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26
Nov
Reader’s Letter: ‘It’s disgraceful how roadworks are managed in Harrogate’
A reader has claimed the latest roadworks in the Harrogate area highlight how there is no effective oversight of the road network.
Traffic lights went up on Otley Road in Killinghall last weekend to facilitate what is believed to be emergency work by Yorkshire Water to address a burst water main.
It has led to lengthy delays, particularly for traffic travelling from Ripley into Harrogate. Work is due to end on Friday.
Motorist Neil Crabtree, who has been investigating the handling of local roadworks after becoming infuriated by delays, sent us a letter, which we have published below.
The current roadworks on Otley Road in Killinghall highlight how North Yorkshire Council highways is not capable of effective management of the road network.
Otley Road is the diversion route for the Tesco Skipton Road roadworks. At 8am yesterday morning (Tues) there was no one working at the site and it was the same at 3.30pm. Whatever is going on involves a gulley off the road and the lights can be safely removed when no one is at the site. There are barriers blocking a lane on the road that clearly are there to protect workers when deployed, but when not present there are no roadworks actually on the road itself.
I have complained to highways and at least asked them to install manned traffic lights because they currently operate without favour to the direction of most traffic. The result is tailbacks to Ripley and beyond.
Needless to say, I have not had a reply nor seen any action to try and alleviate this.
They point to the roadworks map to identify current and future roadworks, but it is inaccurate. It shows works ongoing that are not actually happening while works that were ongoing this week, for example on Coppice Drive, were not shown.
The roadworks started on Saturday and little has been done. Where are the signs on site informing drivers about the length of work? Considering the importance of this route, it’s a disgrace how it’s being managed.
We asked Yorkshire Water if it wished to respond and also for details of the work taking place.
A spokesperson said different teams did different things at roadworks, so there is a team for the repair, a team that completes the backfill, and a team that completes the reinstatement, and there might be downtime on site between each team's departure and arrival.
They added:
We have been working on Otley Road in Killinghall to repair a burst main, and for the safety of our colleagues, residents, and road users, there is a lane closure in place around the working area. We're completing the work as quickly as we can and will reopen the lane as soon as it is safe to do so. We'd like to apologise for the inconvenience, and thank everyone in the area for their patience.
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