Delays on one of Harrogate’s main access route are expected for some weeks as work gets under way to improve a key junction.
Work begins on Monday 27 January 2014 on the most complex part of the highways works to improve the Leeds Road/Hookstone Road junction which have been required by North Yorkshire County Council as part of the planning permission for a new M&S Simply Food store at the junction and are being co-ordinated with highways works planned ahead of July’s Grand Depart of the Tour de France in Harrogate.
The works will involve the closure of lanes on Leeds Road and temporary changes to traffic signal priorities at the junction.
The site’s developers, St James Securities, and contractors GMI Construction Group and HACS, have worked closely with the County Council’s Highways Department to find a way to carry out the necessary works as quickly and safely as possible.
St James Securities Construction Director Dan Murray said: We have looked at a number of options with the Highways Department to try to find the safest way to carry out the required works on what is one of the busiest approach roads to Harrogate.
There has been consultation with local councillors, the Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the bus operator, Transdev, to establish how best to proceed.
The required works include new ducts under the full width of Leeds Road, as well as a new pedestrian crossing island, traffic lights and resurfacing. We are aware that these works will cause disruption and delays and we wanted to give drivers as much advance notice as possible.
The contractors and the utility companies have worked with the county council to provide a junction that can accommodate predicted future traffic growth. The duct works include running 16 large BT ducts, four electricity and four traffic signal ducts. The four traffic signal ducts are also to cross north of the junction. The county council is also taking the opportunity to upgrade the resurfacing work.
As work progresses the arrangement of the lanes, both in-bound and out-bound, will be altered from time to time to allow safe working. One lane in each direction will be kept open at all times. Traffic light priorities will be altered during the works so that the Hookstone Road and Leadhall Lane operate independently of each other, although these will revert back to normal once work is complete.
Details of expected works can be found at www.gmiconstructiongroup.co.uk/community/project-blogs by clicking on M&S Simply Food Roadworks or by following NorthYorks Highways on Twitter.
