Site cleared ahead of new road being built at A59 Kex Gill between Harrogate and Skipton

The A59 is a key link for North Yorkshire but the section that includes Kex Gill has had a long history of landslips which has caused long diversions for motorists and extra costs for the council.

Work on the £68.8m project began in February and will see a new road built beginning at Blubberhouses and ending just after Kex Gill.

The Department of Transport is providing £56.1m with the remaining money coming from North Yorkshire Council.

In an update, the council said the site has now been cleared, which has involved removing trees, and an access road is currently being built to allow builders to start work on the new road.

A stone wall has also been dismantled but it will be reused as part of the scheme.

The council added that the project will be finished in autumn 2025 after previously saying it would be in May of that year.

North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: “The £69 million Kex Gill realignment project is progressing in line with our programme.

"The site has been carefully cleared, and a construction access road is being built as part of the first phase of construction.

£The stone boundary wall has been carefully de- constructed and labelled to enable future re-instatement.

“The new road is scheduled to open in autumn 2025 and once complete will reduce road closures, congestion and delays on the A59, reducing the impact on the environment.”

The majority of the new road will be constructed without access to traffic, which means the existing road can remain open during construction.

Once open, the re-routed A59 is not likely to make journey times between Harrogate and Skipton any quicker but it will remove the risk of landslips.

The Kex Gill section runs through important habitats including a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The council said plans are in place to mitigate the impact on wildlife in the area that includes barn owls, bats, nightjars, wild game, toads and badgers.