John Sisk & Son and Lagan Construction Group have been awarded a £40 million contract to carry out improvements to the A19/A1058 Coast Road in North Tyneside.Work on the joint venture project will start next year. Roads Minister Andrew Jones said: “Through schemes like these we are building the Northern Powerhouse and creating opportunities for hard working people across Britain.“The appointment of the contractors is a vital part of the delivery of improvements to the A19/A1058 Coast Road in North Tyneside. It will make journeys better for local people ensuring they have easy access to jobs, shops and leisure facilities nearby.”Highways England assistant project manager Darlene Procter added: “This scheme will improve journey times on the A19 by reducing congestion and improving safety for the thousands of drivers that use this junction each day. The A19 is a vital strategic link providing access to the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate, Silverlink Retail Park, Cobalt Business Park and South East Northumberland.“Providing better infrastructure will help the local and national economy, helping to support businesses and creating jobs.”John Sisk & Son Ltd’s civils UK general manager Wayne Metcalfe said: “We are delighted to be working with Highways England alongside our joint venture partner, Lagan Construction Group, to safely deliver this vital junction improvement for the North East road network together with the local community and road users.”Lagan Construction Group operations director John Cunningham said: “Lagan Construction Group is delighted to have been announced along with Sisk as the successful joint venture contractor for the A19/A1058 Coast Road junction improvement. We look forward to delivering a significant infrastructure project on behalf of Highways England.”The scheme will also improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists by providing two new shared use bridges over the A1058 slip roads.