THE teams behind a major North Yorkshire bypass and a flood protection scheme in Ryedale have been praised at a prestigious regional awards ceremony.

The Institution of Civil Engineers' Yorkshire Construction Awards, held at the Majestic in Harrogate on Friday night, recognised the quality of two major North Yorkshire construction schemes.

The Selby Bypass, which is due to open ahead of schedule on March 11, received a highly commended accolade. The £44 million scheme, which includes 10km of single carriageway road and several bridges, was created by the Highways Agency and its contractor, Skanska, as well as designer, High-Point Rendel.

Paul Simpson, chairman of the Judges, paid tribute to the project, describing it as "a scheme of the highest quality engineering and ingenuity."

He said: "The scheme made good use of power station fuel ash and recycled excavated materials. The bridges were designed for minimal maintenance and the innovative use of piles and geo-synthetics stabilised the approach embankments on the River Ouse floodplain.

"The gem in the crown is the cable-stayed swing bridge over the Ouse itself. An elegant, yet practical, solution to the problem of maintaining river traffic."

A second highly commended award went to the Malton, Norton and Old Malton Flood Alleviation Scheme, a project which is already benefiting residents in Ryedale.

The £7.8 million scheme, which was officially opened in July last year, was commissioned by the Environment Agency and was designed and built by Halcrow and Interserve Project Services.

The project was made up of a mixture of structural walls and embankments, with special attention paid to conservation areas and national monuments.

The ICE panel of judges praised the designer and contractors for "completing a major project within a very short time scale and solving significant technical problems."

They said: "The innovative use of screw pile foundations alongside the Malton to Scarborough railway and the environmentally aware construction techniques merit this award."

Updated: 12:15 Monday, March 01, 2004