A59 at Kex Gill: Work on landslip-blighted road given start date

A £69m scheme to improve a landslip-blighted route in North Yorkshire is due to start before the end of 2022, the county council has said.

The A59 at Kex Gill, linking Harrogate and Skipton, has been hit by 12 landslips since 2000, leading to road closures and repeated repairs.

North Yorkshire County Council said contractors would clear moorland from December to avoid the nesting season.

It is hoped the work, which has seen a £7.2m price rise, will end in May 2025.

A council meeting previously heard the jump in costs for the delayed realignment project was due to "volatile conditions" in the construction industry.

The project is being funded by a £56.1m Department for Transport grant, with the rest paid for with the council's capital reserves, a council spokesperson said.

Councillor Keane Duncan, the executive member for highways and transportation, called it "one of the council's most ambitious ever highways projects".

"The A59 provides a very important east-west connection in North Yorkshire, and the route is listed by the Government in the top 10 for strategic importance nationally," he said.

"We remain committed to carrying out this key project as quickly as possible and in the most cost-effective way."

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