Consultation on proposals for further safety improvements on one of the busiest roads in North Yorkshire will start in the spring.
The proposals for the A19 – which include closures of some central reservation gaps – are the result of a campaign by MPs Kevin Hollinrake and Rishi Sunak to reduce danger on the fast dual carriageway.
The road – which carries up to 40,000 vehicles a day – runs through the heart of the MPs’ constituencies
Detailed design work has been completed on 13 access points between the Cleveland Tontine and Trenholme Bar and further work has been done on options for 20 accesses south of the Tontine from Ellerbeck down to Knayton.
Two gaps in the central reservation near Mount Grace Priory, near Northallerton were closed last year following the MPs’ intervention
National Highways, formerly Highways England, has drawn up the plans for more improvements working with the two MPs and the family of a woman who died on the road near Mount Grace. Sonia Rose, 83, died in 2017 when a van drifted through a gap and hit her car travelling in the opposite direction.
The MPs and Katy Rose, daughter of Mrs Rose, were briefed on the plans by National Highways officials.
The plans include the closing of more central reservation gaps and some access points, new junction layouts, and improvements to safety barriers, signs and road markings.
Local residents, farmers and landowners will be consulted about the proposals.
Mr Hollinrake, the MP for Thirsk and Malton, said the progress was encouraging.
He added: “This is a busy road and it can be a very dangerous stretch of road because of the many access and crossing points.
“The proposals will make the road safer for everyone. When this programme is complete it will be a big improvement. I hope it will also be of comfort to the Rose family to know that something good came from the tragedy of Mrs Rose’s death.
Mr Sunak, MP for Richmond (Yorks), said: “I live very close to the A19 and know how challenging it can be at peak times to get on to it and leave it safely.
“Local people who also live alongside the route and are most directly impacted will have the opportunity to comment on the plans in the coming months.
“What has been achieved so far at Mount Grace has already made a difference and I look forward to seeing the further improvements.”
The new Mount Grace junction was completed last year. It provides safer access to the English Heritage attraction with the addition of acceleration and deceleration lanes as well as the closure of the central reservation gap.
The Stony Lane gap a few hundred yards further north where Mrs Rose died was closed in 2019.
