Julian presses Minister on dualling of A64
February 8, 2024
Today in Parliament, Julian took the opportunity to press the Roads Minister, Guy Opperman, regarding the proposed dualling of the A64 from Hopgrove Junction to Barton-le-Willows.
He asked the Minister: “I thank the Minister for visiting my constituency back in January. Following that visit, he became aware of the important economic impact of the A64 on York and North Yorkshire. May I stress to him again how important the upgrade is to safety on the road? A few days following his visit, the road was again closed due to a serious accident. Sadly, that followed another fatal accident on the road in December. This is becoming an ever more frequent occurrence, so when he looks at the upgrade of the A64, will he ensure that the safety impact plays an important role?”
And the Minister responded: “It was a pleasure to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency and meet him and other parliamentary colleagues who were so passionately concerned about the improvement of the A64 and its safety issues. I take the point he raises on board. I know that National Highways is developing options to address the concerns that he, local people and businesses have identified with the road. We will look at them very closely. I welcome the fact that he continues to champion this important matter.”
Julian was disappointed that, towards the end of the last year, the dualling project was delayed by up to 5 years as other projects were considered to be on greater economic benefit. Julian has been urging the government to prioritise the scheme after Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper revealed major changes from the Hopgrove roundabout north of York to Barton le Willows would be among 30 major projects being postponed. We are seeing increasing volumes of traffic using the A64. It is no longer just a holiday road, it carries heavy traffic throughout the year, and this decision is going to have a very detrimental effect on Yorkshire coast and Ryedale businesses.
Although he did not mention it in his question, Julian is also keen to stress that it is surely right that safety concerns supersede the economic case. There can be up to 30 crashes a year on the A64, the most dangerous part being the junction at Towthorpe Moor Lane, which is in York Outer. It is time to dual the A64 to protect motorists. The cost of the project is £300million but if a portion can be delivered locally then it would rank higher on Department for Transport’s list of viable projects.
