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10
Sept
£82.5 million Kex Gill road realignment achieves 'milestone moment'
A major project to realign the A59 at Kex Gill took a step forward this week.
The £82.5 million scheme will see the road, which is prone to landslips, realigned as part of improvements on the key east-west route linking Harrogate and Skipton.
The project is one of North Yorkshire Council’s biggest ever capital investments.
Now the scheme has passed a milestone as the base layers of asphalt have started to be laid.
Tarmac, the subcontractor to John Sisk & Son, has started to lay asphalt for the new four-kilometre section of road.
The first phase involves about 4,000 tonnes of material, with the second phase scheduled to begin next month. In total, about 40,000 tonnes is needed.
Currently, the base and structural support layers are being installed, ahead of the upper layer in spring, to pave the way for its planned reopening.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said:
This is a milestone moment in the Kex Gill realignment project which is key to safeguarding the future of the A59.
The realignment of this east-west route will provide much better connectivity for all road users and will provide a major boost to the county’s economy.
Work continues on the new structures, drainage and surfacing to ensure that the opening remains on track for next spring.
As well as the construction of the new carriageway, the project encompasses new bridleways and footpaths, four kilometres of natural stone walls, two balancing ponds, and an extensive environmental scheme to enrich local habitats in this national landscape, including planting 12,000 trees and installing several bird and barn owl boxes.
A total of eight new culverts are also being installed to ensure water flows under the new road safely. Some of these include mammal shelves and ledges to allow animals such as badgers, otters and other wildlife to pass through or nest.
Rising costs
The move comes as the project has been hit by rising costs.
As previously reported by the Stray Ferret, the council revealed in May the cost had increased by £13.7 million from £68.8 million to £82.5 million.
The council increased the budget partly to cover compensation claims made against the authority from its contractor which amount to £23 million.
The increase in costs from the scheme will fall on local council taxpayers because of the terms of the contract.
Under the deal, the Department for Transport awarded a fixed sum of £56.1 million and the council contributed £12.7 million.
But the contract stipulated the council was responsible for any price rise, which meant it had to stump up the £13.7 million increase — taking the total paid by local council taxpayers to £26.4 million.
However, the council has warned that the cost of the project could increase further — which the taxpayer would ultimately foot the bill for.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, the council's executive member for highways, revealed in a report ahead of a full council meeting in July that the new road was on track to open in June next year.
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