Drivers advised of A1 overnight weekend closures for motorway upgrade work, North Yorkshire
The A1 in North Yorkshire will be closed overnight on 12 and 19 July as part of major work to upgrade part of the A1 to a three-lane motorway.
Highways Agency senior project manager Sandie Forte-Gill said:
These closures are required for safe installation of traffic management including narrow lanes, temporary safety barriers and additional average speed cameras. The traffic management is necessary to enable the safe construction of the new motorway. During the closures we ask that drivers plan their journeys. Diversion routes will be clearly signed and drivers should allow extra time for travelling along the diversion routes.
The A1 will be closed overnight on 12 and 19 July, from 8pm on Saturday evening until 6am on Sunday morning. The A1 and A1(M) will be closed northbound between junction 50 (Baldersby) and Scotch Corner, and southbound between Scotch Corner and junction 51 (Leeming). The 10 hour closures have been carefully planned to minimise disruption to drivers and will be put in place when traffic flows are at their lowest.
During these overnight closures the lengths of narrow lanes will be extended within the temporary 50mph limit areas. Work to widen a 12 mile section of the A1 between Leeming and Scotch Corner, and to create an alternative route for local traffic, started earlier in March. The scheme will unlock growth and boost the economy by creating a continuous motorway-standard route between London and Newcastle (including the M1 and A1M).
When the scheme opens to traffic in 2016/17, journey times between Leeming and Barton will be reduced by approximately 20 per cent, and over a sixty-year period, the improvements are predicted to save around 100 lives and prevent around 650 serious casualties. The work is also estimated to generate 750 jobs in the construction industry over three years.
The work is part of a £380m scheme to upgrade 12 miles of the A1 between Leeming and Barton to motorway standard. Following the decision on the route of the proposed local access road, work on the remaining section, between Scotch Corner and Barton, will start in due course. For more information on the scheme, visit the Highways Agency’s website.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways Agency press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.