Emergency repairs to bypass will cost tens of thousands of pounds

North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is carrying out the short-term repairs to ensure the road is safe to use over winter.

This is, it says, ahead of major and permanent repair works which it expects to take place next spring and cost in the region of £5-6 million.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said: “Investigations reveal that there are fundamental problems with the road structure and we are progressing in our discussions with the Highways Agency, but no conclusion has yet been reached. We remain confident that through negotiations with the Highways Agency this major work may be achieved without cost to the council and ultimately the county taxpayer.”

NYCC has spent around £70,000 of taxpayers’ money on urgent repair work over the last year and the winter repairs will also come out of its budget.

The Highways Agency, responsible for the construction of the bypass between 2000 and 2004 before the county council took over the road, remained tight-lipped about the long-term bill.

The bypass has deteriorated since it was built. An online petition launched by Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams, calling for the road’s surface to be urgently repaired, has been signed by more than 1,000 people.

Mr Adams said: “I am encouraged by the progress that appears to have been made since my petition. However, my campaign will not stop until this road is properly repaired.”

A Highways Agency spokesperson said the agency and its contractor, Skanska, who carried out the work, have been in talks with NYCC but no conclusions regarding the cause of the defects or the cost of the repairs have been reached.