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26
Jan 2024
Last Updated: 26/01/2024
Traffic lights on A59 at Kex Gill after ‘small crack’ appears
A59 at Kex Gill.
North Yorkshire Council has installed two-way traffic lights on the A59 at Kex Gill after a “small crack” emerged on the verge yesterday.
The Stray Ferret flagged up the lights on social media yesterday after the council posted a brief message about them.
We sought further details today, including how long the lights will be in place.
Melisa Burnham, the council’s highways area manager, said:
“We immediately installed two-way traffic lights to keep vehicles away from that side of the road for safety reasons and to prevent further movement.
“Our engineers have been on site to assess the situation and will be designing the most effective repair scheme. We will update the public as soon as possible.”
£68.8 million Kex Gill
A three-mile section of road is being built on the landslip-prone A59 at Kex Gill — although the current road has remained open.
The A59 is the main route between Harrogate and Skipton and the highway is being re-aligned in a £68.8 million scheme aimed at preventing further landslips.
The Department for Transport is providing grant funding of £56.1 million and the remaining £12.7 million has been allocated from North Yorkshire Council’s capital reserves.
Richard Flinton, chief executive of the council, told Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce last week the scheme was now scheduled for completion by May 2026.
The new road is being constructed at the beginning of North Moor Road and will re-join the A59 at its junction with West End.
In a separate £500,000 scheme, the A59 was closed for five weeks towards the end of last year for work between Church Hill and Pace Gate. This caused lengthy diversions through Pool in Wharfedale and Otley.
The work involved resurfacing and stabilising the slope of the existing road, as well as drainage repairs, gully-clearing, cat's eyes replacements and maintenance of ground monitoring equipment.
Read more:
- A59 Kex Gill resurfacing to be complete on Friday
- Concern about inflation on £68.8m Kex Gill road scheme
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