Summer roadworks in North Yorkshire 'needs to be done now'
Drivers in North Yorkshire are being told the reasons why there's more traffic on the roads this Summer.
Last updated 16th Aug 2021
Drivers in North Yorkshire are being told the reasons why there is more traffic on the roads this Summer.
The County Council says it is carrying out its major repair scheme to its highways.
The authority says it HAS to be done now as the road network is so large.
Its Executive Member for Access, Don Mckenzie, said:
"I can see their point of view but these are best on during the Spring, Summer and Autumn periods and not in Winter. With Winter you've got snowfall, very low temperatures and you can waste an awful lot of time waiting for the weather to get right or indeed have to redo work.
"We've got 6,000 miles of highways. If we were a smaller county then maybe we could get away with not doing it throughout the Summer months but we do have a huge network of highways. I live in Harrogate and to Scarborough it's 70 miles and you can imagine therefore the sheer length of our highways network.
Councillor McKenzie continued:
"In many situations, we prefer roundabouts which are much more dynamic than traffic light controlled junctions but often there simply isn't the space to put a roundabout in. There have been examples where we have put roundabouts in and they do work very well but they're not suitable in many locations.
"We have introduced at many of our junctions smart lights which can recognise if a particular arm of a junction is busy, and that can be given a green light for longer periods and at shorter notice than the other arms of that junction."
For more details on the latest roadworks going on across North Yorkshire, please visit the live Roadworks map on the North Yorkshire County Council's website.