents

• Midlands Rail Hub secures full funding, unlocking 50+ new rail links and 13,000 construction jobs

• East Coast Main Line to be fitted with upgraded digital signalling to cut delays by a third and create 4,800 supply chain jobs