Drivers may be barred from using Sutton Bank

MOTORISTS have been warned that they could be banned from one of the steepest routes in the country while major road works are carried out after speeding drivers are putting the lives of contractors at risk.

North Yorkshire County Council’s highways officials have confirmed that they are considering an outright ban on all traffic on Sutton Bank after motorists are continuing to flout speed restrictions in place while the work is completed.

The road is closed to through traffic while the repairs continue, but residents as well as businesses and their clients are allowed to drive through the site.

A spokesman for the county council’s highways department said: “The problem is that some drivers are reportedly travelling at excess speed through these road works, potentially placing themselves and the workforce at risk.

“If drivers continue to behave irresponsibly when negotiating the roadworks, it may become necessary to impose tighter restrictions – which would inevitably mean that the roadworks would take longer to complete.”

He added: “It is obviously in the best interests of everyone if the current access arrangements can be maintained but we have a responsibility both to the motorists themselves, and to the contractors working on the site.”

The county council is spending 820,000 on the essential maintenance work on more than four miles of the A170 around Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, ahead of the onslaught of winter weather.

Hundreds of lorries fail to negotiate Sutton Bank every year, especially in icy conditions. Three sections of the road rise at 25 per cent, or a one in four gradient.

The second stage of the work involving extensive resurfacing began on Monday and is expected to take three weeks.