‘Essential travel only’ as Castle Street closures clash with Drypool Bridge shutdown

NEXT PHASE OF WORKS: The A63 at Castle Street looking towards Myton Bridge. Picture credit: National Highways

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Hull’s traffic problems are about to get worse with a series of overnight closures of the A63 along Castle Street – just a week after Drypool Bridge was closed to vehicles for safety reasons.

National Highways has announced a number of overnight closures of the A63 between Daltry Street and Roger Millward Way, with the first coming into effect on the westbound carriageway from 8pm tonight until 6am on Thursday.

Both the eastbound and westbound carriageways will be fully closed from 8pm on Friday until 6am on Saturday.

The closures – to allow the next phase of the Castle Street upgrade – come after Hull City Council announced the closure of Drypool Bridge for at least two weeks last Wednesday after defects were found in concrete supports during a routine inspection.

The council said further inspections over the next fortnight would determine whether Drypool Bridge could reopen to limited vehicle use, while major repairs – costing “at least” £7m – would take eight to 12 months to complete. Drypool Bridge remains open to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

National Highways is advising drivers to allow more time for their journeys and urged “essential travel only” during the closures on the A63.

Project manager Michael Upshon said: “We’ve now successfully completed our traffic switch to bring the two eastbound lanes on the A63 to run north of the new underpass. This is a key milestone for the project.

“As we move to a complex phase of the scheme, and with the underpass excavation now well under way, these overnight closures are necessary to complete the works.

“Traffic in the city is likely to be busy and we would advise drivers to plan for essential travel only during the closures. These works have been planned in conjunction with the local authorities and we have tried to keep disruption to a minimum by having these closures in place overnight.

“However, we do apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate everyone’s patience while we carry out these major improvements within Hull city centre.”

All overnight closures on the A63 during the latest phase of work on Castle Street will take place between 8pm and 6am.

They are:

Westbound full closures:

April 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25 and 28 (eight nights).

Eastbound full closures:

April 19, 24, 25, 26 (four nights).

Drivers will be diverted via the A15, A164, A1079 and A1033.

Motorists are also advised the usual wider diversion route will tie into the Willerby Roundabout Improvement Scheme diversion until Saturday 20 April, with a fully signed diversion in place. This will mean extended journey times for some drivers.

From Monday, April 22 until Saturday, April 27, the wider diversion route will tie into the A1079, Jock’s Lodge scheme traffic management.

A63 Westbound closure – Myton Swing Bridge

In addition to the overnight closures, essential overnight works will be carried out on Myton Swing Bridge on Sunday, April 21 and Sunday, April 28. Both closures are due in place on the westbound carriageway between 8pm and 6am the following day.

This will also include a westbound lane one closure from Roger Millward roundabout to the Queen Street exit slip road. This will be in place between Monday, April 22 and Sunday, April 28.

A fully signed diversion will be in place via the A1033, A1079, A164, A15 for all westbound traffic during these closures.