Bedale’s New Bypass Opened Today

A long time coming.

The market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire has been beset with traffic problems as the years have rolled on. The town is a link to villages and local businesses in the Yorkshire Dales, including several quarries that are currently feeding the A1 upgrade roadworks near Catterick.

With just one major road, the A684 (Bedale Road), the constant throng of heavy good vehicles have no option but to cut through the town to join the A1(m) at Leeming Bar. These heavy loads often cause drains to sink, with holes and patches appearing.

An near-endless regime of traffic light systems can grind the town to a halt and cause massive congestion. Not to mention safety work on the Wensleydale Railway caused the A684 to be closed for several days, whilst major gas line replacement work shut the road for 2 weeks.

Every time the road faced full or partial closure, traffic was forced down narrow country lanes, churning up verges and causing turmoil in small villages that rarely see many vehicles.

Thursday 11th August 2016 marks the end of a near-30 year battle by local residents and councillors to have a relief road built to bypass the town. 4 years after planning was finally approved, and 2 years since building work began, Bedale finally has a bypass to ease congestion.

The work involved the building of 2 bridges to cross the Wensleydale Railway line between Leeming and Northallerton, and on its approach from Bedale Station to Leyburn. Contractors Wills Bros encountered tricky ground conditions, requiring extra foundations and fortifications, and will continue work after the soil has been left for settle for a few months.

Upgrading the new link road between Leeming Bar Industrial Estate and the A1 junction was hard to bear at times, with lengthy queues seen at Leeming Bar services during the morning and evening commute, but this work has seen a new crossing for pedestrians to make use of to visit a modern truck stop that opened on the A1 southbound.

Despite some disruption it has been reported that the project completed within budget. The BBC reported 4 years ago that £42 million had been allocated, including £6m from the local council. Their updated report on the bypass mentions a figure of £35m.

Also encouraging was the news that the bypass has actually opened 2 months earlier than originally planned.

Credit where credit is due, then, for an early completion costing less money than planned, and at last the easing of congestion in Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar. Well done, Yorkshire!