Landslip-hit A59 to stay closed until end of June

A major North Yorkshire road that has been closed due to a landslip will not reopen before the end of June, council bosses have said.

North Yorkshire Council has announced a £750,000 repair scheme to stabilise a stretch of the A59 at Kex Gill, between Skipton and Blubberhouses near Harrogate.

The route on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been closed since 2 February after a crack appeared in its verge.

Earlier this month, the council said the road would remain shut until after Easter - but that date has now been put back by three months.

The council said it had appointed contractors to work extended hours and overnight to complete the works.

The closure has meant a lengthy diversion route, external for motorists through Ilkley.

Meanwhile, a local cafe on the A59 told the BBC the road closure was costing her business £2,000 a week.

The Kex Gill section of the A59 is prone to landslips and last year work began on a major £68.9m realignment of the road, a scheme which is due to be completed in late 2025.

The then Roads Minister Richard Holden said the scheme would benefit businesses and towns across the north of England and put an end to disruptive road closures.

The cracks in the road verge that caused the most recent closure were caused by wet weather and geologists confirmed there had been further movement in the road since the closure due to persistent rainfall.

The repairs will include driving long sheets of steel into the ground to create a structural wall.

Once this has been completed, contractors will fill in the excavated area between the steel sheets and the road to provide strength and stability.

Relocating communications cables and completing drainage and resurfacing works once the area is filled also forms part of the scheme.

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: “There have been more than 10 landslips on the A59 at Kex Gill, between Church Hill and North Moor Road, so the ongoing realignment scheme is needed now more than ever.

“Until the road is reopened, we advise road users to follow the signed diversion route.”

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