A STUDY of dangerous crossing points on the A19 in North Yorkshire will be completed by June this year, highways chiefs have said.

The study was commissioned in December 2017 after an inquest into the death of a former York teacher who died when a van crossed from one carriageway to another through a gap and hit her car head-on.

The coroner and two North Yorkshire MPs – Ryedale's Kevin Hollinrake and Richmond's Rishi Sunak – joined with the family of the woman who died – 83-year-old Sonia Rose, of Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, to demand safety improvements.

Specifically they asked for the gap near Osmotherley where Mrs Rose, a former teacher at Fulford School, died, to be closed as soon as possible and that gaps and crossing points on the road are reviewed with a view to closure where feasible.

They also asked that the ends of crash barriers be updated after the coroner’s report on the accident said an old-style barrier contributed to the fatal accident.

At a meeting organised by the two MPs, senior Highways England (HE) officials updated Mrs Rose’s daughter, Katy, and her brother John on progress with the review and the safety improvements.

In addition to saying the junctions review would be completed in June, Richard Marshall, regional director for HE Yorkshire said that the Stony Lane gap just south of the Cleveland Tontine where Mrs Rose died will be closed early in 2019 after completion of the necessary legal process.

He said that a plan to close the gap at nearby Mount Grace Priory and construct slip roads was in preparation with English Heritage – owners of the Priory – and would be in place prior to opening of an visitor centre at the site.

Work on barrier end improvements at Mount Grace Priory has already started.

Mr Hollinrake, the MP for the Thirsk and Malton constituency in which Mrs Rose lived, said: “This was a terrible and tragic accident which must never happen again.

"I welcome the news that the study into what needs to be done to make the road safer for everyone will be completed by June and that the Stony Lane Gap will be closed early next year."

Mr Sunak, the MP in whose Richmond constituency the accident happened, added: “We know a good number of the gaps on the route – like the one at Stony Lane - can be closed without unduly inconveniencing local residents and farmers.

“We were told that any proposal to close specific gaps will be subject to consultation with the local highways authority, the police and local people.

“I welcome that commitment and also the safety improvements we all want to see.”

The two MPs say they will continue to press for funding to improve the road and, ultimately, the upgrading of the A19 with more motorway-standard junctions.