£68m road project to see new route created on A59

A main road in North Yorkshire frequently closed due to landslides is set to be  replaced with a new route.

Announced today (February 23), the A59 at Kex Gill, which is the main route between towns Harrogate and Skipton, is set to benefit from a £68m project that will see a new road put in its place.

The area surrounding Kex Gill has a history of landslips that have caused a ‘number of costly unplanned road closures’. The new route’s location hasn’t been detailed, but the Department for Transport has said that the route has been designed to ‘minimise the impact on the environment and those residing in nearby towns and villages’.

The government is providing £56m of funding towards the project that will replace this section of the A59, with the remainder of the £68m project to be paid for by North Yorkshire County Council.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways and transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “It is welcome news that the Government has given us the final go-ahead to begin construction. The re-alignment of Kex Gill will undoubtedly be one of the council’s most ambitious ever highways projects.

“The A59 provides a very important east-west connection in North Yorkshire and is of national significance. We remain committed to completing the scheme as quickly as possible and in the most cost-effective way.”

“Investing in projects like this to provide long-term improvements shows how the government is committed to levelling up transport links with long-term sustainable solutions.”

Work on the new section of road is set to start later this year, with the route set to open in 2025.

The green light for this section of road closely follows last week’s announcement from the Welsh government that it was scrapping all major road-building projects in the country over environmental concerns.