Bypass 'structural integrity' investigated over surface failures
Concerns over the deteriorating state of the surface of the Selby Bypass have prompted County and Highways Agency officials to investigate the road's 'structural integrity'.
Selby
A statement from County Hall said the agencies would be investigating the structural integrity of the road owing to 'substantial areas of failed surfacing material'.
Both the County Council and the Highways Agency – who were responsible for construction of the bypass – have been working on site creating test pits, trial holes and coring. They say they have been carrying out specialist non-destructive tests to determine the "residual life" left in the road structure.
This work is in the early stages and as the tests reveal more information, they will decide on any next steps that would need to be taken to rectify problems with the troubled relief road.
Early indications of the probably cause of the surface failures have pointed towards the lower layers of the road's construction. As a result, it is feared, any permanent repairs could prove very costly.
As a result, the County Council says it will only be able to carry out temporary repairs to keep the road safe until any issues have been resolved by a long-term solution.
They say that ‘Carrying out more comprehensive repairs at this time would not be cost-effective as any permanent repairs may involve the whole width of the bypass and not just the isolated areas of failure visible now.’
Built by Skanska, a behemoth in the world of civil engineering, the Selby bypass opened to traffic just 12 years ago following years of campaigning by Selebians concerned over the volumes of traffic being directed through the town centre.
County Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said, “We are aware that there has been significant public concern about the state of the Selby bypass and the nature and extent of the roadworks carried out so far.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that there may be fundamental problems with the road structure and therefore we must pursue the issue strongly on behalf of our taxpayers. For the present, we are carrying out temporary repairs which will keep the road safe for highway users.”