North Yorkshire Council is unable to say when the A59 at Kex Gill will reopen as the closure enters its third full week.

The road, which is a vital route between Harrogate and Skipton, closed suddenly on February 2 after a crack appeared in the road.

It’s led to a lengthy diversion route for motorists through Ilkley.

A council spokesperson blamed heavy rainfall over the winter which then caused the crack between the road and the verge. They added it’s been made worse by continued wet weather.

On Thursday, senior Conservative councillors are set to rubber-stamp a report that asks for £115,000 to be spent on repairs.

The section of the A59 is prone to landslips and last year work began on a major £68.9m realignment of the road. However, the council insisted in a statement that the closure is not related to these works.

The statement 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.

“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.”