York motorists warned of further disruption at weekend

Ahead of the closure of Queen Street last weekend to allow the completion of a new, temporary road, York transport boss Cllr Pete Kilbane urged people heading into the city centre to leave their cars at home if possible, or risk ‘carmageddon’.

In the event, the weekend passed fairly smoothly, with only minimal disruption to traffic.

The new, temporary road is now in use.

But it will close again this coming weekend while the Queen Street Bridge itself is demolished – and Cllr Kilbane today warned that people would have to be patient again.

Construction vehicles on the Queen Street Bridge this week (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “It is so far so good with the Queen Street works.

“I want to thank everyone who helped keep the city moving last weekend by leaving the car at home and finding more sustainable ways to get around.

“But we are only half-way through this part of the works so we need to ask everyone for the same again next weekend please.”

Demolition of the 150-year-old Victorian Queen Street Bridge – which has not been needed since trains stopped passing under it in the 1960s – will be a ‘massive project’, Cllr Kilbane says, but one that will pay real dividends.

Thirteen-year-old Charlie Putt's photo of construction crews at work on the new temporary road next to York station, which has now opened (Image: Charlie Putt)

“This is a hugely complex project and it was great to see the teams on the ground working together and ensuring that the road reopened after the weekend just gone ahead of schedule,” he said.

“We will be reviewing in detail how last weekend went and if anything else can be done ahead of this weekend’s closures.

Cars using the new, temporary road this week (Image: Newsqeust)

“There will inevitably be more disruption, but we thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we get on with improving the area.

“We are continuing to ask residents and visitors to plan ahead and leave the car at home if you can, while reminding people that York is very much open for business.”

READ MORE:

- York: New road opens ahead of Queen Street Bridge demolition

- 'Carmageddon' warning for York if people drive into town this weekend

He said demolition of the Queen Street Bridge would create the space needed to transform the road layout in front of the railway station, while also opening up ‘new views of our amazing city walls’.

The planned improvements to the road layout in front of the railway station are part of the broader £25 million York Station Gateway project.

The ambitious project will ‘completely transform the station frontage’, City of York Council says, providing ‘an improved transport interchange, as well as revamping the public space around the station’.

CGI image showing how the area in front of York Railway Station may look once the work is completed (Image: Planning)

The scheme includes:

• The redevelopment of the areas to the front of the station, creating a ‘better environment for people changing between different modes of transport’
• The provision of new station buildings
• More space, which will create an ‘improved environment for walking and cycling, together with a re-located bus interchange, taxi rank, passenger drop-off and short stay car park’
• Improved pedestrian and cycle access
• The redevelopment of Tea Room Square.

The temporary road is in use this week but then will be closed for the weekend during the demolition of the Queen Street Bridge.

It will reopen at 6am on Monday and is expected to then be in use for several months, possibly up to November, while work to improve the road layout in front of the station continues.

The £25 million York Station Gateway Project is funded by the West Yorkshire-Plus Transport Fund and the Leeds City Region Transforming Cities Fund, and is being delivered by a partnership involving City of York Council, Network Rail, LNER and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.