MOTORISTS will continue to face lengthy diversions and longer travelling times as the full closure of the A59 at Kex Gill heads into its third week.

North Yorkshire Council closed the A59 between Skipton and Blubberhouses on Friday, February 2.

It had originally brought in two-way traffic lights on January 25 after a crack appeared at the edge of the carriageway.

The council said it is doing all it can to carry out repairs as soon as possible, but there are 'several engineering challenges'.

A spokesperson said: "We understand the impact the closure of the A59 at Kex Gill is having and we would like to assure road users that we are doing all that we can to carry out the repair as quickly and as safely as possible.

"As mentioned previously, the closure is because of heavy rainfall over a prolonged period this winter, which has caused a crack between the carriageway and the northern verge. This has been further exacerbated by the continued heavy rainfall we’ve had recently.

"The A59 at Kex Gill has a long history of landslips and instability. This latest closure is not related to the realignment work, which will prevent this in the future.

"Our investigations have shown that this repair has several engineering challenges that we need to overcome before we can reopen the road.

"We are currently conducting further detailed site investigations, including topological and geotechnical surveys, to determine the best course of action to get the road opened as quickly and safely as possible.

"We have already allocated an indicative budget for this work, as part of our wider highway’s capital programme, to ensure this work can start as soon as possible.

"We will provide a further update as soon as we have determined the exact detail of the repair scheme and the time it will take to complete.

"We will also ensure to provide regular updates as work progresses, and would once again like to apologise for the impact this closure is having."