MP Robert Goodwill asks Transport Secretary for an update on A64 improvements

Robert Goodwill quizzed Grant Shapps about the dualling project for the road from Hopgrove roundabout to Barton-le-Hill in the House of Commons.

He said: “The A64 Hopgrove roundabout upgrade is one project that is vital not only to my constituents but to people from West Yorkshire and beyond who suffer in the queues.

“Will the Secretary of State give me an indication that this project is still in the programme and of when we are likely to see spades in the ground?

Mr Shapps replied: “There was very effective lobbying on the roundabout, and I will certainly come back to him in writing to provide more of an update.”

There had been hopes that the A64 project would be among those included in plans to allocate £27bn of funding for the next phase of the Government’s Road Investment Strategy (RIS2).

But the improvements were missing from the list of roads which would benefit when the details were revealed back in March.

A Highways England study carried out in 2014 found that the A64 carried, on average, “double” the volume of traffic it is designed to cater for north of Hopgrove.

Mr Goodwill and Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake have continually lobbied for the project to go ahead.

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