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21
Aug 2023
Site cleared ahead new road being built at A59 Kex Gill
Contractors have completed clearing an area alongside the A59 near Harrogate ahead of building a new three-mile stretch of road.
The A59 is a key link between Harrogate and Skipton.
But the section that includes Kex Gill has had a history of landslips, which has caused lengthy diversions for motorists and extra costs for the council.
Work on the £68.8 million project began in February and will see a new road built from Blubberhouses to just after Kex Gill.
The Department for Transport is providing £56.1m and the remaining funds are coming from North Yorkshire Council.
In an update, the council said the site has now been cleared, which has involved removing trees, and an access road is being built to allow builders to start work on the new road.
A stone wall has also been dismantled but will be reused as part of the scheme.
The council added the project will be finished in autumn 2025 after previously saying it would be in May of that year.
Karl Battersby, the council's corporate director of environment, said:
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The majority of the new road will be constructed without access to traffic, which means the existing road will remain open during construction.
Once open, the re-routed A59 is not likely to make journey times between Harrogate and Skipton any quicker but it will remove the risk of landslips.
The Kex Gill section runs through important habitats including a Site of Special
Scientific Interest.
The council said plans are in place to mitigate the impact on wildlife in the area that includes barn owls, bats, nightjars, wild game, toads and badgers.
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