A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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hat
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by hat »

minor land slip reported again this morning, despite 7 weeks of embankment work earlier in the year. The worrying thing is that it's not even been raining that much or that hard
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Pendlemac
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Local paper ( Harrogate Advertiser ) quoting council as saying it was 400m up the road from the earlier slip.

Article is unclear, but it sounds like a car hit the wall at the side of the road and dislodged stuff from above it.

Police cleared debris by hand and road has reopened.
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stu531
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Here's the link: http://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/ne ... -1-8186899

I drove home from work across it this evening, and fortunately there was no sign of anything untoward. However I do sometimes hit the road at 5.45am long before much traffic uses it, and I do wonder if one day I might see something.

(This probably sounds wrong, but it will be a shame once the alternative route is built, even though it needs to. Driving down it, and up it if you've nothing in front of you, is pretty damned good...)
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punyXpress
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by punyXpress »

Hey Ho
Back we go:
364 days after last year's closure, A59 is to have 4 weeks of drilling boreholes to find what's down there, commencing 23 January.
Apparently the road will remain open, but will be subject to traffic lights 24 hours per day.
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Norfolktolancashire
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

One day a landslip will occur and a vehicle will hit it, particularly at night...there needs to be funding for a realignment on the other side of the "valley". I travelled along this stretch on Christmas Day night 2015 during all that rain that caused flooding in the area, the road was full of stones and mud coming off the slopes.
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hat
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by hat »

a realignment is inevitable. it's been bumped up the priority queue but it will be a major investment. that's not easy geography to be working with
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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NYCC have it on their 'to-do list', but I think the cost estimate was around £35m as I remember. That's not small beer for North Yorkshire, but as has been said here, it's inevitable. I'm dreading the daily journey over the Pennines as soon as the lights turn up, but I know it needs doing. The quicker that the alternative northern alignment is underway, the better.
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hat
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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I'm sure a 14 mile long tunnel will do the trick............
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Bryn -now why would a Lancastrian want to tunnel under Yorkshire? :wink:
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Turn it all into a giant sinkhole, obviously ;-)
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Y'mean, to match the one on the other side?

:D
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hat
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/1515 ... _Kex_Gill/
A NEW section of a vital trans-Pennine road could take a route first laid down by the greatest road builders in antiquity.

Engineers are exploring whether the A59 at Kex Gill - which travels through a gorge prone to land-slides - could be diverted onto the fell-side to the north where the Romans build their highway.

And the new section could be fast-tracked to completion within about three years as compared to the usual time-scale of six years for a similar sized project, North Yorkshire County Council Craven area committee was told.
when you look at the alignment of the pre-existing North Moor Road, which is the Roman road the article mentions, it does make you wonder why the A59 was built along the side of the gorge.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.99419 ... a=!3m1!1e3
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Hoping someone might prove me wrong, but I thought the Roman Road actually departed the Kex Gill alignment about a mile to the east. In other words, the Roman Road is clearly visible between Kettlesing and Fewston Reservoir, but then it travels south over the hills to Ilkley (Olicana). This road emerges over the bridge that travels south straight into the middle of Ilkley.

I may well be wrong though - I'm no expert on Roman Roads - but I don't think this article is right. I'm not sure a Roman Road ever went across those hills towards Skipton.
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by Alderpoint »

I agree the article looks wrong. Certainly OS maps show the Roman Road far to the south of the existing alignment, not on the northern side of the valley.
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hat
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Public consultation to start on £40M realignment
http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/news/1549 ... _Kex_Gill/
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Hmm, I'm going to try to get myself involved in that consultation. It mentions 4 alternative routes have been identified... I'll be interested on what they are.
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

Post by hat »

Must have been some wild suggestions in the original list of 16. Alpine style tunnel? Viaduct?
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Presumably a route to the south.

Now in a mad dream world it would connect with the Harrogate southern bypass and be the foundations of the eastern length of the M65 wouldn't it...
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Re: A59 closed again at Kex Gill

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Bryn666 wrote:Presumably a route to the south.

Now in a mad dream world it would connect with the Harrogate southern bypass and be the foundations of the eastern length of the M65 wouldn't it...
The last proposal that I saw was for it to run up the north side of the gorge, with the new road only running between Blubberhouses and the top of the hill.
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