Hull A63 city centre roadworks on track after delay announced
Highways officials say they are "very confident" a major roadworks scheme in Hull city centre will open next spring.In December, National Highways announced the A63 Castle Street project had been delayed by a year due to "extremely challenging ground conditions".Work had originally been due to be completed by spring 2025.Project manager Frances Oliver apologised for the delays, but said the scheme was on track to be completed by the revised date.
Ms Oliver said: "It's a really technical scheme and there are lots of different elements."There is really large element of technical design to overcome the ground conditions and, as part of that, we've had to do some slight tweaks to the design," she said."We are really disappointed and we apologise for the delays - we all want to get this scheme finished."
In response to a question about congestion, she said they had made some tweaks to traffic control measures as a result of customer feedback and were working with the city council to monitor the situation.For the majority of the time, she said there were two lanes of traffic running in each direction, with speed restrictions in place.
At the scene - BBC Look North presenter Peter LevyThe A63 Castle Street project has come a long way since construction work started in 2020.When I visited the site in September, all seemed to be going well, with National Highways telling me the project would be finished by spring this year.But since it was announced in December that it would be delayed by a year I have been swamped with messages from people frustrated at having to sit in traffic jams every day.Highways bosses cited extremely challenging ground conditions near the Humber as the reason for the delay, but this is of little comfort to the thousands of motorists who use the local road network every day.To be fair, it is a monumental project, and one which should make a huge difference to traffic flow in the city when it finally gets over the finish line.
Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lotus in urgent talks with business secretary but has ‘no plans' to shut Norfolk factory
The UK business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is holding urgent talks with the management of Lotus, as the British sportscar maker insisted that it had no intentions of shutting its Norfolk factory. The emergency meeting was understood to be under way on Sunday morning. Reynolds contacted Lotus bosses after it emerged that it was considering ending production of its sportscars in the UK and moving it to the US – a move that would jeopardise 1,300 jobs. Lotus's Chinese owner, Geely, was thought to be looking at options including manufacturing its Emira sportscar in the US, and permanently stopping production at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk. Such a decision by a prestige brand would be embarrassing for the government. Labour's industrial strategy, published last week, singled out automotive production as among the strategic sectors it wants to support. In a statement on Saturday, Lotus insisted 'the UK is the heart of the Lotus brand', and its largest commercial market in Europe. It said: 'Lotus Cars is continuing normal operations, and there are no plans to close the factory. We are actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in the evolving market.' Lotus paused production at the Hethel factory in mid-May to manage inventories and supply chain issues caused by the US's extra 25% tariffs on car imports. Other UK carmakers halted exports to the US but have since resumed them, while waiting for a UK-US trade deal reached on 8 May to be implemented. On Monday, US tariffs are due to be reduced to 10%. Lotus has the capacity to manufacture up to 5,000 Emira sports cars a year, which have a starting price of £75,000, at the Norfolk factory. About 60% of them are shipped to the US. It also makes an electric hypercar at the site in smaller numbers, which is priced at £2.3m plus. Ben Goldsborough, the Labour MP for south Norfolk, said on Facebook he was 'deeply concerned' by the rumours surrounding a potential closure of Lotus's Hethel facility. He said he had held telephone conversations with the management team and government ministers to 'emphasise just how vital this site is – not only to the heritage of British automotive engineering, but to the local economy and skilled workforce that call Hethel home'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'These early-stage conversations have confirmed the seriousness of the situation,' he said, vowing to champion every feasible avenue including financial support, incentives and strategic partnerships. Qingfeng Feng, the chief executive of Lotus Technology, told investors this week that the company was looking at shifting production to the US. 'At this moment, we are discussing with our strategic partners in the US on localisation plans in order to avoid the influence of the US tariff,' he said, according to a transcript of the call hosted by the data company Alphasense. 'With our strategic partners, we had an in-depth discussion around our US landscape and we believe localisation is a feasible plan.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Speed limit to be increased at Ilkley fatal crash site
The speed limit on a stretch of rural road is set to be increased, despite it having previously being lowered due to a fatal crash in the Council has proposed changing the limit on Moor Road in Ilkley to 40mph (64 km/h), between Hangingstone Road and Burley Woodhead.A number of changes had previously been made to the section of the road in 2023, such as reducing the speed limit from 50mph (80 km/h) to 30mph (48 km/h), following the death of a 25-year-old driver there, a council spokesperson decision to increase the speed limit had "not been taken lightly", but the stretch of road had been deemed "unsuitable" for such a low limit, they added. According to the authority, Moor Road had undergone several changes following a spate of incidents, and those changes were then subject to a period of monitoring. In conjunction with West Yorkshire Police, the council's road safety team had subsequenlty found the 30mph speed limit had led to some drivers making "unsafe overtaking manoeuvres" in the a result, it had been decided to increase the limit to 40mph, but warning signs, lining and hazard marker posts would all remain in place. 'Balanced approach' A Bradford Council spokesperson said: "We know this may seem like an unusual step to take, but can assure everyone it is being done with advice from the police and experienced highways engineers. "We remain committed to ensuring speed limits are safe, consistent, and appropriate for all road users."The new 40mph will still be 10mph lower than it was originally. "While this change will result in varying speed limits along the route, it reflects a balanced approach based on evidence, national policy, and professional judgement." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
M60 traffic: Major motorway shuts in both directions for 5 HOURS in early morning chaos as emergency crews swoop
A MAJOR motorway has been closed for FIVE hours following a serious crash. The M60 in Greater Manchester is shut in both directions between junction 23 (Ashton-under-Lyne) and junction 21 (Chadderton) following the incident at 4am. Police are in attendance. It is unclear if there are any casualties. National Highways has issued an update, saying: "The M60 in Greater Manchester is closed anti-clockwise between J23 near (Ashton-Under-Lyne) and J21 (Chadderton) due to a police-led Incident which occurred shortly before 04:00 this morning. "The clockwise carriageway is closed between J22 and J23. Greater Manchester Police continue their investigation work at the scene. "National Highways Traffic Officers are also in attendance assisting with traffic management." 1
