Work is due to start today (Thursday) to reopen a stretch of a key route in North Yorkshire which has been closed following a landslip.
North Yorkshire Council and its highways company, NY Highways, have appointed a Harrogate-based contractor, HACS, to carry out the work at Kex Gill on the A59 following the landslip in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The project will include removing more than 2,000 tonnes of debris which has slipped down from the slope, as well as installing 50 metres of new drainage channels and introducing about 100 tonnes of clean stone to stabilise the area.
Subject to any unforeseen delays, it is hoped that the work will be completed by January 29.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for highways and transportation, Cllr Keane Duncan, said:
“I am pleased to confirm that work to repair the A59 at Kex Gill will begin tomorrow following the landslip on New Year’s Day.
“Recent snowfall and sub-zero temperatures unfortunately impacted the works, so I know it will be very welcome news that these can now safely commence.
“I’d like to thank road users for their patience. Our team is working to complete the works and reopen the road as quickly as possible, which we anticipate will be on January 29.
“This is the latest in a long list of unplanned and disruptive landslips on the road at Kex Gill.
“It once again emphasises the importance of delivering our £68 million project to bypass this problematic stretch, which will ensure future disruption can be avoided.
“This highways project, our most ambitious ever, is progressing well and we expect the realignment scheme to be completed next year.”
The stretch of the A59 at Kex Gill, which is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park between Skipton and Blubberhouses, near Harrogate, has a history of landslips with 15 incidents since 2000 alone.
A new four-kilometre stretch of road is being created, replacing an existing part of the A59 which has been affected by the landslips.
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