North Yorkshire MPs to meet National Highways on A64 dualling
It's after calls for a definite date to be given
Last updated 25th Jan 2022
There is due to be a meeting about the dualling of the A64 between Scarborough and York.
It will involve the MP for Thirsk, Malton and Filey, Kevin Hollinrake and Sir Robert Goodwill, who is the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, as well as National Highways, who admitted any major works are "not yet on the drawing board".
Last year it was announced a final proposal to dual the carriageway would be submitted for consideration with a decision expected in 2024.
It resulted in North Yorkshire County Councillor, David Jeffels, to call for a definite date to be given.
He sits on the transport committee at the authority and is also a Scarborough Borough Councillor.
He said: "We can look forward hopefully to getting a date put on to this scheme rather than it just be projected as being sometime in the next four or five years. We need a date and I'm more confident now that things will happen.
"This road is just so important. It's a lifeline for hundreds of businesses throughout Ryedale, the Yorkshire Coast and the whole of Borough of Scarborough and not only that, but of course it does carry very heavy holiday traffic but it is a congested road now throughout the year.
"This road has a very, very bad accident record and I think in the past year we've seen more fatalities than at any time in the past. It's got the reputation of being the worst trunk road for accidents in the whole of the North of England and probably one of the highest in the country.
"It's vital that we do have these good roads because at the moment people are queuing to get to the coast and it can take two or three hours just stuck in a traffic queue, and of course when they're coming home as well they're in the same queue heading back. It's important that we move this on.
"They are meeting National Highways are progressing the design and the route because one of the biggest problems is that even if the go-ahead was given immediately, that can take a year or two to become a reality because there has to be the designing, purchasing of the land for the route and the sooner we can get the wheels in motion to get a start date the better."
National Highways Route Manager Paul Mitchinson said:
“We recognise the strength of local feeling on this issue. Although National Highways has a number of safety and maintenance schemes either on the ground on the A64 or in design, there is currently no commitment from government for dualling the entirety of the A64.
"We recently sought public feedback to help us inform our business case to the Department for Transport for proposed improvements between A64 Hopgrove and Barton-le-Willows.
"This is one of 32 projects being considered around the country for potential construction beyond 2025 although there is currently no commitment from the government to develop this scheme beyond this current stage.”