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25
Feb 2023
Kex Gill: A project seven years in the making
After being beset by delays and hiking in cost due to soaring inflation, the realignment of the A59 at Kex Gill is finally set to be built.
The project, which is North Yorkshire County Council’s most expensive and ambitious, will reroute a landslip-blighted road between Harrogate and Skipton.
For councillors and government officials, the route is a key east to west link.
As such, the money set aside – some £69 million – is justified and for ministers the deal they struck with the county council is seen as sensible financially.
Richard Holden, the roads minister in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, echoed the sentiment on a visit to Kex Gill this week.
The site on Thursday morning had yet to have a spade hit the ground, but Mr Holden was confident that in two years' time it would be a justified expense.
He said:
(Left to right) Cllr Carl Les, leader of county council, Richard Holden, minister for roads, and Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways.
Part of the reasoning behind the reroute is the number of landslips on the road.
According to council documents published in 2021, the cost to taxpayers for maintaining the road has been “increasing over the last ten-year period”.
Between October 2000 and May 2019, five landslides were recorded at the site and the retaining wall failed four times.
In January 2016, the road was closed for eight weeks and traffic diverted through Ilkley and Otley after heavy rain caused a landslide.
Meanwhile, an instability issue in May 2018 caused road closures for several months, which council officials said led to a “complex repair scheme” being carried out at a cost of £1.42 million.
Following numerous landslips and millions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on the A59, the county council decided in 2016 to do something about the problem.
How the new road will look
The reroute itself will see the existing road, which has blighted motorists for decades, returned back to moorland.
Richard Binks, head of major projects at the county council, explained that the scheme will be built in two phases.
The road to the west of Blubberhouses will be built first and include a climbing road at the junction near to Fewston reservoir car park.
The reroute of the A59 at Kex Gill which has been proposed by North Yorkshire County Council.
The second junction will be built at the bottom of what is now a single track road and will exit near to Kex Gill.
Mr Binks said the idea is to get the new road ready for traffic before moving cars from the existing A59 onto it.
He said:
Read more:
- Council warns of ‘high risks’ as Kex Gill cost soars to £69m
- Minister ‘open’ to inflation funding discussions for A59 Kex Gill
- Government gives final go-ahead for £69m Kex Gill reroute to start
Once the junctions are ready to be connected to the old road, temporary traffic lights will be put in place.
Meanwhile, as part of the realignment, new wetlands will be created near to one of the junctions and biodiversity will be returned to the moorland.
While it is unclear when the lights will be in place to connect the junctions, Mr Binks said it is expected the project will be nearing completion in summer 2025.
The council intends to enter into its contract with John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, which is an Irish civil engineering and construction company, in April to start the scheme.
Tackling inflation
One concern over the future of the scheme is the rate of inflation in the construction industry.
Mr Holden acknowledged that soaring costs were an issue, but remained confident that funding offered by the government was “sensible”.
The scheme has faced numerous delays and, following tender returns, the estimated cost of the scheme increased by £7.2 million to £68.8 million, which the council attributed to inflation affecting constructions costs.
The project will be funded by a £56.1 million grant from the Department for Transport, with the council covering the rest from its reserves.
Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways at the county council, told the Stray Ferret that the authority had put “built in” funding into the contract to cover inflation.
The council has set aside £11 million to be factored into the budget to cover any issues with ground conditions or bad weather.
Cllr Duncan said:
All major projects come with risks and barriers which need to be overcome.
But county council officials will take brief comfort that they can now finally put spades in the ground on the multi-million pound scheme before before tackling those hurdles over the next two years.
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