Traffic misery eases as bypass back open for business

Selby Bypass has re-opened to traffic after more than two months of traffic misery for the town.

The first cars were able to make use of the newly repaired bypass after contractors from North Yorkshire County Council lifted the closure yesterday afternoon.

Major reconstruction works had been taking place to repair the failed surface of the road between the A19 Greencore roundabout in Barlby and the A1041 roundabout at Selby Business Park. The project, worth £2.4 million, involved deep repairs to the road before the carriageway could be reinstated.

The road was scheduled to be closed through to July 17th with the county council taking the opportunity to include the resurfacing of Selby Swing Bridge and some routine maintenance works such as grass cutting, tree trimming, drainage jetting and bridge inspections.

"We are delighted that this work has been undertaken in a thorough and a timely way and that the road is opening one day early", said County Councillor Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire's Executive Member for Highways.  "This has been a major reconstruction scheme which the county council took on board after it became obvious that surface failures of the bypass were deep-rooted. 

"Selby deserves a bypass that is fit for purpose in the interests of its longer term economic future and we are proud to have completed this long-term repair efficiently, within budget and on schedule.

"We wish to thank road users and the Selby district communities for their patience while we have undertaken this necessary work," Cllr Mackenzie continued, "and we wish to thank our contractors, Galliford Try, who have worked additional hours and weekends to get the job done on time.

"We also wish to thank our partner agencies, including North Yorkshire Police, who have closely monitored the use of diversion routes, and to thank our neighbouring authority, the East Riding of Yorkshire, for delaying the strategic Newland Bridge improvement scheme (begins Monday July 20th) until this first major phase of the Selby bypass work was successfully completed."

The reasons for the surface failure of the bypass stem from the lower layers of the road's construction, resulting in lengthy and very costly repairs. 

Discussions about responsibility for funding the repairs continue between the county council and Highways England (formerly the Highways Agency), which was responsible, through its contractor Skanska, for the original bypass construction.

Tests carried out by the county council on the swing bridge resurfacing earlier this week had raised concerns about the skid resistance of the new surface.  However, remedial works have ensured that the road is now fully compliant.