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26
Aug
Kex Gill: Road opens but frustration mounts as disruption continues
A new 4.2-kilometre stretch of the A59 between Harrogate and Skipton opened to traffic yesterday morning (August 25).
North Yorkshire Council’s highways chief, Councillor Malcolm Taylor, hailed the “dedication, tenacity and hard work of everyone involved”.
But although there is relief the road open, the scheme is far from complete.
Design work to create a new route that avoided landslips in Kex Gill began in 2016 and shovels hit the ground in February 2023.
Project costs soared to £82.5 million project, which is £13.7 million over-budget, and the road opening was 16 months overdue.
Now traffic lights remain at both ends of the new stretch of road, where work on the tie-ins with the old road continues. Motorists encounter three sets of lights in total.
The Church Hill junction with the A59 at Blubberhouses is closed.
The Church Hill junction at Blubberhouses remains closed and looks likely to stay that way for a couple more months. And turning the old road back to moorland is expected to take a year.
'Pathetic'
Alistair Young, whose Blubberhouses home overlooks the A59, said he had made repeated requests in vain for details of when the road closures and diversions will end to make life easier for residents and motorists.
Mr Young has now filed a complaint to Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director.
He said:
Frankly, it's pathetic how North Yorkshire Council has failed to communicate with local residents. When you think this road should have been open over a year ago and we still can’t get clear answers — it’s torture.
Matters came to a head when the Church Hill junction closed without direct communication with local residents on July 22, despite Mr Young asking for definitive closing and opening dates.
He said the council also pledged to maintain a right turn access on to the A59 at the Church Hill junction, which never materialised.
Mr Young said he had not had a response to an email to Cllr Taylor asking why he had not engaged with local residents.
Local access
He said the diversion routes didn’t make sense and ‘road closed’ signs in Blubberhouses did not initially make it clear that local access was maintained, which had prompted delivery drivers to turn back.
Mr Young said:
In five years’ time when it’s all bedded in, I’m sure people will be delighted. They have done some great work on the culverts, stonewalling and footpaths and bridleways. It does look great and the project will prevent people having to go through Kex Gill. But there has been a complete lack of engagement with residents.
A map showing the location on the A59.
The national speed limit of 60mph will apply on the new road but Mr Young said a 600-metre stretch at the Blubberhouses end, which cuts through the village, should be reduced to 40mph.
He said the reconfiguration of the road at Blubberhouses, where there will be a new pedestrian island, a bus stop and two junctions, made 60mph too dangerous.
The council declined to respond to Mr Young’s comments.
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