Plans submitted for £50 million upgrade of county's busiest road junction near Beverley

Plans have been submitted for the upgrade of the A164 and Jock’s Lodge junction, near Beverley, where the A164 and A1079 meet, which is plagued by severe congestion.

The A164, which serves the south of the county, west Hull and Beverley, has the highest volume of traffic in East Riding, with some sections carrying more than 30,000 vehicles a day.

The A1079, between Hull and York, is the second busiest, carrying another 20,000.

Subject to planning permission at a meeting, probably in May, work is expected to begin in late 2022 or early 2023 and should take two years to complete.

Portfolio holder councillor Chris Matthews said the COVID-19 outbreak should not hold up design work, which can be done by people working at home .

He said: "The only thing that may hold it up may be ground investigation works. I'm sure that can be done - they just need to make sure that the contractors apply social distancing."

But he expects the vast project to boost the economy, helping local suppliers, and "generating a lot of work, both directly and indirectly".

"It will also create apprenticeships," he added. "I think the Government thinks and everyone thinks that we need to get construction running and it will stimulate all the bits of the economy."

He said it would reduce travel times for people stuck in queues at peak times. "It isn't just cars, it's lorries, it's deliveries and everything else - it will make life so much better for everybody, we are hoping."

The scheme involves a new roundabout along the A1079 Hull to York road, and a new road connecting it with the Lincoln Way roundabout on Minster Way in Beverley.

Two new roads, travelling northbound and southbound, will connect the new A1079 roundabout with the A164 further south, near Coppleflat Lane, Bentley, replacing the current Jock’s Lodge Junction.

The A164 will also be dualled between Coppleflat Lane and the Cottingham Castle Road roundabout.

Two new bridges will also be built, one known as Bentley Bridge half a kilometre south of the existing junction, spanning the proposed A1079 southern slip road.

The second will be over Westfield Road / Eppleworth Road, accomodating the new stretch of dual carriageway on the A164 to the north of Castle Hill Roundabout.

The plans went to a public exhibition earlier this year - with the vast majority agreeing improvements were needed.

Three-quarters were in favour of the proposals for Jock's Lodge junction while 80 per cent supported the proposals to upgrade the A164.

The Government is putting £40m into the plans with £10.2m contributed by East Riding Council.

The plans are due to be heard at a meeting, which will be held by conference call.

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