Public consultation launched on major A64 road dualling upgrade scheme from York to Castle Howard

National Highways has revealed three proposals to upgrade the A64 between York and Barton-le-Willows – where it will meet an existing section of dual carriageway next to the Jinnah restaurant – as well as improvements to the Hopgrove junction.

The six-week consultation runs from Monday July 25 to Monday September 5, with the work bringing "significant benefits" to the area, the authority said.

John Killeen, National Highways Project Manager, said: "The options we have put forward today will provide quicker, smoother journeys for jobs and leisure, support a growing economy and foster local regeneration and improve safety, reducing collisions and the delays these can cause. 

"It's essential that we understand people's views so we can ensure we deliver the right scheme to make this section of the A64 fit for the future."

Feedback from the consultation will help National Highways t develop its planning application for a Development Consent Order (DCO), which is required for all nationally significant infrastructure projects to go ahead.

It allows the Planning Inspectorate to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who will decide on whether the proposed scheme should go ahead.

The A64 Hopgrove project is one of 32 announced in National Highways' 2020-25 Delivery Plan as being considered by the Government for further development from 2025.

Some £347 million of funding has been allocated, however, not all schemes in the pipeline will progress to construction and there is currently no commitment from the Government to develop this scheme beyond the current stage.

A64 Upgrade Options:

National Highways has revealed three proposals – A, C and D – to dual the A64 from the Hopgrove junction to Barton-le-Willows, with all three including the junction improvement works.

Hopgrove Junction Improvement

The upgrade being developed for the Hopgrove junction would replace the existing Hopgrove and Malton Road roundabouts with a single extended and signalised roundabout. The new roundabout would widen the existing north and south legs of the A64 Hopgrove Roundabout.

A new through road would be added to allow vehicles travelling north to travel straight across the roundabout rather than having to go around it. This would improve connectivity to the A1237 (York Outer Ring Road) as traffic travelling north would no longer need to use the westbound roundabout. A new left-turn slip lane from Hopgrove Roundabout towards Malton Road is also included, heading north.

For Options C and D traffic would no longer be able to access the existing A64 from Hopgrove junction as the existing A64 would be capped at the southern end. Traffic looking to join the existing A64 would do so via a new junction at Towthorpe Moor Lane.

New traffic light-controlled crossings would deliver safer and more convenient crossing places for walkers, cyclists and other non-motorised users. These facilities would connect with existing routes to the south of the junction.

Option A 

The existing single carriageway would be dualled from a point 500m north of Hopgrove junction up to the existing dual carriageway at Barton-le-Willows, avoiding properties wherever possible. All existing right turns on this section of the road would be removed, and traffic would be able to exit left only.

The three major junctions would provide road bridges to allow vehicles to cross the carriageway. Access to the dual carriageway would be through a limited number of junctions at the Highwayman Café, Towthorpe Moor Lane, York Biotech Campus, and Claxton and Scotchman Lane.

Three of these would be accessed via a left turn only and provide a bridge over the carriageway. These are called grade-separated junctions. The fourth would be a left in/left out junction.

Option C

A new dual carriageway would be constructed from a point 500m north of Hopgrove Junction to a point adjacent to Merricote Farm. This part of the new carriageway would run parallel to the A64.

This option would then cross to the east of the existing A64, close to the village of Claxton, before re-joining the existing dual carriageway near Barton-le-Willows. Access to the new road would be through a limited number of junctions.

Left-turn junctions with bridges over the carriageway (grade-separated junctions) are proposed at the Towthorpe Moor Lane, providing access to existing A64 and Sandy Lane, the existing A64 giving access to Sand Hutton. This option includes three left in, left out T-junctions.

These junctions would allow traffic coming from the minor road to turn left only onto the dual carriageway. As such, right turns, which would require a gap in the central reservation and enable dangerous right-turns across oncoming traffic, are not possible at these junctions.

These junctions would be situated at Whinny Lane, Huckleberry's American Diner, giving access to Harton, and the existing A64, giving access to Flaxton via Scotchman Lane. Access to properties located on either side of the new road would be maintained via new connections to the local road network.

Because a new dual carriageway will be built, this will allow the current A64 to be used as a local access road. Traffic originating from the existing A64 would access Hopgrove Junction via the new dual carriageway.

Option D

Option D begins the same as Option C but continues to run northwest in parallel with the current A64. It re-joins the existing A64 briefly around the Scotchmans Lane Junction then separates from the current A64 for a short stretch, before re-joining it approximately 1km south of the A64/Steelmore Lane Junction.

Access to the new road would be through a limited number of junctions at Towthorpe Moor Lane, providing access to existing A64 and Sandy Lane, and the existing A64, giving access to Scotchman Lane, and Claxton. These junctions would be accessed via a left turn only and provide a bridge over the carriageway.

Access to properties that are located on either side of the new road would be maintained via new connections to the local road network. Because a new dual carriageway would be built, this would allow the current A64 to be used as a local access road.

Traffic would no longer be able to access Hopgrove junction from the existing A64 because the existing A64 would be capped at the southern end. It would also be capped further north where it would intersect with the new dual carriageway, close to Sandburn Hall.

Traffic originating from the existing A64 would therefore need to use the local road network and the new junctions to access both Hopgrove junction (if travelling south) and the northbound carriageway to travel north.

Have Your Say

Scarborough residents can find out more about the proposals in a number of ways:

• An online brochure is available here or at Malton Library on St Michael Street or Scarborough Library on Vernon Road

• People can visit a virtual exhibition here - it includes all the materials that would be available at a public exhibition

• A public exhibition at The Milton Rooms in Malton on Tuesday August 23 from 2pm to 8pm

• Two online webinars on Wednesday August 3 and Thursday September 1 from 6pm to 7.30pm - guests will receive a presentation from the project team on the route options, with the option for a Q&A. Registration is required: email [email protected] or call 0300 470 2164

• An advertising van will visit Scarborough from Thursday 4 to Saturday August 6 with members of the project team on Friday August 5 who can answer questions outside the Brunswick

• Members of the public can also email the project team at [email protected] or call 0300 470 2164