Hull Council may sell land to pay for vital bridge link

The bridge over the A63 at Castle Street, Hull’s busiest road, could cost as much as £5m, but doesn’t form part of the Highways Agency’s proposals, which recently went out to consultation.

Hull Council is drafting a response to the plans which involves sinking the road at the Mytongate junction by 20 feet, with local traffic crossing on a new overhead road.

All pedestrian crossings will be taken out on Castle Street, and replaced with three bridges.

But the council says its biggest area of concern is replacing the crossing near the Holiday Inn with a standard footbridge, as it won’t heal the breach between the city centre and the waterfront, home to the Fruit Market arts quarter.

Earlier proposals to sink the road and build a landbridge were ruled out on cost grounds and can’t now be resurrected without delaying the scheme, officers say.

But plans for an “iconic” bridge seem to be gaining momentum, with the Highways Agency expected to present designs in the autumn.

The Agency has been told the bridge needs to make a “bold but appropriate” statement, complement its Marina setting and be wide enough to take cyclists, with the design allowing for a future link with Princes Quay.

A report which will be discussed by councillors in September says the final design of an “iconic” bridge is likely to be ten times more than a standard footbridge, costing £500,000.

It says funding could come from Europe, the City Deal, or Local Enterprise Partnership, or the city council offering some of its land in the area which will be needed for the scheme to offset the cost of an “enhanced” bridge.

A spokesman said: “We have stuck to our line that we need a better way to get across the road, and we will work to get the best solution without scuppering the scheme totally by asking for something unreasonable.

“One idea is that of we don’t charge them for the land which would release some money to build a better bridge without altering the total scheme cost.”

However he said the first port of call would be direct funding from the Government.

Some people will question whether the road will ever be built but the spokesman said it was “nearer now than it had ever been and we have been talking about it since 1989.”

The design would have to encourage people to “enjoy” the experience of crossing the A63 – which is far from the case at the moment – and find it convenient to use, otherwise people could be tempted to jump the barriers and cross the new five-lane carriageway on foot.

The Highways Agency’s plans for a footbridge at Queen Street/Market Place has also had the thumbs down – judged as spoiling views of the King Billy statue.

Cost again is an issue, with officers saying a low-standard bridge would be “unacceptable” just down the road from the hoped-for “iconic” bridge.

It suggests that the footpath past the magistrates court and under the Myton Bridge could be widened instead.

The final major concern is avoiding grid-lock in the three years it will take for the road to be constructed – which could clash with events planned as part of a successful City of Culture bid in 2017.

It says: “Difficult decisions will need to be made to choose between accepting serious delays for a short period to cut down the overall period of ‘pain’ or whether to minimise the level of pain but accept a longer works contract...

“Early discussions will need to take place with all parties to manage these scenarios and it will be crucial to have the iconic bridge at the Marina in place early in the construction contract.”