York Outer Ring Road plans unveiled
'Essential' York Outer Ring Road works - what's happening with dualling after £100m gap?
Planned works to improve York’s Outer Ring Road going have been unveiled.
New plans from York Council would see improvements along the A1237 done in four initial phases, starting with works on the A19 to Wigginton Road Roundabout, including the Clifton Moor Roundabout.
Cllr Claire Douglas, the council’s Labour leader, said the proposals set out a practical and deliverable way forward for the project which has been talked about for a long time.
But Cllr Chris Steward, the council’s Conservative group leader, said the latest version of the scheme had been radically scaled-back in the years since its approval.
It comes after the council backed moves to deliver the scheme in four phases in July last year after estimated costs jumped by almost £100 million.
Estimates in 2024 originally put the cost of the project, which aimed to dual the ring road from the A19 to the Little Hopgrove roundabouts, at £66.4m.
The forecast price tag stood at £164m as of October last year, in part due to inflation since the plans were approved.
Three further phases of work planned, which include dualling, following those at the A19 to Wigginton Road and Clifton Moor Roundabouts.
Works afterwards would run from the Wigginton Road to Haxby Road roundabouts and from the latter to the Strensall Road Roundabout.
A fourth phase would involve works from the Strensall Road Roundabout to Little Hopgrove, including the Monks Cross Roundabout.
The A19 and Wigginton Road phase includes dualling the road a larger roundabout at Clifton Moor and improvements for pedestrians and cyclists including new paths, crossings and underpasses.
Funding is set to come from the council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Department of Transport.
The Government confirmed last year that £25 million it previously pledged was still earmarked for the scheme.
A permanent acoustics barrier to reduce the noise from traffic in Rawcliffe is set to be installed early next year ahead of work on the roads.
Efforts are set to continue to get more funding from the Government and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to complete the full dualling scheme.
It includes increasing capacity at key roundabouts, new bridges over the York and Scarborough railway line and the River Foss and three further underpasses.
An update to the council’s executive last month showed £306,000 had been spent on the project in 2025/6 on re-procuring contracts with designers and land agents on a phasing strategy.
It added the roughly £2.1 million budget for the scheme until March 2027 was funding work on pre-commencement planning conditions, talks with landowners and the preparation of a full business case.
Cllr Douglas said the unveiling of the latest plan was an important milestone for the project.
She said: “Making these improvements to the ring road are essential in making the lives and journeys of residents and visitors easier, while supporting York’s businesses by reducing the time lost to congestion.
“This plan focuses first on enabling upcoming developments that will bring the new homes, including affordable homes, we all want to see built.
“It will also reduce traffic congestion in the city centre and enable us to lock in significant improvements to bus and active travel options.”
Cllr Steward said the little had happened with the scheme since its approval other than funds from it being diverted to plug budget gaps elsewhere.
The council approved moving £5 million from it to the Station Gateway scheme in July 2025, with the losses expected to be recouped through financial contributions from developers.
Cllr Steward said: “The proof will be in the pudding.
“The improvements being talked about now are a radically scaled-back version of the dualling that was approved.
“It seems increasingly clear that all the administration is seeking to do is get one spade somewhere in the ground in the vague vicinity of the ring road ahead of May’s local election and then it can look proudly at what it claims was about to happen.”