Weeks of road repairs for Nidderdale
THE heaviest winter for 30 years has left Nidderdale facing a share of a repair bill of £10.5million.
North Yorkshire County Council will begin a programme of works on Monday to repair the extensive damage caused by freezing conditions six months ago.
Among the roads set for attention is High Street in Pateley Bridge, which will be resurfaced in October. The town council has asked for a meeting with the county council and contractors before work begins, to ensure disruption and noise will be minimised.
Town councillors are also pressing for the old surface to be removed before a new one is laid to prevent the road becoming level with the pavement in more areas.
Millfield Street will also be resurfaced, with work due to take place in August.
Coun John Fort, North Yorkshire's executive member for highways, said: "The roads of North Yorkshire took a heavy battering during the winter, and we have already carried out temporary or emergency repairs to many of them.
"We are now embarking on an extensive programme of repair work which could not realistically be carried out during school term-time.
"There will still inevitably be some inconvenience to motorists, but we will do all we can to ensure that any delays are kept to an absolute minimum.
"These substantial works on the highway network will extend the life of the existing surfacing and reduce the need for future reactive repairs on a number of major roads in the urban area."
Overall, the council will spend 10.5million to repair damage, including a government grant of 2.6million, with 3.4million allocated across the Harrogate and Nidderdale area.
The first stage of the repairs will focus on heavily-used urban roads and those near schools during the summer, avoiding peak traffic hours in the morning and evening.
Where possible, the county council says it will be carried out in the evenings to avoid congestion - and Skipton Road, Harrogate, one of the busiest roads in the district, will be repaired overnight.
In most cases, the roads will need to be closed to allow the repairs to go ahead but the county council has vowed to make every effort to maintain access to premises for residents and businesses.
Notices will be put up by affected roads in advance of work beginning and alternative routes will be signposted while closures are in place.
After the initial phase of repairs this summer, work will expand to other areas and continue throughout autumn, with a completion date set for Christmas.
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Weather for Harrogate
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -7 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South

