The A59 at Kex Gill between Harrogate and Skipton remains closed today for safety reasons after the county council closed the road last night.
The council has been constantly monitoring and measuring the hillside and following recent heavy rains identified significant movement resulting in substantial cracks on the slope.
Today, a county council geotechnical engineer has carried out a detailed inspection of the ground and the road will remain closed until the results of the survey have been carefully examined.
This stretch of road at Kex Gill runs across very high ground between even higher moorland between Skipton and Harrogate and has in the past been affected by landslips in bad weather. In 2011 the county council undertook to strengthen the banks and resurface part of the road during a five week road closure.
Two years ago the council undertook some additional drainage measures on the slope in a bid to improve stability and has continued to keep a close watch of the area.
County Councillor Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Highways said:
We know that closure of this road causes significant inconvenience to road users with lengthy diversions, but safety on the highway must be our greatest priority. We constantly monitor this area and in the past have undertaken major works to stabilise this slope. Our specialist engineers have been examining the ground today and we must wait for the outcome of that survey before we can decide on next steps.
County council highways officers have put a diversion route in which is signposted between Skipton and Harrogate. Go to www.northyorks.gov.uk/roadworks and search the interactive map for Kex Gill.
