A1 closures: Major Yorkshire road to be closed overnight as work begins on one of the largest viaducts in Europe

Resurfacing and renewal work will begin on the landmark Wentbridge viaduct, which carries the A1 over the River Went and is among the largest viaducts in Europe, next month. National Highways is also waterproofing under the road and replacing the road surface, marking and studs.

Work will also be carried out to replace the central pier at the nearby Wentedge Road Bridge, along with the parapets, joints, surfacing and temporary realignment of the carriageway.

To allow all this work to be carried out, there will be a number of overnight closures in the next few months. Preparations for the scheme will begin on February 6, meaning a mixture of lane closures and full closures will be in place overnight between 8pm and 6am Monday to Friday.

The main work on Wentbridge Viaduct is then expected to begin in April and completed by autumn 2023. Traffic will be in contraflow throughout the improvements.

Once this has been completed, the main work will begin on the central pier at Wentedge Road. The realigned carriageway will move all the traffic over towards the verge to create more space in the central reserve. This will allow two lanes to remain open in both directions during the rest of the work, which is expected to be completed in winter 2023.

National Highways Project Manager John Stebbing said: “As well as improving safety on the route, this work will also mean we will need to have far fewer road closures on the route for the future, bringing major longer-term benefits.

“We do unfortunately expect disruption while the work is being carried out and apologise in advance to drivers and residents who may be affected. We’ve done our best to provide as much advance notice as possible and to minimise any delays.

“We would strongly advise drivers planning to travel in the area to allow more time for their journeys and consider alternative routes if at all possible. We’d like to thank everyone in advance for their patience and will aim to have the work completed as soon as we can.”