City of York Council has set out a timetable for work to invest £5m on Tadcaster Road, following the award of the funding from the Department of Transport’s Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund.
The funding will enable to council to improve large sections of drainage along the route which will reduce localised surface water flooding. The work will include the delivery of additional pedestrian crossings and will ensure the road is maintenance free for the next 10 years.
Local councillors have for some time been pressing for a pedestrian refuge to be installed on Tadcaster Road near to the junction with Nelsons Lane to enable residents alighting the bus to be able to cross the road safely. It is hoped that this scheme will now be delivered as part of these works.
During the council’s liaison with the major utility companies to co-ordinate future work, it became apparent that Northern Gas Networks (NGN), were due to carry out major work in 2023. They have brought this work forward to October 2020 to ensure that disruption for residents and commuters is minimised. The council works are then scheduled to start in January 2021.
The council could have made NGN wait for three years before digging up the road, but that would have led to longer term issues of the road surface once again becoming a ‘patchwork’ of reinstatements. By bringing the NGN work forward, there is the opportunity to undertake proper reinstatement as part of the wider package of work.
The council has published some FAQs, set out below, which address questions and concerns that residents may have, such as why the NGN work is being done so soon after a section of Tadcaster Road was resurfaced.
Q. Wasn’t part of Tadcaster Road resurfaced earlier this year?
A. Yes. The council bid to Government for a scheme on Tadcaster Road but received confirmation in March that it was unsuccessful and would not receive funding. Therefore the council resurfaced a section of Tadcaster Road as it was in need of urgent repairs between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place.
However, in June the council was then awarded the £5million funding to improve large sections of drainage along Tadcaster Road which will reduce the risk of localised surface water flooding.
Northern Gas Networks recently informed the council they have plans to carry out major works to their service at Tadcaster Road by 2025. The council was not made aware of these works before the section of Tadcaster Road between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place was resurfaced earlier this year.
Whilst it is not an ideal situation, the council would rather sacrifice a small part of the works that have been undertaken already rather than risk the digging up of the major £5 million scheme in a few years’ time for the Northern Gas Networks scheme.
The council and Northern Gas Networks have agreed to coordinate their programmes of works for the benefit of the larger Tadcaster Road scheme.
This coordination of works will see Northern Gas Networks advance their programme for delivery in 2020. The utility repair works will be carried out on the inbound carriageway only from 10 October for 16-20 weeks. As these works will affect 50% the recently surfaced road, the council will resurface this affected section again by recycling the material onsite. The council is planning to commence the drainage works in January 2021 followed by highways works and road resurfacing, these works are expected to take up to 9 months to complete.
Full details will be communicated in advance of the works, including letters to residents and businesses.
Pedestrian access will be permitted and maintained at all times, but vehicle access may be prohibited at times with traffic management (traffic lights). Everything possible will be done to keep this distribution to a minimum.
Q. Where are the works happening?
A. The current scope of the £5m Highways maintenance works includes the full stretch of Tadcaster Road.
A full assessment of the road’s condition will be carried out in advance. This will help to determine the full details of the works including in addition to the resurfacing and drainage works, is if there is capacity to look at additional crossing points as well as improvements to the crossing points, footway or cycle routes, for example.
Q. Why are we doing it?
A. There are serious defects we could not address without the significant level of funding from DFT, these include the road surface and drainage network, so this scheme will improve the quality of the overall highway. There are currently 35 non-running gullies and several hundred metres of un-mapped drainage, meaning this route particularly suffers during times of heavy rain and localised surface water flooding. The proposed scheme would deliver remediation measures to the road’s drainage, ensure its resurfacing is fit-for-purpose and can continue to meet the needs of its cycling users and support the local economy and the wider area.
Q. What is the impact on traffic during the works?
A. A traffic management plan will be created in advance, alongside NGN, and communicated to residents and businesses. These works will be delivered under lane closures and traffic lights, which will be monitored closely on site by traffic marshals. Journey times may be affected, however we will be doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum.
Q. What will happen to public transport and buses?
A. Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes which will be busier than normal and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works, as per national social distancing rules.
Q. Will I still be able to cross the road?
A. Temporary crossing points will be available at all times during the works to ensure that all pedestrian crossings that are currently available are maintained. Traffic marshals will be on site to assist with pedestrians crossing the road.
Q. Will I still be able to access shops, cafe/restaurants in the area?
A. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. We will be engaging with traders and businesses in the area to help promote the “open as usual” message. Vehicular access for deliveries will be maintained.
Q. What if I live or work in the area?
A. Access to all properties and businesses will be retained at all times. Traffic marshals will be on hand to assist if vehicle access is prohibited at certain times.
Q. What about alternative travel plans?
A. Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works but passengers are requested to visit www.itravelyork.info for more information.
For more information:
Details are also provided on the council’s website www.york.gov.uk/roadworks
