The lengthy project is almost finished with a huge milestone to be reached this weekend
The new A63 Castle Street underpass(Image: Donna Clifford/Hull Live)
The process of opening the new underpass on the A63 in Hull will begin tonight. The split-level junction at Mytongate is expected to be completed by the end of the month after a six-year, £355m development.
National Highways has issued an update on its arrangements for traffic as the underpass section of the Castle Street project opens. Overnight tonight (Friday, March 20), temporary traffic management will be removed on the eastbound carriageway.
This will be followed by the westbound carriageway on Saturday night (March 21). The underpass will be fully open both ways by 6am on Monday, March 23.
A National Highways spokesperson added: “We’ll then need to close the entry and exit slip roads at Ferensway until Thursday 26 March as part of the planned phased opening, to allow us to complete the split-level junction connecting Ferensway to Commercial Road. City centre diversion routes will be in effect during the slip road closures, please follow the signed diversion route in place and allow extra time for your journey.
“Rawling Way (Daltry St Flyover) and Market Place Junctions will remain open for traffic.”
The underpass takes the A63 below street level with a new junction created above it allowing traffic moving between Ferensway and Commercial Road to pass over the dual carriageway as well as enter and exit it. Last month, senior project manager Fran Oliver told Hull Live the new underpass will “reduce severance across the city centre” and make journey times more reliable.
Once the work is completed, traffic will once again be able to turn right onto the A63 from Ferensway. The new bridge will also include a footpath, enhancing pedestrian access to Kingston Retail Park.
Work to lower the A63 at the junction with Ferensway and Commercial Road to create the new split-level interchange and widen the eastbound carriageway between Princes Dock Street and Market Place began in early 2020. It was originally due to be completed in Spring 2025 but a year-long delay was announced in December 2024 after “extremely challenging ground conditions” were discovered that “could not have been anticipated before the scheme began”.
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