The good news is, a notorious York bottleneck will soon be upgraded.
The bad news is this will mean delays for drivers for the next 16 weeks.
Work beings to improve the flow of traffic on the A19 south of York with works at the Crockey Hill junction with Wheldrake Lane starting on Sunday (January 14).
The work is expected to be completed by Friday, May 4. No work will take place over the Easter weekend, and the road will be operate as normal from March 30 to April 3.
New southbound lane
An extra southbound lane will be built on the approach to, and through, the junction in a bid to ease rush-hour congestion heading south out of York, particularly at the A64 Fulford Interchange.
The traffic lights in the area will also be improved.
Work will take place from 7am-7pm, Monday to Friday with temporary traffic signals in place throughout the construction period.
Weekend working will be required at times.
The right hand turn into Wheldrake Lane will be closed from January 29 until March 11. A signed diversion will be in place.
Resurfacing will take place overnight to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
It will run from April 25-May 4 from 7pm-5am. No resurfacing work is planned for weekends.
One lane on the A19 will be kept open at all times. Wheldrake Lane will be closed to traffic throughout the resurfacing works.
Expect delays
More than 20,000 vehicles pass through this junction every day.
And disruption is inevitable, says City of York Council head of transport Tony Clarke:
Due to unavoidable and essential work, road users should expect some delays when travelling in and around York throughout the early part of the year.
To limit disruption, we have chosen this historically quiet time to upgrade several key areas of the road network.
These include replacing ageing traffic lights and improving junctions at Lendal Arch and on the A19 at Crockey Hill, as well as coordinating with work by our partners at Germany Beck and utilities works in the Piccadilly and Pavement area of the city.
We urge road users to plan their journeys and look at using alternative methods of transport, such as Park & Ride, to reduce congestion and speed up journey times.
The £1 million scheme is funded from the Department for Transport’s local pinch point fund and the council’s local transport plan funding.