The southernmost section of the A68, as it leaves Darlington, has been described as a "rustbelt". In January 2022 there was a proposal to widen key roundabouts in Darlington to ease traffic flow. The road crosses the
A1(M) at Copshaw Hill Interchange. It bypasses
Bishop Auckland and runs through
West Auckland,
Toft Hill and
Tow Law, where Durham County Council has installed a live camera so that drivers can check traffic and weather. It then passes
Consett and
Corbridge; it used to pass through the centre of the town but since 1979 has run on a bypass to the east, crossing the
River Tyne over
Styford Bridge. During the construction of the bypass, Roman burials, glass and coins were found, and some traces of
Dere Street. To return to the previous route of the A68 it is
concurrent with the
A69 for , before turning off north again. The road passes through rural
Northumberland, following the route of Dere Street for much of this stretch, which is considered highly scenic. The A68 crosses the
Scottish border at
Carter Bar, then runs through the
Border towns of
Jedburgh,
St Boswells,
Earlston and
Lauder before going over
Soutra Hill, passing through
Pathhead and by-passing
Dalkeith, before terminating at Millerhill Junction on the A720. Until September 2008, the A68 passed through Dalkeith; the opening of a bypass removed large volumes of traffic from the town centre and led to a reduction in accidents. The northern section is used by commuters to Edinburgh, as well as long-distance traffic. In August 2020 part of the road near Fala collapsed after heavy rain. It reopened the following month. Part of the A68 is a
trunk road from the boundary with
Midlothian to the border at Carter Bar, managed by BEAR Scotland for
Transport Scotland. The English section as far south as the junction with the
A696 to
Newcastle was previously a trunk road, but was detrunked in 2001 as part of the government's "
New Deal for Trunk Roads in England" report published three years earlier. Along with the A696, the A68 forms an alternative route between
Newcastle Upon Tyne and Edinburgh to the
A1 which runs along the coast via
Berwick Upon Tweed, and is the more scenic of the two. ==History==