Councillors will receive an update on the Station Gateway project at a meeting next week (7 July).
Executive will hear the latest on the project, including its financial position, as part of the Capital Programme Monitor which provides details around the delays to the project which have increased the spend on the programme by £5.4m.
The report follows significant works in the area in recent weeks as the highways works near their conclusion. For four weeknights each week throughout June, road closures have been in place on Station Road.
Over this period, significant progress has been made including:
- Station Road has been resurfaced in the final road layout and the road markings will be completed in the coming weeks.
- The traffic lights and crossings have been installed, these will include a pedestrian countdown timer, the first in York. Checks are taking place before the lights will be switched on.
- Installing the traffic islands.
- Hardicrete laid around Tea Room Square to prolong the life of the surfaces.
- The cycle lane on the city walls side is almost complete and will open in the coming weeks.
- Majority of the coping stones near the city walls have been laid using a crane, the rest will be completed by hand.
What comes next:
- Areas will be gradually opening up over the coming weeks.
- On the weekend of 3 - 5 July, work will take place to lay the Hardicrete (re-enforced surfacing material) to prolong the life of the surface of the bus stops. This will mean that the bus stops near York Station will be out of use from 8.00pm Friday 3 July until 6.00am Monday 6 July. The road will remain open to two-way traffic, with temporary traffic lights in place. The short stay car park will be open. Bus diversions will be in place and a shuttle bus will be in operation to support people travelling in the area. More information is available at https://www.york.gov.uk/StationGateway
- Premier Inn Junction – requires kerbs to be installed, railings to complete the works outside Queen Street properties and the surfacing of the junction. This will include green tarmac being installed at key junctions to highlight the cycle lanes. Further details, including specific dates will be shared soon.
- Snagging works, including repairs to paving.
Councillor Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport said:
We are hugely grateful to people for their patience during these night works. We’ve worked with a wide range of partners to keep disruption to a minimum, including reopening the road each morning.
“In spite of the wide range of weather conditions we’ve experienced in June, significant progress has been made. With the road resurfaced and with more and more areas gradually opening up over the next few weeks people will start to feel more of the benefits of this project.”
The capital programme monitor will be considered at Executive next week (7 July). Last year, the funding for the whole programme was identified as £54.7m and the completion date for Package 2 was January 2026. Since then, several additional issues have emerged which have led to Package 2 highway works continuing until Summer 2026. These include; more work being needed on the retaining wall protecting York’s historic city walls, the discovery of an underground Victorian attenuation tank and a delay to the Substation Lease Agreement, pushing back removal of the existing substation. The delays have meant an increase to the spend for the project of £5.4m, with the majority of the overspend proposed to be funded from transport capital budget underspends on other projects.
Cllr Katie Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion added: “This is a hugely complex project to deliver. Throughout the construction phase we have tried to reduce disruption by minimising the number of road closures to keep the city moving and timing works so they don’t clash with major events such as race days and other works taking place.
Following last year’s capital programme monitor and the recent audit report we have put in place new measures and strengthened governance measures for current and future projects. However, the nature of the delays, most of which were outside of the council’s control, and contractual obligations has meant the cost of delivering this package has increased further. Our focus is on completing these works as quickly as possible so that people get to experience the benefits of the new spaces that have been created.
“The audit report and cross party scrutiny meetings shone a light on previous project management and governance processes, with recommendations now adopted that leave the council in a far better position going forward, where significant risk and cost overrun are far less likely.”
The report will be considered at the council’s Executive Meeting on Tuesday 7 July. The meeting is available to view live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts and papers are available at https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=15603