Options on the table for A64 improvement

Long-overdue safety and congestion improvements for the notorious A64 Scarborough to York road are finally moving forward.

The latest progress on proposals to create a new section of dual carriageway at the A64 Hopgrove bottleneck has been outlined to the A64 Growth Partnership.

The partnership is an alliance of local businesses, MPs, local authorities, trade organisations and the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership, which is pressing government for major long-term investment in the A64 between York and the Yorkshire coast.

The Scarborough News’ campaign for action has seen hundreds of readers throw their support behind the push for the government to take action following 11 deaths on the road in the past 18 months.

Transport specialists from Highways England, which operates, maintains and improves England’s motorways and major A roads, said that four detailed options were now being worked up to provide dual carriageway to replace the A64 single carriageway east of Hopgrove junction.

Three of the four options being assessed for the road to the east of Hopgrove junction would upgrade the A64 to dual carriageway for all of the 9.5km between Hopgrove junction and the next section of dual carriageway at Barton-le- Willows.

Highways England says that these three options “all address the main source of congestion on the route (i.e. the single carriageway section of the A64), and would therefore address the scheme objectives and support wider regional and local policy.

“The options generate significant journey time savings but have potential for slightly adverse impacts on noise and air quality, and moderate to large adverse impacts on historic, environment and water environment considerations.”

Two of these dualling options follow the route of the current A64 for 1.8km from Hopgrove and then take a new alignment before re-joining the current A64 near the Jinnah Restaurant.

Consultation will take place in mid 2018.