Road closure near Scarborough causes 17-mile diversion for urgent road repairs

Broxa Lane in Hackness was closed after a landslip in February rendered the route unsafe, with repair work now set to begin.

The road closure has caused a 17-mile diversion; a journey which previously took about 10 minutes can now take more than 30 minutes.

After the landslip drilling work took place to install boreholes and further testing is under way. Designs have been drawn up and work will begin on site next month.

In the meantime a section of road from Broxa village to Broxa forest has been patched so that the road is upgraded as an alternative route.

Cllr Derek Bastiman said: “This is a complex situation. We are ensuring that we get the right solution and that the work can be undertaken safely and that we get this right for road users.

“We understand the inconvenience this road closure is causing local residents and the need to undertake these repairs as soon as possible.

“However, the road is not safe to use at present and does therefore need to remain closed on safety grounds.

“We would like to remind the public of the dangers of ignoring road closures and are urging them to find an alternative route.”

The County Council highways team will begin the work on Monday, April 19, first retaining the bank and then repairing the road.

After four weeks the road will reopen under temporary traffic management whilst final works are ongoing to reopen the road fully by June 11.

Since the closure has been in place highways teams have been called numerous times to re-erect barriers and signs which were removed by people choosing to go through the closure.

Reckless drivers pull down road closure signs following 'dangerous' landslip near Scarborough

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, added: “Those who are choosing to remove the signs and barriers are putting their lives at risk. It is not only illegal under the Road Traffic Act, but puts others at risk as the signs will not be in place to warn of the danger.

“We only close roads when deemed absolutely necessary as we have a commitment to protect the safety of all road users. We apologise for the inconvenience the closure is causing but please be assured our teams are doing all they can to get the road open as soon as possible.”