Statement: Queen Street Bridge closures

Following the weekend’s closure, Councillor Pete Kilbane, Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Transport and Economy, said:

“It is so far so good with Queen St works and big thanks go out to everyone involved in helping make this weekend go so smoothly. We are only half-way through this part of the works so we need to ask everyone for the same again next weekend please.

“This is a hugely complex project and it was great to see the teams on the ground working together and ensuring that the road reopened ahead of schedule.  Significant progress was made with the building of the new temporary road that will be used while we continue the project. We will be monitoring the new arrangements carefully to see how we can improve signage and accessibility of the new routes.

“Most importantly I want to thank everyone who helped keep the city moving this weekend by leaving the car at home and finding more sustainable ways to get around. York remains open for businesses throughout these works. It was great to see the city centre busy with no gridlock on the roads, the result of a collective effort and people finding other ways to travel.

“We will be reviewing in detail how last weekend went and if anything else can be done ahead of this weekend’s closures. There will inevitably be more disruption, but we thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we get on with improving the area. We are continuing to ask residents and visitors to plan ahead and leave the car at home if you can, while reminding people that York is very much open for business.

“This is a massive project to remove Queen Street Bridge, which hasn’t been needed since trains stopped passing under there in the 1960’s. The removal of the bridge will free up space and allow us to transform the area around the station, while also offering new views of our amazing city walls.”