A YEAR after the A59 at Kex Gill was closed for several weeks after cracks appeared in the surface of the road, repairs are nearing completion, says North Yorkshire County Council.

The highways authority was forced to close the road for several weeks from late spring last year, only opening it to traffic light controlled, single lane traffic just in time for the start of the Great Yorkshire Show in July.

Traffic lights, which have been in place ever since, are due to be removed by the end of March, following the laying of a new, interim surface and lining.

A week long, full closure of the road is also due to take place from May 13 for the road to be properly resurfaced. The closure, which has been timed to take place to avoid the Easter holidays, will mean people travelling between Skipton and Harrogate will have to go via Ilkley and Otley.

Meanwhile, the council says it is working on a business case for a £30 million bypass of the section of the road which it has said in the past will be started in the new financial year and be completed in just more than a year..

County Councillor Stanley Lumley, member for Pateley Bridge, who sits on the Kex Gill steering group, said: “As well as being a significant trans-Pennine route, the A59 is important to residents for their daily commutes and day-to-day travel, so the completion of these repairs will be welcome. The closure for resurfacing is necessary, but is timed to avoid busy Easter and bank holiday periods.”

The section of road at Kex Gill is notoriously unstable and has suffered numerous landslides over the years, forcing it to close, and lengthy diversions to be put in place.

The council’s ultimate solution is to build a new section of the A59 on the other side of the valley. A preferred route - estimated to cost in the region of £30 million - has been agreed by councillors and work is progressing on detailed designs and environmental surveys, alongside a funding bid to the Department for Transport.

The council said last year it hoped work on the new section of road would start in the new financial year, beginning in April, and estimated it would take around 14 months to complete.