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Traders worried over impact of A63 roadworks delay

BBC A woman with shoulder-length curly light brown hair and rectangular glasses. She is wearing a striped top and white cardigan and is smiling into the camera. The background is blurred but she is standing in a plant shop.BBC
Lara Roberts says she is worried about the impact of possible further weekend road closures

Traders have expressed concern about a year-long delay to major roadworks on the A63 in Hull.

Highway officials said "extremely challenging ground conditions" meant the £355m redesign of Castle Street would not be completed until spring 2026.

Geology expert Dr Anna Bird said building work was "complicated" in Hull due to weak sediments underground.

Hull West and Haltemprice MP Emma Hardy said she was "extremely disappointed" about the delay and residents "deserve better".

A woman smiling into the camera with curly windswept blonde hair, wearing a colourful scarf and grey blazer. You can see a road in the background with roadworks in the distance.
Dr Anna Bird says the ground geology in Hull is "really complicated"

Lara Roberts, owner of Plant & Paint on Humber Street, said: "I'm worried there will be more weekend closures and people can't get to us.

"When the road is closed you have a bad weekend and it's definitely directly related."

Sarah Clayton, who lives in Hessle, owns Mousey Brown's Hair Salon, also on Humber Street.

"It's just a pain having to queue all the time," she said.

"Coming up to Christmas we just want a smooth run but the roads are really difficult. You just want to see an end to it."

A woman with blonde hair wearing a denim jacket and doing someone's hair in a salon. She is looking and smiling into the camera wearing clear glasses.
Sarah Clayton says she wants to see an end to all the roadworks

Dr Bird, programme director for earth science at the University of Hull, said: "It's really complicated in Hull because of the thick stack of sediments that we are standing on that are soft and really laden with water.

"They're not strong so every time we dig down into them they will collapse unless we're putting in a lot of extra support.

"It takes a lot of time and money."

Ms Hardy said: "I'm extremely disappointed that the A63 Castle Street Project completion date has been pushed back and is now not expected to be complete until spring 2026, a year over the initial target for completion.

"People in the city have had to put up with roadworks for so long and it's unfair that they will have to deal with them for even longer."

Ms Hardy said she had requested an urgent meeting with Highways England to see if there would be any additional support to speed up completion of the roadworks.

The leader of Hull City Council, Mike Ross, said he was calling on National Highways to provide business relief packages for traders who would be impacted by the delay.

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