Osgodby roundabout to open in time for May Bank Holiday
The new £1.8 million roundabout at the A19 Osgodby junction is set to be completed and open to traffic in a little over one weeks time, it has been announced.
Selby
The pace of the works at the notorious accident blackspot has been taking place with such speed that it will now be possible to reopen the road to traffic some 11 weeks ahead of schedule.
The project was originally programmed to take 22 weeks to complete, including ten weeks during which the road would be completely closed to traffic and a further 12 weeks with traffic management. However, the good progress of the scheme now means that the entire project will be completed, weather permitting, in just over half that time.
North Yorkshire County Council is so confident that the new junction will be ready in time that it has declared that even if forecasts of heavy rain over the next week would not prevent the road from opening.
NYCC says that the progress is largely down to the communities of Barlby and Osgodby in agreeing to be inconvenienced during ten-week road closure at the A19/A63 junction and subsequent diversions through their villages.
They also praise the commitment of the project’s contractor, Jackson Civil Engineering Ltd, to getting the job done. The contractor’s project team has worked a seven-day week and long hours each day to finish the work far ahead of schedule. Without a closure, the construction period could have been as long as 36 weeks.
The newly installed roundabout will replace the notorious staggered crossroads at the junction blamed for many accidents at the location. It is designed to improve safety for people turning right and to decrease speeds on the A19 to help motorists coming from the A63 in Osgodby and Highfield View in Barlby.
County Councillor Brian Marshall, local member for Barlby, said, “We are delighted that the roundabout is to be completed so many weeks earlier than expected. This roundabout will make life safer and easier for the local population and the entire travelling public and we have campaigned long and hard for it.
“The people of Barlby and Osgodby and local businesses have had to put up with a great deal of disruption and inconvenience due to the diversion through their villages, but this has meant that the contractors have been able to get on with the job uninterrupted. We are very grateful to Jackson engineering for working all hours to finish this crucial project in such good time and lessen the pain for all concerned.”
Andy Burton, regional manager of Jackson Civil Engineering, said, “The original programme for this project was 22 weeks, however with the full road closure, we should be able to complete the roundabout in 11 weeks. This achievement is down to our excellent project team, which has worked seven days a week and over 10,000 man hours to finish the job as quickly and as safely as possible.
“We hope that the early completion will go some way to compensating for the disruption caused to motorists, and we hope they enjoy using the new roundabout, which should ease congestion in the area, and make the junction far safer.”