Delays ahead for road plans

WORK on a major upgrade of one of East Yorkshire's busiest roads might not start for another five years.

When proposals were first unveiled almost five years ago for a £190m so-called "cut and cover" tunnel to be constructed on a stretch of Castle Street in Hull there was optimistic talk of it being completed by 2010.

However, the original idea of a tunnel has since been shelved amid rising cost estimates.

Instead, officials at the Highways Agency have spent the past 12 months examining cheaper alternative options for the route, which carries 60,000 vehicles every day.

Now two favoured options have emerged, one involving a new flyover above the existing Mytongate junction and the other lowering the road beneath the junction.

The two options being promoted by the Highways Agency are due to be the subject of a new public consultation early in the New Year.

Other options, including the cut and cover tunnel and a proposed pedestrian land bridge connecting the Princes Quay area to the marina, have been rejected on cost grounds.

Both are now estimated to be far more than the £190m originally allocated to the project by the Regional Transport Board.

The new developments in the long-running saga were revealed in a report to the full city council by engagement portfolio holder Councillor John Robinson.

"The two options simply involve taking the A63 either over or under the Mytongate junction," he said.

"These options will be quicker and less disruptive to build but work will still not start until 2013 or 2014 due to detailed design and statutory procedures."