*** Press Release from East Riding of Yorkshire Council ***
BRIDGE REPAIR WORK TO START NEXT WEEK
Newland Bridge and part of the A645 will be closed from next week as work starts on a major engineering project.
The bridge, which carries the A645 over the River Aire, needs essential repairs and, as part of the work, adjacent road surfaces will also be improved.
Several diversion routes will be available to traffic while the bridge and road are closed and these are detailed in the bridges section of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s website.
The council announced the engineering project last December and has been consulting extensively since then with local town and parish councils, residents, businesses and other organisations to keep them informed and answer questions.
The road closure and work on the bridge is scheduled to start on 20 July and it is anticipated that it will be completed this winter.
The bridge will be closed for the duration of the work and part of the A645, from Rawcliffe Roundabout to Drax, will be closed to all but local access traffic.
There will be diversions on the A614 at its junction with the eastern part of the A645, the A1041 and the western section of the A645 to Drax village for all traffic except HGVs.
This diversion will pass through Rawcliffe, Snaith and Carlton but, to minimise traffic on the route, hauliers and HGV traffic travelling into the area are requested to use the M62, A19, A63 and A1041 to avoid potential congestion.
Local businesses are also being requested to keep their HGV traffic on the motorway diversion route to avoid the local A-road diversion and Snaith.
Other routes that road users may wish to use are the A1 (M)/A63 and the A63 between Barlby and Howden.
A temporary one-way system in Market Place, Snaith, will be introduced as well as three-way temporary traffic lights in Snaith town centre for the duration of the project.
Current weight restrictions on the A1041 will remain in place and unchanged.
Earlier this year highway maintenance work was carried out in Snaith, Rawcliffe and Pollington to reduce the likelihood of any such work being required during the closure period and further line marking refreshing was carried out on the diversion routes.
Councillor Symon Fraser, portfolio holder for capital programme asset strategy, asset management, housing and environment at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “We have worked very closely with our partners, including North Yorkshire County Council, to try to ensure we minimise the impact on residents, businesses and commuters during this work.
“It is a very important scheme because the bridge repairs are essential. Improving the transport infrastructure of the East Riding is one of the council’s top priorities and this project will have long-term benefits for residents and motorists.”
“Closing the bridge and using diversion routes is the only practical solution to enable the repair works to be carried out and the contractor will be working long day shifts to take advantage of daylight hours on a six-day week pattern.”
Project manager Adrian Smith said: “We will be regularly monitoring and reviewing the traffic management aspect of the project from a road safety and traffic flow point of view and we will endeavour to react, where appropriate, to any issues which may arise.
“We have made every effort to keep people informed and given them the chance to ask questions about the project and we request again for people to be patient and understanding while we and our contractor work as quickly as possible to complete these essential works.”
East Yorkshire firm PBS Construction (N.E.) Ltd won the contract to carry out the work.
Its managing director Peter Smurthwaite said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded another prestigious civil engineering contract with East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
“The scheme will give continuous employment for upwards of 20 of our employees for the duration of the contract.
“We will also be using other local suppliers, plant hire companies and sub-contractors during the works, ensuring that this will benefit the local economy.
“We will also be engaging with local schools and organisations who would benefit from the knowledge of how this scheme will be constructed and encourage pupils to consider a career in the construction industry.
“The Yorcivils Framework contract quite rightly requires that we give consideration to improving the employment and skills in our industry in the local region, which also benefits us as a company in the long term.”
East Riding of Yorkshire Council successfully bid for £1.5million of the Local Growth Fund from the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership towards the bridge project and will contribute further funds to improve the maintenance and traffic management of the local road network.
The council has worked with North Yorkshire County Council and Drax Power Station on the co-ordination of the scheme and national road haulage associations have been informed about the closure so they can tell their members.
Councillor Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for highways, said: “North Yorkshire County Council is very supportive of this important scheme because investment in transport infrastructure is crucial for the economic and social development of the region.
“Like East Riding, North Yorkshire County Council is also involved in major projects to improve strategic routes in the area and the two authorities have been working together and with other agencies to ease congestion and keep the district on the move and attractive to business and residents.
“For example, the Newland Bridge scheme has been scheduled to start once the major Selby bypass repairs are complete.”
You can visit http://bit.ly/Newland-Bridge-Works or email a645newland.bridge@eastriding.gov.uk for more information about the project.
