Opening of new road at A59 Kex Gill delayed

The councillor in charge of transport at North Yorkshire Council says a new road at A59 Kex Gill will now open in Spring 2026 — after the council previously said it would be open in late 2025.

Work on the £68.8m road realignment project began last year and will see the new three-mile road built from Blubberhouses that ends just after Kex Gill.

The A59 is a key link for North Yorkshire but the notorious section between Skipton and Harrogate has had a long history of landslips which has caused long diversions for motorists and extra costs for the council.

The current route reopened last month after being closed since February due to another landslip.

Ahead of a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council in Northallerton next week, Conservative executive member for highways Keane Duncan has provided a written update to Councillors that reflected on the recent works.  He also confirmed the new planned opening date of Spring 2026 for the realigned road.

Council officials first said the Department for Transport-funded scheme would cost £61.6 million but this rose to £68.8m last year due to inflationary costs, with the council covering the £7.2m shortfall from its reserves.

Cllr Duncan said: “I am pleased to report the A59 Kex Gill was re-opened on Friday 21 June, one week ahead of programme and well before the Great Yorkshire Show.

“This represents a significant engineering effort with the installation of 85m of sheet piling, 10m deep, together with new drainage, utility diversions and road reconstruction. Meanwhile, works to the new road are progressing, with opening planned for Spring 2026.”

In the same update, Cllr Duncan provided details of the North Yorkshire Council’s road surface dressing programme that began in April.
He said the council has earmarked £5m for the works which will cover 142 miles of road once it’s completed at the end of August.
He added that progress has been hampered by repeated spells of wet weather.

Cllr Duncan also discussed the planned introduction of a scheme that would charge contractors fees of up to £2,500 per day for conducting road works at peak times.  If introduced next year, it would be the first scheme of its kind in the north of England.